*WHEN CLICKBAIT TOTALLY WORKS: A.J. Hinch is happy in Houston and no one can interview him without the Astros permission....but the Dodgers job would be really cool.
*The Astros are bringing back 45 instructors, coordinators, and coaches for 2016. Notably, Morgan Ensberg is the organization's new Mindset Coach. Lamarr Rogers, who managed Greeneville to the 2015 Appy League championship, will manage Tri-City.
On Ensberg:
In his newly-created role, Ensberg will travel throughout the Astros system to help develop the mental skills of the Astros players while implementing organizational initiatives.
*With Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Daz Cameron at the top of the 2015 draft, Baseball America ranked the Astros' 2015 draft class as the best in baseball. BA also had Alex Bregman as the 2nd-best pure hitter in the draft, Kyle Tucker as the 5th-best pure power hitter in the draft, and Daz Cameron as the most intriguing background (Tucker was 4th). Bregman made the list of the Closest to the Majors from the 2015 draft.
*Here's a great story about former Astros great Ben Zobrist's early baseball career.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label 2015 Draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2015 Draft. Show all posts
Friday, October 23, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Two Bits of Great News
Two bits of great news for Astros fans:
- The Astros signed P. Sandoval to a player contract
- The aforementioned P. Sandoval is 11th round draft pick Patrick Sandoval, and not Instagrammer extraordinaire Pablo Sandoval
If you have not enough pitching in your system, Patrick Sandoval is the guy you want. If you have not enough internet access in the dugout and 80-odd million sitting unused on your payroll, then Pablo Sandoval is your guy. I would rather have Patrick, if I were the Astros, but Pablo has the advantage of being an established major-league player.
Kidding aside, the Astros signed Patrick Sandoval to a contract worth 900K to him, and costing more like 1.3MM to the Astros because of the tax on the overage. One of the benefits of having a massive draft pool is that there is a little more room to move before exceeding 105% of your draft pool, too, although BatGuy (the Accountant and architect of measuring units) is probably the guy who will explain that a little better.
Anyhow, the maths are roughly as follows (as per the always awesome MLBTR). All teams have an 10th+ round slot of $100k. Sandoval signed for 900K, leaving 800K that needs to be accounted for out of the Astros' draft pool. The Astros are thought to be around 249K short of exceeding their bonus, leaving them needing to pay an overage tax on the remaining 550-odd thousand. The overage tax is 75% on the 550K, so that amounts to around 550K plus approx. 410K tax. So the whole contract will cost the Astros 900K plus 410K, so around 1.3MM. Numbers rounded for convenience, but the above link explains it using another couple of decimal places.
So, along with the signings of Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Daz Cameron, the Astros also get it done with one of their after-round-10 singings. It is tempting at this point to declare that the Astros totally gamed the whole draft, which has an element of truth to it. But my counterpoint is that the Astros had the most advantageous draft in history - no team has ever had two top-five picks, and certainly not in the capped-bonus-pool era - and, as a result, a massive draft pool. So a good amount less than what they pulled off this time around could have easily been considered a failure. I think they probably drafted Kyle Tucker a pick-or-four early, and I think that Dansby Swanson was probably first on their board, but they have certainly had a really solid overall draft. Bregman's and Tucker's signing, of course, was the main reason they were able to sign Cameron, so no criticism there.
But they needed a good draft, partly to erase the nightmares of 2014, and partly to compensate for what could be a lean 2016. I would not be surprised to see them blow up next years' drafts. If they make the postseason, they won't get a protected pick. They will look to sign a free-agent starting pitcher or two - someone like a Jordan Zimmermann perhaps - who will nearly certainly get a qualifying offer, and which will subsequently result in a lost draft pick. The tradeable sandwich-round draft picks are not out yet, but they may try to trade from their AA / AAA depth to obtain one of those. But I would not be surprised to watch them lose their first and perhaps second round picks for next year, which I think makes this draft even more important. The scouts will really be tested, scrambling around for signable and useful third- and fourth-round picks.
Anyhow, for now, feel free to celebrate the arrival of Patrick Sandoval, and/or the non-arrival of Pablo Sandoval. And admire the Astros' draft. It may be the last loaded one for a while.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Daz Cameron Agrees to Deal
Earlier today, Mark Berman reported Daz Cameron was in Houston to sign his deal. Later, Jim Callis reported that, as expected, Cameron had agreed to a 4 million dollar deal, 2.3 million over slot.
