Can lump him into the "2018 is a make-or-break year" group as well. It's a little hard to believe that next year will be his age-23 season.
Goldstein and Elias both like him a lot. He had a lot going on this past season. He had issues with the cultural differences, he tipped his pitches early in the year and his mechanics were being modified. The expectations/hopes were he would be in the big leagues by 2018. I don’t think have soured on him though because his struggles were reasonable and can be fixed. He has been open to making mechanical changes and stopped tipping pitches as the season progressed. He is hard to project because he is capable of shooting through the minors in a few months if he clicks. Had he had a strong season last year I think he would have been firmly in the top 100. I would expect the Astros to like him higher than most trade publications or lists have him ranked. For no other reason that he has a decent chance of becoming a leverage reliever or more than a #4-5 starter.
I doubt it. They’re going to develop him as a starter for as long as possible. He will probably start out in the AA rotation. With good results he will be in AAA by July and in line for a September callup depending on how Houston’s season goes. Of course his presence on the 40 man means that there’s always a chance of a rash of injuries necessitating calling him up before he’s ready. I think they will address their bullpen needs fully this offseason so hopefully there won’t be the need for a lefty reliever.
Entire article is free. Spoiler 1. Forrest Whitley 2. Kyle Tucker 3. J.B. Bukauskas 4. Yordan Alvarez 5. Rogelio Armenteros 6. Jonathan Arauz 7. Gilberto Celestino 8. David Paulino 9. Colin Moran 10. Corbin Martin Next 10 J.D. Davis Carlos Machado Freudis Nova Cionel Perez Hector Perez Nathan Perry Patrick Sandoval Jairo Solis Myles Straw Garrett Stubbs Friends in Low Places (sleeper): J.J. Matijevic Second Opinion: David Paulino is not a top-10 prospect in this system
That’s way too high for Arauz. Interesting that they have Machado, Perry, Sandoval, and Solis in the Top 20; I doubt any other major publication will have any of those guys ranked that high.
Scouts really love Arauz, and keep assuming that at some point he will put it all together and bust out. I haven't seen anything that impresses me, but I have only seen him a couple times and he is still 19 I think.
I just don’t see how he has a high enough ceiling. He’s small, has zero present power, and his arm isn’t strong enough for him to profile as an elite defensive SS, nor does he have elite speed. To now his only redeeming qualities are his glove work, his youth, and his ability to make contact. I like him enough as a prospect and future utility guy, but just don’t see how on earth he’s justified above the other high ceiling prospects in Houston’s system.
Good read on the top starting pitchers in the Astros minor leagues: Astros MiLB Position Review: Starting Pitching
Good read on the top relief pitchers in the Astros minor leagues: Astros MiLB Position Review: Relief Pitching
37 players have been released from the Astros' system over the last few days. Most of the transactions were posted on Wednesday. All organizational guys... probably the most notable cut (relatively speaking) was Joan Mauricio, a Dominican SS who got a $600K bonus in the 2013 IFA period. Released from DSL LHP Carlos Perdomo OF Euclides Chavez RHP Nathanael Ventura OF Fildex Perfecto 1B Anthony Rodriguez RHP Kilvio Peralta RHP Jean Reyes RHP Christopher Javier RHP Angel Matos RHP Mauricio Santana RHP Yulian Frontado RHP Miguel Matos RHP Gustavo Almonte Released from GCL RHP Diosward Gonzalez RHP Saul Martinez OF Vicente Sanchez RHP Carlos Pimentel - 2017 NDFA (University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma); placed on restricted list November 17 LHP Austin Kerns - 2017 NDFA (OU) C Ihan Bernal Released from Greeneville RHP Johsson Arias OF Frankeny Fernandez - signed for $200K in 2013 SS Joan Mauricio - signed for $600K in 2013 RHP Jheyson Caraballo OF Reid Russell - 33rd round pick in 2017 draft (Lamar) LHP Yhoan Acosta Released from Tri-City RHP Reggie Johnson LHP Ben Smith - recovering from Tommy John surgery when drafted and then was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma C Bernardo Heras LHP Luis Ramirez RHP Diogenes Almengo RHP Ricardo Castro Released from Quad Cities LHP Devon Carr RHP Enrique Chavez - Did not play in 2017 RHP Lucas Williams Released from Buies Creek RHP Devin Raftery RHP Ryan Deemes
I was really rooting for Ben Smith. He had overcome so much already and succeeding as a pro baseball player would have been so sweet.
One name that will always stick with me because he was an Astro my first year as a fan..the incomparable Andy Stankiewicz. I was always partial to Heathcliff Slocumb also.
These are all of the players who have departed the Astros system in the last couple of weeks. Released from DSL LHP Carlos Perdomo OF Euclides Chavez RHP Nathanael Ventura OF Fildex Perfecto 1B Anthony Rodriguez RHP Kilvio Peralta RHP Jean Reyes RHP Christopher Javier RHP Angel Matos RHP Mauricio Santana RHP Yulian Frontado RHP Miguel Matos RHP Gustavo Almonte RHP Jesus Bernaez 1B Michael Garcia 2B Samir Caraballo RHP Jonger Ochoa C Freddy Chirino OF Renaigel Martis RHP Renny Ugarte OF Luis Coronel Released from GCL RHP Diosward Gonzalez RHP Saul Martinez OF Vicente Sanchez RHP Carlos Pimentel - 2017 NDFA (University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma); placed on restricted list November 17 due to positive PED test LHP Austin Kerns - 2017 NDFA (OU) C Ihan Bernal Released from Greeneville RHP Johsson Arias OF Frankeny Fernandez - signed for $200K in 2013 SS Joan Mauricio - signed for $600K in 2013 RHP Jheyson Caraballo OF Reid Russell - 33rd round pick in 2017 draft (Lamar) LHP Yhoan Acosta Released from Tri-City RHP Reggie Johnson - 2016 NDFA (Hampden-Sydney College) LHP Ben Smith - recovering from Tommy John surgery when drafted and then was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma C Bernardo Heras LHP Luis Ramirez RHP Diogenes Almengo RHP Ricardo Castro Released from Quad Cities LHP Devon Carr - 2016 NDFA (Florida Atlantic) RHP Enrique Chavez - Did not play in 2017 RHP Lucas Williams - 40th round pick, 2016 (Central Missouri) Released from Buies Creek RHP Devin Raftery - 2016 NDFA (Nova Southeastern) RHP Ryan Deemes - 36th round pick, 2015 (Nicholls State) Retired C Trent Woodward Woodward was the Astros' 20th-round pick out of Fresno State in 2014; he spent most of 2017 with Corpus Christi, with stops in Fresno and a rehab assignment in the GCL.
