Here are the 40 newest members of the Houston Astros family. Congratulations to the Houston Astros draft class of 2013!!! To avoid this getting buried in the main draft thread, I decided to put all news pertaining to these guys in a new thread. All such news will go here. If they intend to sign, if they intend to go to college or stay there, it'll be here. Also, bonuses and assignments will be listed once I get a hold of that information. Please correct me if you notice any errors. Bold = signed, or has indicated that he will sign Italics = will not sign, or has indicated that he is unlikely to sign 1st Round: Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford (SR) 2nd Round: Andrew Thurman, RHP, UC-Irvine (JR) 3rd Round: Kent Emanuel, LHP, North Carolina (JR) 4th Round: Conrad Gregor, 1B, Vanderbilt (JR) 5th Round: Tony Kemp, 2B, Vanderbilt (JR) 6th Round: Jake Nottingham, C, Redlands HS, Redlands, CA (committed to Oklahoma) (???) 7th Round: James Ramsay, CF, South Florida (JR); to Tri-City 8th Round: Jason Martin, CF, Orange Lutheran HS, Orange, CA (committed to Long Beach State); in a Twitter conversation with Yankees 4th-round pick Tyler Wade, he says he's going to Kissimmee, which probably means he'll be with the GCL club. 9th Round: Brian Holberton, C, North Carolina (JR) 10th Round: Austin Nicely, LHP, Spotswood HS, Grottoes, VA (committed to Virginia) 11th Round: Devonte German, RHP, Bishop Manogue HS, Reno, NV (committed to Nevada) 12th Round: Chase McDonald, 1B, East Carolina (JR) 13th Round: Kyle Westwood, LHP, North Florida (SR) 14th Round: Chris Cotton, LHP, LSU (SR) 15th Round: James Farris, RHP, Arizona (JR) 16th Round: Dillon Newman, RHP, Baylor (JR) 17th Round: Alex Schick, RHP, Cathedral Catholic HS, San Diego (committed to Cal) 18th Round: Adam Nelubowich, 3B, Washington State (RS JR) 19th Round: Jake Rodriguez, C, Oregon State (JR) 20th Round: Daniel Pinero, SS, Western Technical-Commercial School, Toronto (committed to Virginia) 21st Round: Jon Kemmer, LF, Brewton-Parker College (Georgia); says he's heading to Tri-City 22nd Round: Sebastian Kessay, LHP, Scottsdale CC (Arizona) (2nd-year JUCO) 23rd Round: Thomas Lindauer, SS, Illinois (JR); says he's heading to Tri-City 24th Round: Nathan Thornhill, RHP, UT (JR) 25th Round: Albert Minnis, LHP, Wichita State (JR) 26th Round: Austin Chrismon, RHP, Christopher Newport University (Virginia) (JR) 27th Round: Pat Christensen, RHP, La Salle (SR) 28th Round: Jordan Mills, LHP, St. Mary's (California) (JR) 29th Round: Randall Fant, LHP, Arkansas (SR) 30th Round: Jorge Perez, RHP, Seminole State College (Oklahoma) (2nd-year JUCO) 31st Round: Scott Burke, RHP, Glendora HS, Glendora, California (committed to UCLA) 32nd Round: Zach Morton, RHP, Northwestern (5th-year SR) 33rd Round: Tyler White, 3B, Western Carolina (SR) 34th Round: Brett Booth, C, Alabama (SR) 35th Round: Kacy Clemens, RHP, Memorial HS (Houston) (committed to UT) 36th Round: J.D. Osborne, LHP, Wofford (5th-year SR) 37th Round: Josh Melendez, CF, New Mexico (SR) 38th Round: Ronnie Mitchell, CF, Dallas Baptist (SR) 39th Round: Juan Carlos Santos, RHP, Arlington Country Day School, Jacksonville (committed to Jacksonville) 40th Round: Tyler Brunnemann, RHP, Hardin-Simmons (SR) I would say that 28 of these players will sign. Signing deadline this year is July 12. Seniors are exempt from this, and I think all the seniors will sign unless they decide that they have better things to do than play baseball. Breakdown 9 High School 2 JUCO (both 2nd-year players) 29 College (15 juniors [1 4th-year junior], 12 seniors, 2 5th-year seniors) 24 pitchers, 16 position players Oldest: Zach Morton (born 7/12/1990) Youngest: Jason Martin (born 9/5/1995) Handedness: 8 left-handed hitters, 8 right-handed hitters, 1 switch-hitter (LHP Austin Nicely) 8 left-handed pitchers, 16 