This leaves only Eshelman as unsigned in the first 10 rounds, and he reportedly has a verbal deal and is expected to sign this week. This news effectively brings the Astros 2015 draft to a close. They had $17,289,800 to spend in the draft, and, assuming Eshelman gets close to slot, will have used almost all of it. The end result is an unheard of three player in the Baseball America's top 10, with some depth behind, including several advanced pitchers who could help sooner rather than later.
They can still go to $18,154,290.00, 5% over slot, without losing a future draft pick. They could still make a run at one of the unsignables, including their 11th round pick Patrick Sandoval, who is committed to USC. Longer shots include Cole Sands, a FSU commit, and Luken Baker, a TCU commit. It remains to be seen how willing they will be to incur the monetary penalties associated with going over slot to sign those players. From round 11 on, any amount over $100,000 goes against the bonus pool.
This leaves only Eshelman as unsigned in the first 10 rounds, and he reportedly has a verbal deal and is expected to sign this week. This news effectively brings the Astros 2015 draft to a close. They had $17,289,800 to spend in the draft, and, assuming Eshelman gets close to slot, will have used almost all of it. The end result is an unheard of three player in the Baseball America's top 10, with some depth behind, including several advanced pitchers who could help sooner rather than later.
They can still go to $18,154,290.00, 5% over slot, without losing a future draft pick. They could still make a run at one of the unsignables, including their 11th round pick Patrick Sandoval, who is committed to USC. Longer shots include Cole Sands, a FSU commit, and Luken Baker, a TCU commit. It remains to be seen how willing they will be to incur the monetary penalties associated with going over slot to sign those players. From round 11 on, any amount over $100,000 goes against the bonus pool.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Alex Bregman Has Agreed to Terms
Chandler Rome broke the news this morning that the Astros top draft pick, Alex Bregman, agreed to terms and was in Houston to sign. Bregman's LSU team only recently ended their season in the College World Series.
Terms are unknown at this time, although Drellich is reporting that it's expected to be $6 million. The pick value for the #2 pick was $7,420,100. If that figure is accurate, that would bring the total savings to $2.3 million based on confirmed bonuses. Should leave plenty of room to bring in Daz Cameron for his asking price of $4 million.
UPDATE: The signing was formally announced today by the Astros. Bregman will be assigned to Quad Cities. The bonus was $5.9 million, so the savings ended up at $2.4 I expect we will be seeing news of Cameron formally agreeing to terms soon.
Terms are unknown at this time, although Drellich is reporting that it's expected to be $6 million. The pick value for the #2 pick was $7,420,100. If that figure is accurate, that would bring the total savings to $2.3 million based on confirmed bonuses. Should leave plenty of room to bring in Daz Cameron for his asking price of $4 million.
UPDATE: The signing was formally announced today by the Astros. Bregman will be assigned to Quad Cities. The bonus was $5.9 million, so the savings ended up at $2.4 I expect we will be seeing news of Cameron formally agreeing to terms soon.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Astros sign Kyle Tucker
The Astros have signed 1-5 pick Kyle Tucker for $4m, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. The slot value for the 5th overall pick was $4,188,700, so there's a little bit more savings to add in order to sign Daz Cameron.
Check the Draft Page to see other important numbers and whatnot.
Check the Draft Page to see other important numbers and whatnot.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Friday Morning Hot Links
The Wife and I will be at the Astros game tonight to watch Oberholtzer pitch Correa's home debut. If you see me, holla at me.
*On that note, the Astros are hoping Correa's arrival will mean a boost in ticket sales.
*The Astros and Rockets are suing Comcast over how they handled CSN Houston. Here are more details from Houston Press.
*Lots of signings, or reports of signings, and one number trickling in to our 2015 Draft page.
*The Astros and 37th overall pick Daz Cameron are seemingly close to a $4m deal - which would be about $2.3m over the slot value for 1-37, meaning the Astros need to save that money somewhere else in the first ten rounds. In that link you also find that Heyman is reporting Mark Appel may need "a change of scenery."
