Brewers add former UW-La Crosse pitcher Caleb Boushley to system in minor-league Rule 5 draft
With major-league roster moves frozen by the baseball lockout, teams were allowed to conduct some minor-league business Wednesday with the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft of unprotected players.
The Milwaukee Brewers made only one addition to their farm system, but he has state ties. From San Diego’s organization, they took right-hander Caleb Boushley, a native of Hortonville who pitched for UW-La Crosse.
The Brewers lost one player from their system when catcher Kekai Rios was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rios, 24, spent most of the 2021 season at advanced Class A Wisconsin.
Boushley, 28, was the 2016 WIAC pitcher of the year and still ranks first at UW-La Crosse with 24 career victories and 264⅔ innings pitched. He went 24-5 with four shutouts in three years there before being taken in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft by the Padres.
Boushley went 5-11 with a 5.21 earned run average in 24 games (23 starts) while splitting the 2021 season at the Class AA and AAA levels. In 99 games in the minors (43 starts), he has posted an 18-21 record and 4.25 ERA.
A 28th round draft pick by the Brewers in 2018 out of the University of Hawaii, Rios batted .248 in 48 games (42 with Wisconsin; six with Class AA Biloxi) last season with a .711 OPS, three homers and 20 RBI. He is considered a defensive specialist.
Teams could select any minor-leaguer in the draft not protected on an organization’s 38-man Class AAA roster at a price of $24,500. They can be assigned to any level in the farm system.
Players taken in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft seldom make it to the majors, but Brewers’ catcher Omar Narváez was taken by the Chicago White Sox from Tampa Bay in 2013, then later traded to Seattle and after that to Milwaukee.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers add former UW-La Crosse pitcher Caleb Boushley to farm system
