Royals' Angel Zerpa: Protected from Rule 5 draft

Zerpa's contract was selected by the Royals on Friday.

A relative unknown, general manager Dayton Moore told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com that Zerpa will move quickly through the system and would have been selected in the Rule 5 draft if they had not protected him. The 21-year-old lefty from Venezuela logged a 3.33 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 51:13 K:BB in 51.1 innings in the Appalachian League in 2019. He could open the year at High-A and looks like an interesting sleeper in deep dynasty leagues.