*Luhnow said "it's too early to tell" if the Astros messed up by taking Appel over Kris Bryant.
*Quad Cities' Jacob Nottingham just might be the Astros' top catching prospect
*Astros picks Riley Ferrell and Thomas Eshelman are projected to be the 2nd- and 3rd-most valuable college pitchers in the draft, respectively.
*Awww, Erik Bedard retired.
*On that note, the Astros are hoping Correa's arrival will mean a boost in ticket sales.
*The Astros and Rockets are suing Comcast over how they handled CSN Houston. Here are more details from Houston Press.
*Lots of signings, or reports of signings, and one number trickling in to our 2015 Draft page.
*The Astros and 37th overall pick Daz Cameron are seemingly close to a $4m deal - which would be about $2.3m over the slot value for 1-37, meaning the Astros need to save that money somewhere else in the first ten rounds. In that link you also find that Heyman is reporting Mark Appel may need "a change of scenery."
*Luhnow said "it's too early to tell" if the Astros messed up by taking Appel over Kris Bryant.
*Quad Cities' Jacob Nottingham just might be the Astros' top catching prospect
*Astros picks Riley Ferrell and Thomas Eshelman are projected to be the 2nd- and 3rd-most valuable college pitchers in the draft, respectively.
*Awww, Erik Bedard retired.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
2015 Draft Page is LIVE
The 2015 Astros draft page is up and running. Updates coming fast and furious, so keep checking back. If we know something, you'll know something. Unless, of course, it's in our best interests to keep something quiet. Then you won't even know you don't know.
Shoot some links our way if you catch anything.
Shoot some links our way if you catch anything.
Thursday Morning Link Dump
So the Astros will never win again and baseball isn't fun and everything is bad. That said, they still have a 2.0-game lead over the Rangers. FanGraphs still gives the Astros a 43.3% chance of winning the division and a 56% chance of making the postseason.
*"I think we swung the bat better than the scoreboard indicated, but that doesn't account for much."
-A.J. Hinch on Velasquez's debut
*George Springer got five hits and Velasquez was strong...but it's just another loss.
*Phil Rogers: Velasquez is the latest cog in the Astros' postseason wheel
*Will Harris made Sports On Earth's nine key under-the-radar offseason acquisitions
*Familiar names highlight Day 3 of the Astros draft, like Biggio and Clemens. We'll have more hot content regarding the draft later today.
*The Albuquerque Journal wrote an editorial congratulating Astros' 1-2 pick Alex Bregman.
*"I think we swung the bat better than the scoreboard indicated, but that doesn't account for much."
-A.J. Hinch on Velasquez's debut
*George Springer got five hits and Velasquez was strong...but it's just another loss.
*Phil Rogers: Velasquez is the latest cog in the Astros' postseason wheel
*Will Harris made Sports On Earth's nine key under-the-radar offseason acquisitions
*Familiar names highlight Day 3 of the Astros draft, like Biggio and Clemens. We'll have more hot content regarding the draft later today.
*The Albuquerque Journal wrote an editorial congratulating Astros' 1-2 pick Alex Bregman.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Draft Coverage Day 2, Part II
(Not Hank) did a fabulous job of covering rounds 1 and 2, and he continued his sterling effort with rounds 3 through 7 this afternoon. Please feel free to leave a comment on either (i) the draft itself or (ii) (Not Hanks) contribution to documenting the awesomeness of the draft thus far for the Astros. Some would say the odds were loaded in their favour, but they certainly made it count, with three of the top dozen picks (via FanGraphs), top 8 picks (Baseball America or minorleagueball.com, including the top pick of the latter). My job tonight is to finish off Day 2 of the draft, which does through to round 10.
8-229: Garrett Stubbs, Catcher, Senior (22) from Southern Cal
Stubbs is an... ahem... stubby figure (at 5-9) and weighs 150 pounds (or alternatively, 5-10, 165). He bats from the left side, but throws righty. Stubbs does not feature in minorleagueball.com's top 400, but ranked 336 on BA's top 500. According to thebaseballcube.com, he batted .346/.435/.434 in 288 Plate Appearances in 2015, with 27 walks versus 31 strikeouts. That was (i) his best year during college and (ii) the year in which he received the most playing time of his college career. He has some speed: 20 stolen bases versus 7 caught stealing. He was recently named the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year.