right-handed pitchers High School 1 C (Jake Nottingham) 1 SS (Daniel Pinero) 1 CF (Jason Martin) 1 LHP (Austin Nicely) 5 RHP (German, Schick, Burke, Clemens, and Santos) Junior College 1 LHP (Sebastian Kessay) 1 RHP (Jorge Perez) College 9 RHP (Appel, Thurman, Farris, Newman, Thornhill, Chrismon, Christensen, Morton, and Brunnemann) 7 LHP (Emanuel, Westwood, Cotton, Minnis, Mills, Fant, Osborne) 3 C (Holberton, Rodriguez, and Booth) 2 1B (Gregor and McDonald) 1 2B (Tony Kemp) 2 3B (Nelubowich and White) 1 SS (Thomas Lindauer) 1 LF (Jon Kemmer) 3 CF (Ramsay, Melendez, and Mitchell) As you can see, the Astros went college-heavy this season to supplement the 2012 draft class. They added plenty of polish at the top, highlighted by #1 himself, Mark Appel. He could find himself knocking on the doors of Minute Maid Park right away next season. Thurman and Emanuel should be quick movers as well. Might not be exciting, but I'm sure that's how we all felt with guys like Andrew Aplin and Nolan Fontana, right? The First 10, with slot values 1. Appel ($7,790,400) 2. Thurman ($1,397,200) 3. Emanuel ($747,700) 4. Gregor ($481,900) 5. Kemp ($360,800) 6. Nottingham ($270,200) 7. Ramsay ($202,300) 8. Martin ($159,700) 9. Holberton ($149,200) 10. Nicely ($139,400) Of this group, I would say that Gregor, Ramsay, and Holberton are the 3 most likely to sign under slot. Refresher: The Astros have $11,798,800 in their bonus pool to spend. College analysis Appel's going to carry much of the load of this class. I admit that my reaction to his selection was pretty ambivalent. I wasn't overjoyed, nor was I disappointed. I was under the "anybody but Appel" spell for much of this season. But I really do think that he'll be a great pitcher in the league for the rest of this decade and much of the next decade. In Thurman and Emanuel are two pitchers who could move fairly quickly. I think Thurman shares similarities to Nick Tropeano. Both have good fastballs and great changeups, while I think Thurman's breaking balls are a little better. Given Emanuel's overwork in the NCAA Tournament, I would not be surprised if he takes some time off before breaking into pro ball. I think he'd be the top lefty in the system by the end of his half-season. Both of them could move through the system in unison. Gregor is pretty athletic for a 1B. Though his power is a question, he's got an excellent approach at the plate and could fit in as an on-base oriented corner outfielder too. Kemp has been a spark plug at the top of the lineup for his Vandy career and should continue to serve as one once he signs. Ramsay is one of the nation's best defenders. He might be this year's Aplin. Holberton, on the other hand, could be this year's Preston Tucker. McDonald is a big guy who should provide some big power to Tri-City's lineup. Westwood could surprise with an effective fastball-changeup mix. Cotton might be the Kenny Long of this class. Newman has a nice 5-pitch mix and he can throw them all for strikes. Brunnemann, according to bigleaguefutures.net, has a fastball that touches 95, a slider that shows promise, and a good changeup. He's a young senior; in fact, he's a month younger than Appel. Nelubowich may have some upside remaining, despite being 22. Kemmer looks like he's got some good power, as does White, although he played at a pretty big hitter's park at Western Carolina. Minnis throws a 4-pitch mix and should continue to relieve as a pro. Welcome to the Astros organization again, Austin Chrismon. He really dominated Division III competition. Christensen should be a nice organizational reliever. He's 5th all-time in Division I baseball with 44 saves. Mills and Fant add lefty depth in a system that's still pretty barren in that department. Fant has elicited Dallas Keuchel comparisons. In Booth and Rodriguez, the Astros are getting some good