Friday marks the final day on which teams may add Rule 5 draft-eligible players to their 40-man rosters so as to avoid exposing them to the Rule 5 draft. As of this writing, the Cubs have just 35 players on the 40-man roster. Accordingly, of the dozens of players in the system currently eligible for the draft, the Cubs can protect up to five by adding them to the roster, absent any additional moves.

Of course, many of the players eligible for the Rule 5 draft will almost certainly go unselected. For example, Mark Malave received the Cubs’ largest international amateur signing bonus in the summer of 2011, raking in $1.6 million as one of the top catching prospects in his class. Fast forward to November 2016 and Malave is a right-handed relief pitcher with three innings beyond short-season ball. He won’t be selected. Nor will right-handers Jordan Pries (the middling prospect arm who accompanied Mike Montgomery from Seattle), Dillon Maples (he of the $2.5 million signing bonus in the 14th round of the 2011 draft), or Andury Acevedo (last winter’s surprise recipient of a Major League contract).

That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of interesting players in the system who will be left unprotected. Outfielder Bijan Rademacher posted an exquisite .313/.395/.484 line during the first half at Double-A this year before turning solid results at Triple-A, but as a 25-year-old former 13th-round pick, he lacks the tools that excite scouts and get players drafted. Right-handed reliever Pedro Araujo, 23, who used a spectacular disappearing changeup to baffle Midwest League hitters in 2016, also won’t be protected. Others like Michael Wagner, Josh Conway, and David Garner also have enough of a pedigree to see a 0.1 percent chance of making it to Chicago, odds not worth a pick.

There is another group of players who almost certainly won’t be added to the 40-man roster, but with whom there is enough of a possibility (say, one to five percent) that they’re worth mentioning: pitchers Corey Black, Erick Leal, Jonathan Martinez, Ryan McNeil, Juan Carlos Paniagua, Jose Paulino, Steve Perakslis, Tyler Skulina and Daury Torrez. Each of those arms comes with intrigue and many of them are familiar to Cubs fans for one reason or another, particularly those who were somewhat recent draft picks (Skulina, McNeil) and those who were acquired in trades during the 2012-14 sell-off (Black, Leal, Martinez). To me, Paulino is the gem of this crop, a late-blooming lefty with enough pop to make some noise but who needs three solid years to progress enough to get there. I’ll have a more in-depth look at him later this winter.

With most of the system out of the way, there are six prospects whom I believe a real chance of making the 40-man roster. Here is a look at the case for and against each player being added, from most likely to least likely.

The Cubs called up Willson Contreras mid-season, and he flourished. Could prospect Victor Caratini be next? (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

C Victor Caratini

For: The case for adding Caratini is a slam dunk in my eyes. He has a full season at Double-A under his belt and is ready to contribute in the majors in 2017. He has enough arm to avoid being a liability in the running game at the top level and his on-base skills are strong and continually improving, fueled by a discerning eye (he posted a .375 on-base percentage for Tennessee). He has the pedigree of being a recent second-round pick.

Against: There’s very little power in Caratini’s bat and his defensive work behind the plate remains a work in progress as a converted college third baseman. Still, I’ll be stunned if the Cubs do not add him to the 40-man.

LHP Jack Leathersich

For: The Cubs, like every team, crave left-handed pitching. The only left-handed relievers currently on the 40-man roster are Rob Zastryzny, Gerardo Concepcion and Zac Rosscup. Rosscup lost all of 2016 to shoulder surgery and must pass through optional assignment waivers to be sent back to the minors in 2017. Leathersich was a top-20 prospect in a strong Mets system in 2015, and he enjoyed a generally strong, if wild, MLB debut that year. He was acquired by the current regime.

Against: Leathersich had Tommy John surgery in July 2015, and has thrown just 15 1/3 innings since his return, and while he continued to strike out batters, he walked a ton of them, too (10 walks in that span). The command risk predated the injury, only intensifying as a result of going under the knife.

OF John Andreoli

For: Improvement. In 2014, Andreoli was a largely nondescript 17th-round pick who was fast but whose bat couldn’t make the jump from the lower minor leagues. From 2011-14, Andreoli had just three home runs. But over 2015 and 2016, Andreoli blasted 17 more while swiping 76 bases, all at Triple-A. The speed has always been a part of his package, but the power could be the difference for him.