He is the proud owner of a degree in policy planning and development, and has a brother who is also a Trojan. On Twitter.
9-259: Zac Person, LHP, Senior (22) from LSU
Zachary Quinn Person is a lefty reliever out of LSU, who also hails from Louisiana (the town of Enuice, to be exact). Union Pacific once crashed a train in Eunice, causing about one-third of the town to be evacuated. Person would have been about 7 at the time, and there is a non-zero chance that he would have been a serious Astros fan when that happened.
Anyhow, he has been used as a lefty reliever over most of his college career, starting only two games in his last two years. Through 177 innings (his whole career), he has pitched to a 2.54 ERA, including a WHIP of 1.21, a BB/9 of 4.83 and a K/9 of 10.47. His Senior year was the worst of his career from the perspective of ERA (3.34), but the best of his career in terms of walks (3.03), K/BB ratio (3.40) and WHIP (0.98). Has fastball apparently sits in the upper 80's, and he possesses an outstanding breaking pitch.
He is a Kinesiology major, and has an awful walk up song (actual song in this link). He was not ranked in minorleagueball.com's Top 400 or on BA's top 500. On Twitter.
10-289: Scott Weathersby, RHP, Senior (23) from Mississippi
Weatherby is a 23 year old senior who has started 4 games in 51 appearances in his College career. He has a career ERA of 2.81, and his 2015 ERA was better at 2.62. He pitched 55 innings in 2015, allowing 45 hits, walking 14 (WHIP 1.07) and striking out 51. He high point of his college career was the six (!) innings of relief against Vanderbilt on April 10, where he retired 18 of 21 batters and got the Rebels out of a bases loaded jam that he inherited. More juicy game anecdotes here.
Not on minorleagueball.com's top 400 or on BA's top 500. On Twitter.
Wrapping up:
Couple of points here. Firstly, congratulations to the 8 young men drafted today, and the 4 drafted yesterday. The moment when you were drafted should be one you remember for the rest of your life. Exciting way to start a pro career.
Second, the Astros may be looking to somehow pay for their generosity of yesterday, plus get older players who could help the team sooner, rather than later. Two of the three covered here are relievers, and all three are seniors. That adds to the three pitchers already drafted today, all of whom look to be relievers, and are relatively advanced in age. The other two players are a younger CF (18 imperial years of age, 16 metric years - where each year is 400 days long) and a college catcher/3B.
Only Ferrell, Thornton, Freeman and Stubbs appear on either minorleagueball.com's top 400 or BA's top 500, and only Ferrell appears on both lists. Looks like some money may be being saved here.
8-229: Garrett Stubbs, Catcher, Senior (22) from Southern Cal
Stubbs is an... ahem... stubby figure (at 5-9) and weighs 150 pounds (or alternatively, 5-10, 165). He bats from the left side, but throws righty. Stubbs does not feature in minorleagueball.com's top 400, but ranked 336 on BA's top 500. According to thebaseballcube.com, he batted .346/.435/.434 in 288 Plate Appearances in 2015, with 27 walks versus 31 strikeouts. That was (i) his best year during college and (ii) the year in which he received the most playing time of his college career. He has some speed: 20 stolen bases versus 7 caught stealing. He was recently named the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year.
He is the proud owner of a degree in policy planning and development, and has a brother who is also a Trojan. On Twitter.
9-259: Zac Person, LHP, Senior (22) from LSU
Zachary Quinn Person is a lefty reliever out of LSU, who also hails from Louisiana (the town of Enuice, to be exact). Union Pacific once crashed a train in Eunice, causing about one-third of the town to be evacuated. Person would have been about 7 at the time, and there is a non-zero chance that he would have been a serious Astros fan when that happened.
Anyhow, he has been used as a lefty reliever over most of his college career, starting only two games in his last two years. Through 177 innings (his whole career), he has pitched to a 2.54 ERA, including a WHIP of 1.21, a BB/9 of 4.83 and a K/9 of 10.47. His Senior year was the worst of his career from the perspective of ERA (3.34), but the best of his career in terms of walks (3.03), K/BB ratio (3.40) and WHIP (0.98). Has fastball apparently sits in the upper 80's, and he possesses an outstanding breaking pitch.
