I'm convinced the Astros are going Hunter Virant with pick #61. Seems like the Astros are just going down the Perfect Game rosters and plucking the best players. http://www.perfectgame.org/allamerican/Roster/Default.aspx
Nolan Fontana Player Bio from Florida Athletics Site 2012 Stats: 62 games played, .294 AVG, 10 2B, 3B, 9 HR, 30 RBI, .465 SLG, .414 OBP, 13 SB (14 attempts), 46 BB, 25 K Perfect Game:
Can't say I'm thrilled with this pick. Between Lowrie, Altuve, Villar, Paredes, Mier, Correa, and DD we already have a backlog of potential middle infielders. Mier was off to a really good start this year before the injury. I have to think a position change is coming for a few of these guys. Possibly DD moves back to CF, Paredes back to third and one of the SS over to second.
Gator, great defensively, well-developed college player, very Caucasian name. The Astros just drafted Chandler Parsons.
I've literally never seen the guy - but after reading this scouting report, I would bet $1 trillion dollars he's white and undersized. This literally reads like David Eckstein's autobiography: "He led his team in scrappy and uniform-dirt-accumulation and willed victories despite not being very good at doing "baseball" things, like hitting, fielding - blah, blah, blah - HEART HAS NO BATTING AVERAGE!!!"
This guy is a SS, no if ands or buts about it. He a classic slick fielder, hope they hit enough Adam Everett type. It just seems there is still too much talent this early to go after a type of player that is fairly easy to attain. I'm starting to give Luhnow the benefit of the doubt.
Gotta go BPA no matter what in baseball. The hit rate is pretty low, and it's easy to trade prospects for other prospects at positions of need when the time comes. But for now you just grab the best talent available, and when you become contenders or have a huge bottleneck you maneuver. Edit: that being said, I know nothing about the guy. Just saying that we shouldn't avoid SS just because we have Lowrie and drafted Correa.
A lot of the high end talent left is HS talent. Problem with that is if they don't want 2nd round money they just go to JC or university to improve their stock. I think you see ALOT of college players from this point on.
It seems a bit repetetive... but it could also speak of how confident they are with.mccullers... i really thought they would take another pitcher...
You have to think beyond talent in some of these rounds and just how he fits in the overall budget. Fontana, while being on multiple Top 100 lists, could sign for much less than his slot value. If you take a chance on someone who might not sign with these early rounds, you not only lose the pick but you lose the slot value from the bonus pool. Drafting these type of guys later has less risk in terms of your budget.
It'll def be interesting to see how things play out but technically Lowrie and Altuve are the only proven at the big league level so you can't have enough depth. Don't be surprised if Lowrie is traded for some kind of prospect if this team keeps struggling and he keeps hitting. He's 28, injury prone, and more of a really good stop-gap for about 3-4 yrs until CC or Villar are ready to take over. JioMier could be the odd man out which hurts based on where he was drafted. I do think Paredes should have stayed at 3b because the farm system is absolutely barren there and has been for some time.
Brady Rodgers Bio from Arizona State Athletics This year: 10-3, 2.27 ERA. 15 starts, 3 CG, 115 IP, 94 H, 36 R (29 ER), 16 BB, 79 K, .225 average against Right-handed Dallas Keuchel?
From ASU's bio page- " His career ERA of 2.39 in 286 total innings puts him second on the school's career "Best Earned Run Average" list behind Floyd Bannister (74-76), who had a 1.88 ERA in 396.2 innings pitched..." Just sayin...
129th - Rio Ruiz, 3B, HS [rquoter]He's from SoCal. He hits left-handed. It's not a real shock Ruiz gets Eric Chavez comps. Unfortunately for Ruiz, he became even more similar to the oft-injured Chavez in March when he had to undergo a procedure to break up a blood clot near his clavicle by his right shoulder.Ruiz has the tools to be an everyday Major League third baseman. He has a terrific left-handed swing, a short stroke with good bat speed. He makes consistent hard contact and there's more than enough loft and leverage for him to have good power at the next level. He's a solid, instinctive defender at third, with good lateral movement and a strong arm.Ruiz doesn't run well, but given his other skills, that doesn't matter so much. He doesn't need to run if he's going to develop into a run-producing third baseman as a professional. That potential should put him in many beginning-of-the-Draft conversations.[/rquoter]
[Captain Obvious] Ruiz would have been long gone if a blood clot in his leg hadn't formed.[/Captain Obvious]
Jeff Luhnow.... <a href="http://www.gifbin.com/981790"><img src="http://gifs.gifbin.com/sw8035sw753.gif" alt="funny gifs" /></a>
