Round 16, Pick 496: Dexter Jordan, 2B, Pearl River Community College .284/.389/.649, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 53 R, 29 BB, 51 K, 8 SB (1 CS), 1.038 OPS Originally committed to Louisiana-Lafayette but decided to take the JUCO route.
Round 17, Pick 526: Danny Cody, RHP, Baldwin Wallace Cody comes from a Division III school in Ohio. 15 appearances (13 starts), 9-1, 1.89 ERA, 85.2 IP, 64 H (7 HR allowed), 30 R (18 ER), 30 BB, 109 K, 1.09 WHIP,
Round 18, Pick 556: Justin Campbell, RHP, Simi Valley High School, Simi Valley, California Campbell is committed to Tulane.
Not really breaking news, but it's becoming insanely obvious that analytics don't look favorably upon high schoolers.
Round 19, Pick 586: Tyler Krabbe, C, Montevallo Montevallo is a Division II school in Alabama. Definitely a bat-first player. .337/.395/.708, 17 HR, 65 RBI, 44 R, 14 BB, 39 K, 1 SB (1 CS), 25 SB allowed (8 CS)
There will be a break following the 20th round. Round 20, Pick 616: Alex Palmer, RHP, Stephen F. Austin 15 starts, 7-6, 2.27 ERA, 107 IP, 70 H (8 HR allowed), 31 R (27 ER), 31 BB, 109 K, 0.94 WHIP, .188 opponent average
My guess is that one of the conclusions that came out of their analytics staffs is that LHP have a consistently higher fail rate than similarly drafted RHP out of the draft. It's a simple numbers game related to how these kids are drafted. If 90% of the population is right-handed, yet RHP are getting drafted only as 60-70% of all pitchers, then that means the scouts or GM's that are grading these kids are giving the LHP a big boost in score just for being left-handed. Sure, there's a perceived physical advantage that left-handers have when pitching to certain left-handed batters with big holes in their swings, but generally that advantage is outweighed by the fact that they are less good at baseball than comparable RHP you can draft in the same spots. It's the same reason why Morey crunched his numbers and decided against drafting taller players. Yeah, there's a physical advantage to being taller, but you're also narrowing your draft pool down so much that you're less likely to get players who actually have basketball skills. Another analogy is synthetically giving blondes a boost over brunettes. What if the brunette is just better at life?
The pitching prospects in this draft were not very good in the first 4-5 rounds. Even in the later rounds the overall quality isn’t great but There are good relievers and some guys that haven’t pitched at big programs or have some warts that could really turn out well.
Not especially. I have always believed the lefty/righty distinction has largely gone away as a lot of guys are facing both early and can hit both. At the end of the day, all the Astros care about is if you will be able to get guys out at the big league level.
Round 21, Pick 646: Davis Vainer, RHP, Alabama 17 relief appearances, 1-1, 3.34 ERA, 29.2 IP, 18 H (3 HR allowed), 12 R (11 ER), 21 BB, 43 K, 1.34 WHIP, .173 opponent average
Agreed that LHP has been given a huge handicap and are perceived to be more valuable than righties. Thats why hinch brought in Guduan with the bases juiced last night for the lefty on lefty matchup, even though he blows a fat one. Luhnow has hit on a good point, that lefties shouldnt be added just because we dont have any, but if you hit in the draft with a lefty that is top of his class, then youve found a unicorn. I dont think Joey Dorsey would look very good as a blonde.
The Astros love JUCO and CC kids as excellent value. That is just hard work not rocket science. Scouting almost every amateur route.