He is a Kinesiology major, and has an awful walk up song (actual song in this link). He was not ranked in minorleagueball.com's Top 400 or on BA's top 500. On Twitter.
10-289: Scott Weathersby, RHP, Senior (23) from Mississippi
Weatherby is a 23 year old senior who has started 4 games in 51 appearances in his College career. He has a career ERA of 2.81, and his 2015 ERA was better at 2.62. He pitched 55 innings in 2015, allowing 45 hits, walking 14 (WHIP 1.07) and striking out 51. He high point of his college career was the six (!) innings of relief against Vanderbilt on April 10, where he retired 18 of 21 batters and got the Rebels out of a bases loaded jam that he inherited. More juicy game anecdotes here.
Not on minorleagueball.com's top 400 or on BA's top 500. On Twitter.
Wrapping up:
Couple of points here. Firstly, congratulations to the 8 young men drafted today, and the 4 drafted yesterday. The moment when you were drafted should be one you remember for the rest of your life. Exciting way to start a pro career.
Second, the Astros may be looking to somehow pay for their generosity of yesterday, plus get older players who could help the team sooner, rather than later. Two of the three covered here are relievers, and all three are seniors. That adds to the three pitchers already drafted today, all of whom look to be relievers, and are relatively advanced in age. The other two players are a younger CF (18 imperial years of age, 16 metric years - where each year is 400 days long) and a college catcher/3B.
Only Ferrell, Thornton, Freeman and Stubbs appear on either minorleagueball.com's top 400 or BA's top 500, and only Ferrell appears on both lists. Looks like some money may be being saved here.
Draft Coverage Day 2
The Astros day one draft got high marks, with three of Baseball America's top 8 draftees. They are now underway for day 2.
3-79 - Riley Ferrell
Ferrell is a reliever, and will pretty much stay a reliever. He served as the closer for TCU, and had a solid year, with 14 saves and 45 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. He is a junior, and could be a fast mover in the Astros system, potentially even in late September, or, dare to dream, the playoffs this year. He has the stuff to be a late inning/high leverage reliever in the future. He was at 59 in Baseball America's top 500.
4- 109 Anthony Hermalyn
Hermalyn is a catcher from Oklahoma University. Callis said on the draft coverage that he could move to 3B potentially. Hit .321/.360/.453 in his junior year at OU. Was not in the BA top 500.
5- 149 Trent Thornton
Thornton is a RHP out of North Carolina. He was dominant his freshman and sophomore years, but really struggled his junior year, causing his stock to fall. If he can regain his earlier form, this could be a great value pick.
6-169 Nestor Muriel
Muriel is a center fielder out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. He was born in 1997, if you want to feel old. As can be expected with a 16 year old draftee, he is considered raw but has room for growth.
7-199 Michael Freeman
I'm gonna let JJ Cooper explain this pick
3-79 - Riley Ferrell
Ferrell is a reliever, and will pretty much stay a reliever. He served as the closer for TCU, and had a solid year, with 14 saves and 45 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. He is a junior, and could be a fast mover in the Astros system, potentially even in late September, or, dare to dream, the playoffs this year. He has the stuff to be a late inning/high leverage reliever in the future. He was at 59 in Baseball America's top 500.
4- 109 Anthony Hermalyn
Hermalyn is a catcher from Oklahoma University. Callis said on the draft coverage that he could move to 3B potentially. Hit .321/.360/.453 in his junior year at OU. Was not in the BA top 500.
5- 149 Trent Thornton
Thornton is a RHP out of North Carolina. He was dominant his freshman and sophomore years, but really struggled his junior year, causing his stock to fall. If he can regain his earlier form, this could be a great value pick.
6-169 Nestor Muriel
Muriel is a center fielder out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. He was born in 1997, if you want to feel old. As can be expected with a 16 year old draftee, he is considered raw but has room for growth.