defensive college catchers. Thornhill, like many of the pitchers the Astros have selected selected before him, does a great job of keeping the ball in the park. Osborne looks like a project who couldn't put it all together at Wofford. Melendez and Mitchell are young seniors who will likely provide good defense out in center field. High School analysis Not very many picks from the prep ranks this year. Nicely and German are the two that I'm most excited about, with Nottingham close behind. Nottingham, an OU commit, was ranked #115 in the Baseball America Top 500. At 6'3", 200, he's pretty big for a catcher, and he's pretty raw behind the plate too. He's a guy to dream on. His athleticism and strength are positives. Nottingham has a chance to stick at catcher, but some believe that he'll move to a corner outfield spot. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oBcKSOkoO7I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Martin is this year's Brett Phillips. He seems a little more polished, though. He stands out for his hustle and I don't think he should be an overly tough sign. Nicely is a projectable southpaw who is committed to Virginia. His selection in the 10th round makes me believe that the Astros are pretty confident in landing him. Getting him and German would be a big coup. German stands 6'5" and weighs 240. He's got the presence on the mound. However, as a three-sport star, he's raw on the mound, too. His fastball was 90-93 and could be in the mid-90s down the road. He does have some feel for a curve and changeup. He's committed to Nevada, and the Astros will likely be throwing some bonus savings his way. I really, really hope he signs. Schick is lanky. 6'7", 180. He is committed to Cal. Here is a video. Throws a 4-pitch mix, with his fastball coming in at 85-89. Slider shows potential, although it looks a bit slurvy. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BXBNoedJ7iY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> At 6'6", Pinero will probably be a third baseman in the long term. He's committed to Virginia, and given the Cavaliers' history of being able to hold on to most of their recruits, he's probably headed there. Pinero will be eligible again in 2015. Burke is committed to UCLA. He's got a pretty good curve. Fastball is in the high-80s to low-90s. Should stand to gain more velocity as he matures. I think he might head to college. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/s2_zhwnsN-Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Kacy Clemens is heading to UT; his pick was purely ceremonial. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Got drafted by the Houston Astros! Pretty cool! But I will still be a longhorn! Hook'em!</p>— Kacy Clemens (@KClemens21) <a href="https://twitter.com/KClemens21/status/343500178227097600">June 8, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Santos, I don't know much about, but at 6'4", 240, he's got an imposing mound presence. Given his draft position, he's probably headed to Jacksonville. His Perfect Game profile says he can hit 91 with his fastball. He pitched in a Perfect Game showcase, here's a link to the video. Word of warning... it loads rather slowly. JUCO analysis Quiet on this front. I kinda like Kessay. That's all I got.
According to this article on Devonte German (retweeted by him), his magic number is $300,000. Mid-5th round money. He also says it doesn't necessarily have to be $300,000 on the dot.
What are people's expectations wrt signing these HSers? Kacy Clemens from his tweets is going to college. I assume that the Astros have solid understandings with Jake Nottingham and Jason Martin or the Astros would not have drafted them so high with the 6th and 8th picks respectively. I suspect that the Astros will dangle $250K bonus in front of the rest and see who bites.
