"He was pretty good as a starter in Double-A, and struggled as a bulk-esque type in Triple-A, but he's only 25 and was thought to be fast track-able if inserted into a reliever role. Burkhalter's specifics and outlook aside, probably the weirder part is that the Braves only have 37 guys on their roster right now as it is, and that includes guys like Brett Wisely and the recently-claimed Carson Ragsdale and Josh Walker."
"First, relief arms that get picked in the Rule 5 Draft generally get returned. Second, when they don't, they rarely matter. Ahead of the 2025 season, there were 11 pitchers taken in the Rule 5 Draft. Seven of those were returned or otherwise didn't stick with their claiming team the whole year. Another three spent the whole year recovering from injury, and don't really "count" for the sake of comparing to Burkhalter."
The Braves made no additions to their 40-man roster before the Rule 5 deadline, leaving Blake Burkhalter, Ian Mejia, David McCabe and other long-shot prospects unprotected. Burkhalter excelled as a Double-A starter, struggled in a Triple-A bulk role, and remains 25 with potential as a reliever. The team currently carries only 37 players on the 40-man, which limited available moves but preserved roster flexibility. The Braves likely judged the risk low because recent Rule 5-picked relief pitchers are often returned, injured, or fail to provide material value to claiming clubs.
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