7-199 Michael Freeman
I'm gonna let JJ Cooper explain this pick
<Love that pick by the Astros. LHP Michael Freeman. Dominant season. Was a SP at Okla. St but could move quick as LHRP. Lively FB.— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) June 9, 2015
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) June 9, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
2015 Draft Coverage
The 2015 MLB draft is coming up in less than five minutes. The Astros pick later this year, than they have since the 2012 draft, dropping all the way to 2. And then they pick again, three picks later at 5. If you don't know why they have 2 and 5, just type in Aiken in that search box over there. We will be tracking the picks all night, with maybe some useful information.
1-2 - Alex Bregman
Alex Bregman is a 21 year old shortstop from LSU. He has been rumored for this spot for a while now, with the assumption that Swanson was going one. He is considered a pure hitter with a potential for power. He never strikes out, walking more than he k'd each of the last two years. He was 4 on the BA top 500 and Law's ranking. The talking heads seem to think he is a future 2B.
This is the free Baseball America scouting report for all draftees http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2015-draft-first-round-running/
Alex Bregman's LinkedIn profile
Alex Bregman's Twitter profile
Crawfish Boxes profile
FanGraphs profile
1-5 Kyle Tucker
You might know his brother. Kyle is considered the better prospect. He is considered an advanced bat, with good strike zone judgment. He recently broke Preston's record school HR record. Sibling rivalry and all. Law and BA both had him 8. Tucker is more athletic than his brother, and at least has the potential to stay in CF. The bat has the potential to play at the corners.
The Astros next pick will come at number 37. It will be interesting, as Daz Cameron, projected in the top 10 by many sources, is still on the board as of pick 14. There have been rumors of a high asking price, which the Astros might be the only team remaining able to meet. We'll see what they do in a couple hours.
Kyle Tucker's Twitter profile
Crawfish Boxes profile
Gatorade Player of the Year
2-37 Daz Cameron
The rumors were true. Cameron floated a high demand, which scared enough teams off for the Astros to grab their third top 8 BA prospect. Mike Cameron's son, he is reported to have no outstanding tools, but a lot of above average tools. This is a steal, to get BA's number 5 prospect with the 37th pick. Law was not as high, but still slotted him at 13. Assuming they can sign him, which I have to imagine they had something in place with all three to pull this off, this is a real coup for the 2015 draft,
Daz Cameron Twitter profile
Daz Cameron Instagram account
MLB.com profile
Crawfish Boxes profile
2-46 - Thomas Eshleman
The Astros are starting to try to save some money for their earlier picks. The MLB crew used the terms pitchability, and threw out 80 command 70 control. As he was being drafted, tweets were flying about potential overuse in the super regional, as he was called on to close a game out after throwing over 100 pitches two days ago, and over 150 in the regionals. The good news is Cal State Fullerton won, so there's that,
Thomas Eshelman's Twitter profile
SI article on Eshelamn
1-2 - Alex Bregman
Alex Bregman is a 21 year old shortstop from LSU. He has been rumored for this spot for a while now, with the assumption that Swanson was going one. He is considered a pure hitter with a potential for power. He never strikes out, walking more than he k'd each of the last two years. He was 4 on the BA top 500 and Law's ranking. The talking heads seem to think he is a future 2B.
This is the free Baseball America scouting report for all draftees http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2015-draft-first-round-running/
Alex Bregman's LinkedIn profile
Alex Bregman's Twitter profile
Crawfish Boxes profile
FanGraphs profile
1-5 Kyle Tucker
You might know his brother. Kyle is considered the better prospect. He is considered an advanced bat, with good strike zone judgment. He recently broke Preston's record school HR record. Sibling rivalry and all. Law and BA both had him 8. Tucker is more athletic than his brother, and at least has the potential to stay in CF. The bat has the potential to play at the corners.
The Astros next pick will come at number 37. It will be interesting, as Daz Cameron, projected in the top 10 by many sources, is still on the board as of pick 14. There have been rumors of a high asking price, which the Astros might be the only team remaining able to meet. We'll see what they do in a couple hours.
