San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Arizona Diamondbacks selected catcher Oscar Hernandez of the Tampa Bay Rays organization with the first pick in Major League Baseballs annual Rule 5 Draft on Thursday. Hernandez, 21, had been in the Rays system since signing as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela. He appeared in 94 games for Single-A Bowling Green last season and batted .249 with nine home runs and 63 RBI. He may have put together one of the greatest Venezuelan Summer League seasons anyone will ever see in 2011, hitting .402/.503/.732 with 21 home runs. Hernandez led the league in batting average by 38 points, home runs by 13, slugging percentage by .238 points, total bases by 37 and on-base percentage by 39 points. Hernandez, though, has never come anywhere close to matching those numbers and isnt fully polished behind the plate There were 14 players taken in the major league phase of the draft on Thursday. If those players do not sign with their new team, they must be offered back to their original team, effectively canceling the Rule 5 Draft choice. However, once they spend an entire season on their new teams 25-man roster, their status reverts to normal and they may be optioned or designated for assignment. Of course, several players have succeeded through the Rule 5 Draft in the past, most notably Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana and 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton. Other prominent players selected through the Rule 5 Draft include pitchers Joakim Soria, Matt Mantei and Antonio Alfonseca, as well as second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielders George Bell, Willy Taveras and Shane Victorino. Players who are not currently on their teams 40-man roster are eligible to be taken in this draft, but only after a standard exemption period has elapsed. Also, only teams whose rosters are under the 40-man limit are eligible to participate. A player who is 18 when hes signed can spend five seasons in an organization before he has to be protected. Anyone who is 19 or older must be protected after four years. Once past that time of service, a player must be put on the 40-man roster if that team wants to keep him from becoming eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. MAJOR LEAGUE PHASE 1. Arizona Diamondbacks: C Oscar Hernandez, Rays 2. Colorado Rockies: IF Mark Canha, Marlins (Traded to Oakland) 3. Texas Rangers: OF Delino DeShields Jr., Astros 4. Houston Astros: RHP Jason Garcia, Red Sox (Traded to Baltimore) 5. Minnesota Twins: RHP J.R. Graham, Braves 6. Boston Red Sox: RHP Jandel Gustave, Astros (Traded to Kansas City) 7. Chicago Cubs: SS Taylor Featherston, Rockies 8. Philadelphia Phillies: IF David Herrera, Rangers 9. Miami Marlins: LHP Andrew McKirahan, Cubs 10. New York Mets: LHP Sean Gilmartin, Twins 11. Atlanta Braves: RHP Daniel Winkler, Rockies 12. Seattle Mariners: LHP David Rollins, Astros 13. Baltimore Orioles: RHP Logan Verrett, Mets 14. Philadelphia Phillies: LHP Andrew Oliver, Pittsburgh Brandin Cooks Rams Jersey . - Jordan Addesis shootout goal helped the Plymouth Whalers to a 3-2 win over the Sault Ste. Ndamukong Suh Rams Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Ndamukong-Suh-Jersey/ . A 23-year-old rookie, Stroman is 4-2 with a 3.44 earned run average in 12 games this season, the past seven of those being starts. He logged the first scoreless outing of his career on Friday versus Oakland in a no-decision. John Franklin-Myers Jersey . Wrights first stint with Milwaukee was on a 10-day contract from March 14-23. He played in two games, averaging six points and two rebounds in 16. Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest.NEW YORK -- Jason Collins started walking from the bench to the scorers table, fans rising out of their seats all around Barclays Center. He committed a foul five seconds after entering. His only shot barely hit the rim. Collins performance may not have been pretty, but everything else was great. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. "It was cool. It was a lot of fun to go into the game," Collins said. "The most important thing was that we got the win. Chicagos been playing really well as of late and for us to come out and really be -- I think we played more physical than they did tonight." Finally playing at home more than a week after returning to the NBA as the leagues first openly gay player, Collins checked in to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 17,732 that included former NBA Commissioner David Stern with 2:41 remaining. He grabbed a rebound and had one of the Nets NBA season high-tying 19 steals in their third straight victory. Deron Williams scored 20 points and Joe Johnson had 19 for the Nets (29-29), who got back to .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 after beating Utah on Nov. 5. D.J. Augustin scored 16 points off the bench for the sloppy Bulls, who turned it over 28 times, leading to 30 Nets points, and had their four-game winning streak snapped. The Bulls had a franchise-low three turnovers in their 109-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday and had won nine of 10. But the Nets were too good in this one, building a series of comfortable leads and making the only intrigue down the stretch whether Collins would get in during his first home appearance for the Nets since Jan. 29, 2008, against Milwaukee in East Rutherford, N.J. A chant of "Jason Collins! Jason Collins!" broke out while Williams was shooting a free throw with the Nets leading 90-73 with 3:27 remaining. Fans finally got their wish less than a minute later -- though not because coach Jason Kidd was listening to them. "No, the game was out of hand, so I wanted to get those guys some rest," he said. "D-Will was shooting free throws. Couldnt put Twin in at that time, so I told him after the free throws that he would come in." Collins original 10-day contracct will expire Tuesday and the Nets plan to sign him to a second deal on Wednesday.ddddddddddddA Nets player from 2001-08, he has appeared in all five games since he signed on Feb. 23. Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston each scored 14 points for the Nets, who were without starting centre Kevin Garnett for a second straight game because of back spasms. "Mentally, the Bulls have really had our numbers," Pierce said. "To be honest, if I was them Id feel like when they come play the Nets, they feel like they could beat us every time. I think the guys really had pride tonight to say, You know were tired of getting pushed around by the Bulls." Joakim Noah managed just 10 points, six rebounds and one assist for the Bulls, a day after finishing with 13 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in his fifth career triple-double. The All-Star centre rolled his right ankle early in the second half of that game and said it hurt after the game, but he was determined to play Monday in his hometown. The Bulls had dominated the first two meetings and beaten the Nets four straight times, but Brooklyn controlled this one most of the way in improving to 12-2 at home since Chicagos rout here on Christmas Day. "We smashed them in the mouth twice, its never going to be easy to come in to tough-minded team and do it again," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. The Nets scored the first eight points, the last one on Williams free throw after Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau screamed his way to a technical foul after calling time. Their lead grew to 15, but the Bulls trimmed it to 27-18 by the end of the first quarter. Brooklyn led 50-42 at halftime, and Chicago started the second half just as bad as the first. The Nets scored the first seven to take a 57-42 lead when Williams set up Mason Plumlee for a dunk. "I think we had all intentions to play hard, but like I say, it didnt show," Augustin said. "Being down early, you cant come start the game down, you cant start the second half down, so that was our big mistakes, and then the turnovers killed us." NOTES: The Nets 19 steals were their most since finishing with 20 against Indiana on March 21, 1989. ... Brooklyn hadnt scored more than 23 points in a period against Chicago this season and surpassed that in both the first (27) and third (26). Cheap Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys WholesaleDiscount Basketball JerseysCheap NHL Jerseys AuthenticCheap Baseball Jerseys Free ShippingCheapest College Jerseys SaleCheap Football Jerseys ChinaNike NFL Jerseys CanadaWholesale NHL Jerseys From ChinaMLB Jerseys Outlet CanadaWholesale NBA Jerseys Canada StoreCheap Soccer Jerseys ChinaCheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '