Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Happy Correa Triple-A Day!

*The Mariners have now taken over the Astros as FanGraphs' favorites to win the division, though the Astros still have a 45.4% chance of making it to the postseason.

*What the Heck Bobby shares some thoughts about Correa's promotion

*JJO talked to both Correa and Corpus manager Rodney Linares about his promotion, with a line about how Luhnow was tempted to promote him to Houston.

*"This is our top prospect - probably the top prospect in all of baseball." Tony DeFrancesco tells the Fresno Bee, who also get Joe Sclafani's name wrong and wonder if Correa will get promoted to Houston before the Grizzlies return from their road trip.

*A.J. Hinch's reasoning for why the Astros are only 8-8 at home: Because that's the way it is.

*Jed Lowrie is surprised at how much you actually use your thumbs.

*George Springer could play in a rehab game today.

*Henry Schulman looks at the history between the Giants and the Astros

*Here's a good article from Quad Cities on 2014 4th Round pick Daniel Mengden, his back injury, and his mustache.

*Corpus' Tony Kemp graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in communications over the weekend, so now he can be best friends with Buster Olney.

*Terrifying: the Carolina Mudcats' team bus was in a wreck and flipped on its side early this morning. Former Astros minor-leaguers Andrew Thurman and Blair Walters are on the Mudcats roster.

Astros' Acquisition of Evan Gattis Confirmed

(Not Hank) briefly reported earlier that the Astros had stealthily acquired Evan Gattis from the Braves.  As a trade, it is entirely logical, and only required an 8 week incubation period for all parties to see sense, and consulate it.  You may recall the Constable earlier reporting on a potential trade that seemed like Gattis-and-every-ugly-contract-in-the-Braves-organisation for all of Houston's top prospects, and cash.  Or something.  This trade seems fair, and much less one sided than the previous reports indicated.

After (Not Hank) reported the trade, he was careful to indicate that it had not been formally announced by the teams.  There was supposedly a hold-up in the physicals - seemingly with Gattis' knee and back - but recently the trade has been officially announced.  The Astros get Evan Gattis (with his 4 years of control, one at league minimum) and minor-league righty-reliever James Hoyt in exchange for the previously reported trio of Mike Foltynewicz, Rio Ruiz and Andrew Thurman.

And, apparently, not Chris Johnson and/or B.J. Upton.  Hoo-ray!!

(Not Hank) earlier linked to a fabulous story about Evan Gattis, and how he nearly got lost on his way to the Bigs.  The article also outlines his tools well - power and arm - and tells some great stories about how hard he hits baseballs.  James Hoyt has a similar story - he was undrafted out of college, worked on yachts for a while, bounced around Indy Ball, then wound up in Mexico, where he was noticed by a Braves scout.  At 27, and having spent his age-27 season in AA and AAA, he is certainly not on the normal developmental path, but he pumps gas in the mid-90's and apparently has a plus-slider.  So he seems like a great lottery ticket to get as a throw-in for a trade of this magnitude.

But Gattis is the big piece here, and he is where this trade lives or dies.  In one fell swoop, the Astros managed to patch one of their offensive Black Holes from 2014.  Which hole, of course, is a potential bone of contention.  He seems destined to start playing in Left Field.  This would allow Singleton to have more development time at first, while providing insurance in case Singleton can't get his contact issues under control, and potentially forming the basics of a future platoon (with Carter mixed in there somewhere) with Singleton in case they want to sit him against lefties.  

But, remember Gattis' other tool - his arm.  One of the comments guys in (Not Hank)'s earlier article wondered about the possibility of a lash at third base, and this probably shouldn't be discounted.  Dominguez will nearly certainly get a half-season or so to show what he has and potentially seal his place as a big-league player, but if he cannot make it all happen, the medium- or longer-term plan could well be to try Gattis at the hot corner.

And before y'all laugh (or wince, or cry, or whatever), part of the benefit of having a late-blooming bat without a position is the number of flexible options that are available.  Which Jeff Sullivan points out in this post.  According to Sullivan, the flexibility does not extend just to positions, but to various other permutations and combinations, including the possibility of future trades of Gattis, trades of other players, and so forth.  With a very secretive Astros front office, who knows whether this trade exists as a one-off, or whether it is part of a Padres-style rebuild, where multiple prospects are combined to mail off to rebuilding teams in exchange for Major League pieces.

Anyhow, before we get too wordy, lets look at the pieces coming the way of the Astros.  As mentioned above, James Hoyt is an older righty reliever with a fastball-slider combination.  He finished 2014 in AAA Gwinnett in the International League with a 5.46 ERA over 24 appearances and 28 innings, sporting a 2.43 K/BB ratio.  He was the most hittable in those 28 innings in AAA than before in his career by a long shot (12.2 H/9, next highest 8.2 in independant ball in 2011), and was also the most homer-prone (1.3 HR/9), again the highest of his career (1.0 HR/9, again in independent ball in 2011).  

In between, he has been pretty decent for an older prospect - he finished 2013 in AA Mississippi for the first time, throwing 32.2 innings with a 2.48 ERA, 2.54 K/BB, 4.7 H/9 and 0.3 HR/9.  Pretty decent figures - possibly prone to regression one would think - but then he backed that up with a better AA campaign in the early part of 2014: 1.14 ERA in 31.2IP, 4.3 K/BB, 5.4 H/9, 0.3 HR/9.  His career K/9 is 11.7 against a 4.4 BB/9 (but that includes independent ball and the Mexican Leagues), with his AA figures the most impressive from a ratio perspective (10.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9).  These rates have been remarkably consistent across all levels.

But, of course, the prize of this deal is Evan Gattis, who is 28 and stands 6-4.  His major league career triple-slash is a robust .253/.304/.487, and given his unusual path to the majors, it could be argued that he has not yet reached his ceiling.  This argument would be advanced on the basis that he was working on ski-lifts rather than taking baseball hacks in cages for a few years, and therefore has seen less in the way of repetitions than most players his age.  

Gattis possesses mild platoon splits (.241/.297/.469 against righties versus .295/.328/.548 against lefties), and interesting has played better at the Ted than on the road (.828 OPS versus .759).  He also seems to hit better prior to the All Star Break (.888 first half OPS versus .675 second half), so again there is potential for improvement there.  Time behind the dish will not help that much, but I doubt that the Astros plan to stash him there unless it is an emergency.  

So I would think that the Astros see Gattis at worthy of acquiring not only because of his current play, but also because of what he may become if things all break right.  His talent with the bat is undeniable, and if there is a controllable and available player in the Majors right now that sending away two legit prospects and a lottery ticket is worth a flier on, then Gattis is likely the guy.

But the major reason that I like this trade is what it represents.  This is another sign that the Astros have moved on from the talent acquisition phase of the rebuild to the talent accumulation phase of the rebuild.  This is now about trading multiple guys for talent - like they did with Fowler last year.  Contrast this to the Red Sox, who have multiple useful slightly-above-replacement-level players, but nowhere to stash them all.  They only have room for three outfielders, after all, and by my count, they have six or seven of them all likely to be needing at-bats in the upcoming season.

Finally, remember the ZiPS projection for the Astros in 2015??  There is one donut sitting there in left field, right beside Robbie Grossman's name.  Well, scratch that out and put whatever projection you think Gattis will be worth this year.  ZiPS says 2, Steamer says 1.2, but I am happy to take the "over" on both of those.  Mostly, because neither Steamer nor ZiPS have seen an Evan Gattis before, and they are likely underselling him on the basis of his late arrival to professional baseball, and his likely move out from behind the plate.  

Over the next few days, unless one of the other AC writers beats be to it, I may examine the guys going to Atlanta.  But I also think that (Not Hank) covers that one really well, so I doubt I will add much insight to what he has already said.  Which was: Folty seems hittable but has tools, Ruiz has hit but scouts see potential for problems, and Thurman looks like a throw-in at this point.