Kyle Tucker's Twitter profile
Crawfish Boxes profile
Gatorade Player of the Year
2-37 Daz Cameron
The rumors were true. Cameron floated a high demand, which scared enough teams off for the Astros to grab their third top 8 BA prospect. Mike Cameron's son, he is reported to have no outstanding tools, but a lot of above average tools. This is a steal, to get BA's number 5 prospect with the 37th pick. Law was not as high, but still slotted him at 13. Assuming they can sign him, which I have to imagine they had something in place with all three to pull this off, this is a real coup for the 2015 draft,
Daz Cameron Twitter profile
Daz Cameron Instagram account
MLB.com profile
Crawfish Boxes profile
2-46 - Thomas Eshleman
The Astros are starting to try to save some money for their earlier picks. The MLB crew used the terms pitchability, and threw out 80 command 70 control. As he was being drafted, tweets were flying about potential overuse in the super regional, as he was called on to close a game out after throwing over 100 pitches two days ago, and over 150 in the regionals. The good news is Cal State Fullerton won, so there's that,
Thomas Eshelman's Twitter profile
SI article on Eshelamn
Monday Morning Hot Links
It is June 8, my friends. Correa Day. All Correa's Day. Draft Day. Monday. However you want to label it. With the Astros getting Villar'd yesterday, the Astros have a 3.5 game lead and a 48.5% chance of winning the division, with a 61.8% chance of making the postseason.
*Luhnow talked about the reasoning behind promoting Correa:
Our team could use the spark right now. We haven't been playing our best baseball over the past few days and hopefully Carlos can add something that's been missing. We have to try and do everything we can to maintain our division lead and get this team to the postseason, and if calling up Carlos Correa helps us do that, that's what we're prepared for.
*In that previous link, Luhnow said he did talk with Jed Lowrie about bringing Correa up:
It's probably 33 games between now and the All-Star Game and you assume Jed's going to be back after the All-Star break, so that gives us a good amount of time to see how Carlos is doing and we'll determine at that point where everybody fits.
*Corpus manager Rodney Linares:
Carlos is going to be a good player for a long, long time. He's going to help us win championships, and he's also going to be a great ambassador for our game.
*ESPN's Christina Kahrl, on Correa's call-up:
This becomes just the most recent example of a team going young while also going for it, with examples like the Cubs this year, the Diamondbacks when they called up Paul Goldschmidt to solve their first-base problem en route to the 2011 postseason or the Braves bringing up Andruw Jones for the stretch run in 1996. It's a thing.
*The Astros close the book on the 2014 draft and get ready to open the 2015 draft. Luhnow:
We've been out scouting, we've been talking to advisors, players, parents, etc. I think more than anything, the fact that the Astros' plan seems to be coming together, and it's starting to work and make some sense, I think is drawing more interest to players potentially signing with us. So I think we're in a pretty good spot.
*Cole Hamels is, diplomatically, happy in Philadelphia.
So we close with the two lasting images of Jonathan Villar's tenure:
Good night, sweet prince.
*Luhnow talked about the reasoning behind promoting Correa:
Our team could use the spark right now. We haven't been playing our best baseball over the past few days and hopefully Carlos can add something that's been missing. We have to try and do everything we can to maintain our division lead and get this team to the postseason, and if calling up Carlos Correa helps us do that, that's what we're prepared for.
*In that previous link, Luhnow said he did talk with Jed Lowrie about bringing Correa up:
It's probably 33 games between now and the All-Star Game and you assume Jed's going to be back after the All-Star break, so that gives us a good amount of time to see how Carlos is doing and we'll determine at that point where everybody fits.
*Corpus manager Rodney Linares:
Carlos is going to be a good player for a long, long time. He's going to help us win championships, and he's also going to be a great ambassador for our game.
*ESPN's Christina Kahrl, on Correa's call-up:
This becomes just the most recent example of a team going young while also going for it, with examples like the Cubs this year, the Diamondbacks when they called up Paul Goldschmidt to solve their first-base problem en route to the 2011 postseason or the Braves bringing up Andruw Jones for the stretch run in 1996. It's a thing.
*The Astros close the book on the 2014 draft and get ready to open the 2015 draft. Luhnow:
We've been out scouting, we've been talking to advisors, players, parents, etc. I think more than anything, the fact that the Astros' plan seems to be coming together, and it's starting to work and make some sense, I think is drawing more interest to players potentially signing with us. So I think we're in a pretty good spot.
*Cole Hamels is, diplomatically, happy in Philadelphia.
So we close with the two lasting images of Jonathan Villar's tenure:
Good night, sweet prince.
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