Against: 2-for-44. The last time I saw Andreoli in person in June 2014, he was mired in a dreadful 2-for-44 slump. A few days later, his season ended quietly because of a nagging wrist injury. He’s already 26, so he’s unlikely to improve going forward. Andreoli’s strikeout rate has also ballooned with his newfound power. Somewhat strangely, the biggest factor cutting against Andreoli might be the presence of fellow Iowa Cubs outfielder Mark Zagunis. Their profiles are similar — with Zagunis possessing the stronger bat but only solid speed compared to Andreoli’s impact wheels — yet Zagunis has another year before he needs to be added to the 40-man roster.

RHP Armando Rivero

For: I proposed the idea of the Cubs rostering Rivero this summer internally, but the Cubs opted to trade for Joe Smith instead. Rivero features two plus pitches: a mid-90s heater and a low-80s slider. The recipient of a $3.1 million bonus out of Cuba in 2013, Rivero is much older than most prospects under consideration (he’ll be 29 in February), but he appears ready for the majors. After struggling at Triple-A in 2015, Rivero overwhelmed hitters there in 2016, striking out a hair under 14 per nine innings en route to a sparkling 2.13 ERA largely supported by a 2.84 FIP. If the Cubs don’t add him to the roster, another club will almost certainly pick him up for their major league bullpen.

Against: His age. And his 4.66 walks per nine at Triple-A looks bad. This is still a no-brainer in my book, as Rivero would pitch in the ninth inning with better command. Since he doesn’t have that command, he’s more of a sixth- or seventh-inning arm.

It’s not very likely the Cubs add pitcher Duane Underwood to their roster, and if they don’t he’s likely to be taken by another team. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

RHP Duane Underwood

For: Underwood has a huge fastball and two secondaries (curveball, changeup) that project as plus pitches with additional seasoning. His body is big enough to carry a starter’s load and he has a strong pedigree (2012 second-round pick, $1.05 million bonus). If left unprotected, there is a 99 percent chance he gets scooped up by another team.

Against: It would have been unthinkable to have this conversation at this time last year, but 2016 was a disaster for Underwood. His strikeout rate cratered badly in 2015, but his strong walk and home run rates helped him succeed. This year, the strikeouts improved a bit, but the walks and homers both jumped in a big way, feeding a 5.09 FIP at Double-A and a nightmarish pair of appearances in the Arizona Fall League. To complicate matters, Underwood missed half of 2015 with elbow inflammation and missed half of 2016 with an undisclosed injury. There could be big problems here.

OF Jacob Hannemann

For: Full disclosure: I’m an unabashed Hannemann fan, even as his road has been rocky. Hannemann was drafted by the current regime, given an overslot bonus ($1 million against a slot of $736,000), and described by Jason McLeod as a guy that the Cubs “just had to have.” His development was always going to be slower due to his two-year Mormon mission, but he has shown plenty of flashes to justify keeping him. After swiping 37 bases in 2014 and 24 more in 2015, Hannemann nabbed 26 bags in just over half a season in 2016 before a thumb injury ended his year prematurely. While his .247 batting average is ugly, his on-base percentage (.326) and ISO (.179) more than make up for it, and he posted the lowest strikeout rate of his career in 2016 (16.8 percent). The Cubs also don’t have much in the way of future left-handed bench bats. He’s exactly the type of player (speedy with a strong glove and developing bat) that a team like the Braves or Padres can hide in a defensive role while they continue to develop him slowly.

Against: He’ll be 26 by opening day. Yikes. Even considering the mission, that’s very old for Double-A. The lost developmental time from 2016 hurts. While he showed marked improvement in 2016, the offensive results weren’t exactly overwhelming for a 25-year-old at Double-A.

In the end, the Cubs front office is tasked with some truly difficult decisions. Caratini is a lock to make it, but everyone else could go either way. I’d guess that Munenori Kawasaki is outrighted off of the 40-man roster and Christian Villanueva is designated for assignment, pushing the number of open spots to seven. In that scenario, the top five and possibly all six of the above make the roster.

Regardless of what happens, we’re going to learn quite a bit more this week about the Cubs of 2017 and beyond.