Feel free to discuss further below.

Astros Get Gattis, Lose Folty, Ruiz and Thurman

The Astros of old, constantly trading away assets to stockpile depth, are done. The new Astros are using that depth to improve the big club. Unconfirmed reports are flying that the Astros are nearing a deal to bring Evan Gattis to Houston in exchange for Mike Foltynewicz, Rio Ruiz and Andrew Thurman.

Evan Gattis has a unique back story, which you can read here. He really brings one key asset to the team, and that is power. In his first two years in the majors, he has totaled 43 home runs, with a .487 slugging percentage and a .234 ISO. He played catcher the last two years, but the Astros obviously don't need anymore of those, so I expect he'll play LF/1B/DH. He certainly won't help the outfield defense, but the hope is he will hit well enough to make up for it. He certainly did in the first half of last year, putting up a .290/.342/.558 line, good for a 149 wRC+. He stumbled in the second half, but that could have been the result of some back troubles, which is hopefully behind him. Although he is the most established name in the deal, he is still under club control until 2019. 

The Astros gave up...a lot. Mike Foltynewicz, Rio Ruiz and Andrew Thurman. I get the rational behind each, though. For as fast as Foltynewicz throws the ball, he has proven very hittable, with a 5.08 ERA in AAA and a 5.30 ERA as a reliever in the majors. The hope is that he can improve his secondary stuff and command, and become either a middle rotation starter or a shutdown reliever, but right now he is mostly just dreams. Rio Ruiz could end up being the biggest piece, as had a good showing at Hi-A last year. It's clear the Astros had him behind Moran, and he was most likely three years away. Still, if he lives up to his full potential, it could hurt. Andrew Thurman has been a major disappointment, but is still young enough to turn his career around.

If the Astros can find a position for Gattis and he puts up big offensive numbers in a park that seems perfect for him, this deal will be a positive for the Astros. They traded from areas of depth, and got back a major league asset. This, more that anything that has happened before it, signals that the Astros are entering a new phase of development. We will see whether Luhnow can pull of this stage over the next few years. 

PreStros Morning Report: June 8

TL;DR

*Affiliates go 3-2 on the day for a composite 139-114 record
*OKC wins 4-3 at Omaha behind Jake Buchanan's strong start and Matt Duffy's two-run homer
*Corpus turns a 5-1 lead into a 6-5 loss to San Antonio
*Lancaster battles back, but loses to Visalia in extra innings
*Quad Cities wins both sides of a double-header

Oklahoma City (34-30)

OKC never trailed at Omaha, winning 4-3 to keep pace with the Iowa Cubs for the division lead. Jake Buchanan allowed 9H/3ER, 2K:0BB with a WP/HBP combo in seven efficient IP (80 pitches, 57 for strikes). Alex White gave up 2H/0ER, 1K:0BB in 1IP and Josh Zeid had 1K:1BB in 1IP.

Ronny Torreyes, Max Stassi (2B), and Joe Sclafani (RBI) had two hits each. Enrique Hernandez had a hit, a walk, stolen base, and two outfield assists. Matt Duffy hit his first Triple-A homer while Domingo Santana added an RBI.

Man of the Match: Jake Buchanan

Corpus (31-31)

The Hooks had a 5-1 lead heading into the 6th, which became a 5-3 lead heading into the 7th, which turned into a 6-5 loss to San Antonio by the end of the 9th. Tommy Shirley allowed 6H/4ER, 6K:0BB in 6IP and Richard Rodriguez gave up 4H/2ER, 2K:0BB in 3IP for the BS/L.

Carlos Perdomo was 3x4 with a walk and an RBI; Ruben Sosa was 2x5 with three stolen bases and an RBI; Nolan Fontana was 0x2 with 3BB and a stolen base; Jonathan Meyer was 1x2 with an RBI and 2BB. Preston Tucker was 1x5 with a double and 2RBI; Jio Mier was 1x4 with a double and a stolen base. Andrew Aplin had a walk and a stolen base.