It appears that Mike Fast, one of the Astros' analysts, has come across this thread. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Good list of the Astros' draft class here: <a href="http://t.co/97nsx5PrV3" title="http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=8002463">bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php…</a></p>— Mike Fast (@fastballs) <a href="https://twitter.com/fastballs/status/343585508783443970">June 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Conrad Gregor is my sleeper pick. Didn't hit for any power at all in college, but he's 6'2 220lbs and hit .329 with 8 home runs in 149ABs in the Cape Cod League last summer. He hit 7 in 91ABs in the New England Collegiate League in 2011. Both are with wood bats, so there's definitely some power there. Seems to draw quite a bit of walks as well. Let's see how he turns out.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/andrew-thurman-generating-second-round-buzz-for-uc-irvine/ Nice writeup on 2nd rounder Andrew Thurman. Doesn't seem like he'll sign under slot, as he was projected as a 2nd rounder, maybe a 1s. Everywhere I see, the scouting report says 90-93mph and touches 95, but from videos he was 90-91mph and topped out at 93. He's got a good pitcher's body at 6'3 205lbs, and with a more consistent schedule, maybe he'll build up more strength and be consistently around 92-94.
FWIW: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/edubmora74">edubmora74</a> I'm ready for pro ball I just don't wanna put my self in a bad situation do im just lookin at it objectively im 98% sure I'll</p>— Devonte German (@DevonteGerman) <a href="https://twitter.com/DevonteGerman/status/343495809888813056">June 8, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/edubmora74">edubmora74</a> sign</p>— Devonte German (@DevonteGerman) <a href="https://twitter.com/DevonteGerman/status/343495863106154497">June 8, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> And I second everyone else, you need to be working for the Astros man.
I really liked this pick as well. Some knocked it because you shouldn't draft a no power 1B, but Gregor has shown legitimate power each time he has played in a wood bat summer league. Here's a guy that can hit for average, walk at a ridiculous rate (twice as often as he struck out in college), play great defense, and even steal a base (21 SB 3 CS this season as a 1B ). If he can show the same power in the minors that he did in summer leagues he is an absolute steal for a 4th rounder.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jeff Luhnow told us if Appel is ready in March that he & Porter will take best players to Houston & will not hold him back for biz reasons</p>— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimBowdenESPNxm/status/343747293062774784">June 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jeff Luhnow told us that he believes that Mark Appel will be signed and out pitching by July based on his conversations with Scott BorasXM89</p>— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimBowdenESPNxm/status/343746787129040896">June 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If his bat doesn't play at 1B, he should be able to move to a corner OF spot. Ran a 6.75 60yd coming out of highschool, and like you said, he has some speed. Also has a pretty good arm, throwing 89mph.
I'd say I agree with your assumption that the Astros probably had something in place with Nottingham and Martin. Maybe slightly above-slot deals with them? $300K for Nottingham and $185-200K for Martin would probably be my guess. If Nicely doesn't commit, he'll be a two-way player at Virginia, as he's a switch-hitter. That's also $139,400 out of the pool. Like I said, the Astros wouldn't have picked him in the First 10 if they weren't confident in getting him to sign. Of the Day 3 high schoolers, I think they'll make the most serious advances towards Devonte German and Daniel Pinero. Judging by Mike Elias' comments regarding German, he's positively giddy about him. German's been noted to want mid-5th round money. I would be inclined to say that he'll get that. He's not a fallback option; I believe that Elias' comments also give off signs that the Astros legitimately want him. Given Virginia's recent history of holding on to their recruits, Pinero will be rather tough. But his upside is really tantalizing. He's not going to be a shortstop in the long term, but he's certainly got the tools to play at 3B. I think they'll try to dangle the leftovers for Pinero, see if he bites.
Thomas Lindauer (23rd round) has signed, according to Daniel Makarewicz out of Quad Cities. Lindauer's twitter page has also been updated to reflect his signing. Pumped to see some Junior college signees - I'm still bummed about missing out on Pat Blair last year (who went to the Rays in the 12th round this year).
OP has been updated to reflect Lindauer's signing. He's from the Quad Cities (Moline, Illinois, to be exact), so he could be playing across the Mississippi next year. From the looks of it, he'll be starting off in Tri-City. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/mackdog92">mackdog92</a> I'm off to NY soon...time to start my career</p>— Thomas Lindauer (@ThomasL19) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThomasL19/status/343774070099292160">June 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
