The Rule 5 Draft is often an afterthought on the final day of the annual MLB Winter Meetings, but every few years a gem will emerge from the list of selections. Oakland plucked Noda away from the Dodgers in the 2022 edition of the event and he fully unseated Jesus Aguilar as the Athletics' primary first baseman by the fourth week of the 2023 regular season. Aguilar was cut loose at the end of May, with Noda continuing to take on increasing importance in the A's offense as the summer rolled along. He jumped into the leadoff spot just before suffering a fractured jaw during a pregame fielding mishap in mid-July and quickly reprised that tablesetting role when he returned from the IL four weeks later. Noda has his flaws, but he can approach 20 homers and gets on base at a steady enough clip to churn out a useful helping of runs scored. Read Past Outlooks