Man of the Match: Carlos Perdomo

Lancaster (41-24)

Lancaster had an early 3-0 lead, but gave it back in the bottom of the 2nd, clawed their way back to tie it at 5-5, but Visalia put together a few hits in the bottom of the 10th for a walk-off 6-5 win over Lancaster. Lance McCullers allowed 10H/5R (4ER), 4K:1BB; Kent Emanuel gave up 5H/0ER, 3K:1BB in 4IP; Juan Minaya allowed 4H/1ER, 2K:1BB in 1.2IP and Mitchell Lambson allowed the walk-off hit.

Carlos Correa was 3x5 with a double, walk, a stolen base (his 20th) and an RBI and should really just be in Corpus in time for the June 10th game at Minute Maid Park. Teoscar Hernandez was 2x5 with a double, walk, and an RBI; Jobduan Morales was 2x3 with a double, two walks, and 2RBI. Tanner Mathis was 1x3 with two walks in his Lancaster debut. Rio Ruiz and Jordan Scott added a double and a walk.

Man of the Match: Carlos Correa

Quad Cities (33-29)

Since Saturday's game was postponed due to rain, Quad Cities and Peoria played a double-header on Sunday.

Game 1: Quad Cities got two in the bottom of the 6th for a 3-1 win. Kevin Comer allowed 2H/0ER, 3K:4BB in 3.1IP; Andrew Walter allowed 1H/1ER, 2K:0BB in 2.2IP; and Frederick Tiburcio got the save with a perfect 7th inning. The River Bandits got their three runs on three hits and seven walks. Thomas Lindauer was 1x3 with a two-run double. James Ramsay and Tyler White (RBI) had a double and a walk.

Man of the Match: Thomas Lindauer

Game 2: A big 3-run 6th inning pushed Quad Cities past Peoria for the sweep in a 4-2 win. Andrew Thurman allowed 4H/2ER, 2K:1BB in 6IP; Tyler Brunnemann threw a perfect 7th inning for the save. Jon Kemmer (3B) and Jose Fernandez (3RBI) had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Andrew Thurman

Operation Shutdown begins

The Astros have shut down three top pitching prospects for the season: Mark Appel, Andrew Thurman, and Lance McCullers, Jr.

Appel - between Stanford, Tri-City and Quad Cities - has thrown 144.1IP. Thurman threw 100.1IP for UC-Irvine and 39.2IP at Tri-City, and remember that their seasons started back in February. McCullers threw 104.2IP for Quad Cities this season, a year after throwing 26IP between the GCL and Greeneville, and 77IP for Jesuit High School in Tampa, FL.

PreStros Morning Report: July 28

Oklahoma City (59-50), 2.0 GB

OKC never trailed in their game against Iowa, but they needed the two-run homer from George Springer to win 4-3. Asher Wojciechowski threw 6IP, 6H/2ER, 2K:0BB; Phil Humber and Jorge De Leon threw scoreless innings and Josh Zeid recorded his 13th save of the season, despite giving up 2H/1ER in the 9th.

Springer was 2x4 with the aforementioned two-run homer, his 10th at OKC and his 29th overall, leaving him one homer short of a 30-30 season. Jimmy Paredes (SB) and Marwin Gonzalez (2B, RBI) added two hits, and Jon Homerton hit his 4th homer for OKC, going 1x3 to raise his average to .196.

Man of the Match: George Springer

Corpus (22-15, tied), 64-43 overall

Corpus put up a three-spot in the 1st inning on their way to a 5-2 win at Midland. Ruben Alaniz allowed just two earned runs, despite giving up six hits, four walks and two wild pitches in 6IP; Carlos Quevedo (2IP, 2H) and Andrew Robinson (1IP) threw scoreless outings.

