Some players got their start in the majors thanks to the Rule 5 Draft, including Roberto Clemente, George Bell, Darrell Evans, Johan Santana, Josh Hamilton and Joakim Soria. Most, however, slip quietly back to the minor leagues.
Somehow, I completely missed that Clemente was a Rule 5 pick. For some reason, I expected that the Rule 5 Draft was a more modern innovation, but baseball-reference shows him as a pick in the 1954 draft.