Sending players to winter league baseball offers numerous perks for Major League organizations. You can get more work for players that were injured, or get perspective on just ‘how’ good a player is. You can decide where a player fits in your scheme of things, or even send your first round draft picks there. Today, I will evaluate five Cubs players that are fighting for 40-man spots, or risking to be unprotected for December’s Rule 5 draft.

First, here are the eligibility rules for the draft, as told by Rob Neyer in the always-valuable Transaction Primer:

A player not on a team's Major League 40-man roster is eligible for the Rule 5 draft if: the player was 18 or younger when he first signed a pro contract and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft since he signed, OR if he was 19 or older when he first signed a pro contract and this is the third Rule 5 draft since he signed.

Ohman was highly thought of after putting together a solid 2000 season in AA, culminating in a brief stint in the Majors. In 59 appearances, Ohman had a 1.89 ERA, posting a solid K/9 to boot. He spent 2002 and 2003 on the DL, only to return to AAA this season. In 52.1 innings, Ohman put together a 4.30 ERA with 75 strikeouts. Koronka, acquired from the Reds for Phil Norton, had a 4.34 ERA while starting all season. His peripheral numbers were nearly identical from 2002-2004, with a H/9 around 10.00, and a K/9 of about 6.50. Are these players worth keeping?

Another question mark comes from Carlos Vasquez, a 21-year-old right-hander from Venezuela that spent all season in Daytona. If unprotected, Vasquez could fall victim to being drafted in the Rule 5 draft. But, after posting a H/9 of 10.80 in the FSL, the chance of a team taking a flyer isn’t great.

Battling Ohman and Koronka for the 40-man LOOGY spots will be Russ Rohlicek, formerly acquired from the Houston Astros for Tom Gordon. This season, the 6-5 southpaw put together a season similar to Ohman’s 2000: 2.02 ERA, 5.74 H/9, too many walks. His lack of control, and inability to have a K/9 over 9.00, has raised questions on his future with the organization. So far in the AFL, Rohlicek has struck out 8 in 5.2 innings, although he has surrendered 9 hits and 4 walks.

Of the four winter league position-players I’ll talk about today, only one is currently on the 40-man: Ronny Cedeno. A great defensive infielder, Cedeno has never played 120 games in a season. Furthermore, this season was the first since 2001 where Cedeno hit over .220, after hitting .350 in the Arizona League. This year, his line of .279/.328/.401 is definitely not enough to be protected, and must convince the Cubs front office otherwise in the AFL. He’s doing so thus far, putting together a line of .364/.440/.500 in 22 at-bats.

Cedeno’s primary infielder competitor is Matt Craig, a third-round pick in the 2002 draft from the University of Richmond. In his second full season of professional baseball, Craig hit a solid .275/.363/.509 in the pitcher-friendly Southern League. Primarily a third basemen, I love the fact that Craig’s ISO jumped to .234 this season. While he completely lacks the athleticism to play other positions on the diamond, I’d love to see what Craig does in Iowa next year. Definitely more so than Ronny Cedeno.

Two other players from that West Tenn AA roster that will compete for spots are Adam Greenberg and Geovony Soto. Chosen six rounds after Craig in that 2002 draft, Greenberg’s line of .295/.385/.415 in the FSL stayed consistent from 2003-2004. And that, solid plate discipline and no power, is what Greenberg offers as an outfielder. He also offers decent speed, going about 25/35 each of the last two seasons. But does that kind of player have a future in this franchise?

The Cubs system isn’t exactly flush in catching prospects, so you can understand their reluctance to open the possibility of losing Geovany Soto. A 21-year-old Puerto Rican catcher, Soto put together a decent .271/.355/.401 line in the Southern League. This isn’t very far from Greenberg’s line in Daytona, and he’s three years younger and plays a much more valuable position. But, he had been terrible in 2003, so the Cubs aren’t sure which Soto to believe in. So, he’ll play in the AFL (4/17 so far), and then follow that up with some games in the Dominican League.

If I was Oneri Fleita, I would protect Rohlicek rather than Will Ohman, as he’s a lot more projectable. I would also drop Cedeno and Vasquez from the 40-man, and take the risk that neither will be selected and kept in the Rule 5 draft. I would leave all three other players unprotected, gambling that none are good enough to hang around the Majors all season long. That leaves 37 men on the 40-man, leaving room for all the free agents I want the club to sign this offseason.