Rene Garcia (RBI) and Jonathan Meyer (2B, RBI) had two hits each; Jio Mier was 1x2 with two walks. Domingo Santana hit his 17th homer of the season.

Man of the Match: Nobody in particular!

Lancaster (23-15, 2.0 up), 62-46 overall

Crazy game at Rancho Cucamonga. The JetHawks let a 3-0 lead turn into a 5-3 deficit in the 5th, then a 7-4 deficit after six, a 9-7 deficit after seven. They tied it up at 9-9 in the 8th, took a 10-9 lead in the 9th, and lost the game in the bottom of the 9th 11-10. Luis Cruz allowed 7H/5ER, 6K:1BB in 5IP; Tyson Perez (3H, 2BB in 0.1IP) and Kenny Long (2H, 1BB in 1.2IP) allowed two earned runs each; Blair Walters struck out the side in the 8th and Travis Ballew took the BS/L (the "Brandon Lyon") allowing 2H/2ER, 1K:1BB in 0.2IP.

Delino DeShields was 3x4 with a triple, homer and 5RBI while Chris Epps added three hits and an RBI; Joe Sclafani was 2x4 with a double, triple, and 2RBI.

Man of the Match: Delino DeShields

Quad Cities (19-15, 4.5 GB), 57-46 overall

Quad Cities had a 5-0 lead before Beloit ever came to the plate, and won comfortably, 9-1. Joe Bircher threw 7IP, 3H/0ER, 2K:2BB; Mitchell Lambson allowed 4H/1ER, 2K:0BB to close it out.

Teoscar Hernandez (2B, HR, RBI) and Rio Ruiz (2B, 3RBI) had three hits each; Carlos Correa (2B, 2RBI), Dan Gulbransen (2B, BB, RBI) and Terrell Joyce (two 2B, 2RBI) had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Joe Bircher

Tri-City (26-15), 3.0 up

Connecticut got runs in three separate innings and held Tri-City to four hits in a 3-0 win at The Joe. Andrew Thurman took the hard luck loss, allowing 6H/2ER, 4K:1BB in 5IP; Richard Rodriguez gave up 3H/1ER in 1IP and Michael Feliz struck out four in three scoreless innings.

Tony Kemp (2B) and Brett Booth (2B) accounted for all four hits.

Man of the Match: Andrew Thurman

Greeneville (24-12), 2.0 up

And so, a new win streak starts! Greeneville scored the final ten runs of the game in a 10-1 win over Pulaski. Jandel Gustave held Pulaski to 1H/1ER (yeah, but with 4K:6BB) in 5IP; Chris Munnelly got his first pro win with 3IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:1BB; Krishawn Holley allowed 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB in 1IP.

Tanner Mathis (2B, 2RBI), Brett Phillips (BB), Chase McDonald (2B, 2BB, 2RBI), Brian Holberton (HR, 2RBI), Juan Santana (RBI) and Thomas Lindauer (2B, RBI) all had two hits each. Tyler White was 1x3 with a walk and 2RBI.

Man of th eMatch: Chase McDonald

GCL Astros (14-16), 5.5 GB

Off.

PreStros Morning Report: July 23

Oklahoma City (55-49), 4.0 GB

Game 1 was the completion of a game suspended by rain on June 8, and it turns out that Omaha won on a walk-off in the 11th inning, 4-3. And the box score is bizarre, since so many moves have happened since then. Ross Seaton got the start, I guess, allowing 3H/1ER, 0K:1BB only recording the first two outs of the game. Asher Wojciechowski pitched the next 7.1IP, allowing 7H/1ER, 2K:2BB. Josh Zeid blew the save opportunity with a hit, three walks, and a run in 1.2IP. Alex Sogard took the loss with 2H/1ER, 1K:1BB in the 11th.

Jimmy Paredes hit a three-run homer in the 5th for all the RedHawks' runs.

Man of the Match: Asher Wojciechowki

Game 2 saw another Omaha walk-off victory, this time because of Rhiner Cruz and two runs in the bottom of the 7th (doubleheader rules, remember) leading to a 3-2 Omaha win. Bobby Doran allowed 5H/1ER, 2K:1BB in 5.1IP; Eric Berger struck out two in a scoreless inning, and Rhiner Cruz allowed 2H/2ER, 0K:1BB, WP for the BS/L.

Robbie Grossman was 2x4 with a double and a stolen base; Brandon Laird had two hits, and Marwin Gonzalez, Jimmy Paredes (SB), and Ruben Sosa provided your other hits. Jon Singleton was 0x2 with a walk to lower his AVG to .202.

Man of the Match: Bobby Doran

Corpus (16-15), 2.5 GB

Holy crap. San Antonio out-hit the Hooks 20-4 in an 11-3 beatdown of Corpus. Let's see: Ruben Alaniz allowed 7H/3ER, 2K:3BB in 5IP; Theron Geith made his Double-A debut and allowed 4H/3ER, 0K:1BB in 1IP; Carlos Quevedo was the only reliever to not allow any runs; Sergio Escalona (4H/2ER) and Pat Urckfitz (3H/3R - 2ER) threw one ineffective inning each.

Ronald Torreyes, Jonathan Meyer, Drew Muren (RBI), and Michael Burgess (RBI) had your hits - all singles. Michael Burgess also had two outfield assists, nailing runners from left field at second base.

Man of the Match: Michael Burgess.

Lancaster (21-12), 3.0 up

The JetHawks overcame a 4-2 deficit by scoring the last five runs of the game in a 7-4 win over 62-41 San Jose. Luis Cruz allowed 6H/4ER, 6K:0BB in 7IP; Jonas Dufek walked two in 1IP and Kenny Long got the save in his first game back at Lancaster to preserve his 0.00 High-A ERA.

Delino DeShields (2B), Nolan Fontana (2B, RBI), Andrew Aplin (BB, SB, 2RBI), Joe Sclafani (2B), Brandon Meredith (2B, BB, RBI) and Chris Epps (2B, SB, 2RBI) had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Andrew Aplin.

Quad Cities

Off.

Tri-City (24-12), 3.5 up

Down 4-1 heading into the 9th, Tri-City got two runs to bring the game to 4-3, but left the tying run on 1st to lose to Hudson Valley. Michael Feliz allowed 5H/2ER, 3K:2BB in 5IP; 2nd Round pick Andrew Thurman threw 2.1IP, allowing 3H/2ER but getting six of his seven outs via strikeouts. Pat Christensen got the final two outs.

Tony Kemp (2B), James Ramsay (two 9th inning RBI) and Conrad Gregor (RBI) had two hits each. Ryan Dineen had a hit and a walk.

Man of the Match: Andrew Thurman

Greeneville (21-10), 3.5 up

Greeneville ran their win streak to eleven with a 5-4 win over Johnson City, withstanding a late Johnson City Johnsons* charge. Jordan Mills allowed just 4H/1ER, 5K:0BB in 5IP; Austin Chrismon gave up 2H/3ER, 3K:1BB in 3IP, and Gonzalo Sanudo recorded his 6th save of the year.

Tanner Mathis was 2x3 with a walk; Ariel Ovando (2B, BB, RBI) and Juan Santana (SB, RBI) had a hit and a walk each.

Man of the Match: Jordan Mills

*not their actual name

GCL Astros (14-13), 3.0 GB

The GCL Blue Jays had a 6-0 lead before the GCL Astros got a run and that's how it ended, with a 6-1 loss. Agapito Barrios allowed 2H/1ER, 4K:2BB, WP, Balk, HBP in 5IP; Reymin Guduan gave up 2H/2ER in 1.2IP; Jorge Perez allowed 3H/3ER, 1K:1BB in 0.1IP and Zach Dando closed it out with 1H in 1IP.

Mesac Laguna was 2x4 with an RBI; Jacob Nottingham was 0x2, but with a walk and an HBP and scored the lone run of the game.

Man of the Match: Mesac Laguna

Signings update

Okay, so there was a decent amount of news last night regarding draft signings courtesy of Brian McTaggart.

Mark Appel: Not signed, but fully engaged in talks. Luhnow hopes to sign him this week.

Andrew Thurman: The 2nd Round pick signed for full slot value ($1,397,200) and will report to Tri-City.

The Astros also signed 28th Round pick Jordan Mills, 30th Round pick Jorge Perez, 33rd Round pick Tyler White, and 36th Round pick J.D. Osborne.

And, thanks to Dustin on Twitter, we find that the Astros have signed undrafted free agents Brett Clements and Kevin Ferguson.

Clements, a catcher out of Nova Southeastern University (J.D. Martinez's alma mater), is 5'9" 180lbs and hit .292/.400/.359 with 22K:24BB for the Sharks in 2013, starting 42 of 46 games and committing two errors.

Kevin Ferguson is a pitcher from Northeastern University and led the Huskies in wins (seven), IP (104.1IP), and ERA (2.59). In 104.1IP, Ferguson allowed 90H/30ER, 93K:28BB and a .231 BAA.

2nd Round pick Andrew Thurman to sign

2-40 pick Andrew Thurman agreed to terms with the Astros today and will sign his contract on Monday (Tri-City's opening day), according to MLB.com.


Thurman:
It’s what I’ve always been working towards. It’s been my dream since I was a little kid to play professional baseball. It’s kind of a surreal feeling, but I still have to work hard. That part of me hasn’t gone anywhere.

Mark Berman says Thurman will fly to Minute Maid on Sunday for a physical, signing on Monday with a press conference, and flying out to Tri-City on Tuesday.

Slot for the 2-40 pick is $1,397,200, though the details of the contract are not yet known.

Thurman responds to his 2-40

The Daily Pilot has some reaction from 2-40 pick Andrew Thurman.

I'm completely excited and felt very blessed to be picked by [the Astros]. Playing at UCI was the best time of my life. I'm very thankful for not only the baseball aspects – for the coaches and players, some are my best friends – but also the great school. I enjoyed my time there...I'm looking forward to be able to play for them and to give them everything I have. I'm really looking forward to going out and playing.

Yeah, given that he's talking about his college in past tense? This kid's gonna sign. 

2-40: Andrew Thurman

With the 1st pick of the 2nd Round (40th overall), the Astros select 6'3" 195lb Andrew Thurman, a Junior RHP from UC-Irvine. 

Thurman threw 100.1IP, allowing 85H/36ER, 91K:19BB and a .234 BAA for UC-Irvine in 2013. 

UC-Irvine's head baseball coach Mike Gillespie:

“I think it’s fair to say he’s made progression all along the way...I suppose the thing people notice most is that the velocity has jumped up over time, but he’s an adult. He’s a very mature, classy kid, so he’s never been a guy that’s been rattled...He’s always been a guy that has (had) a three-pitch mix and he continues to do that, and he benefits from that, even though the velocity is quite good. You’ve got to do those things to win, that’s for sure. But the one thing that jumps out, particularly to the pro guys that are following him, is the velocity.”

Thurman has a 95mph fastball, with "an extensive repertoire of breaking balls and cutting fastballs." His number - which he calls "Dirty Thirty" is inspired by Nolan Ryan. This Crawfish Boxes report compares his command to Nick Tropeano. 

Last summer, Thurman pitched for Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League, where he struck out 49 batters in 39IP, allowing 35H/14ER. 

Thurman was 45th on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list. Hey, he was the May 28, 2013 ESPN Anteater of the Week! He's also a Political Science major and a member of the National Honors Society. 

You can watch Keith Law talk about Andrew Thurman here. Law calls him "one of the more polished college pitchers in this draft class...with the ability to command everything he throws," and had him between picks 16-30.