We can laugh at the state of the Astros organization at this point....but I'm thinking if you're one of the guys who gets picked by them today you're loving it. A chance to come up and compete at the big league level instantly.
Got Fields, which I love. Frieman is good consolation to Aguilar, IMO. Edit: Aguilar wasn't taken, so the organization must prefer Freiman. Kind of wish they had used a 3rd selection on Chaffee. I prefer him over a couple of guys in our pen currently, and he is younger.
Didn't lose any players in any phase of the Rule 5 draft. Luhnow definitely made good gambles with the guys he left unprotected.
The following tweets are from Brian T. Smith: @ChronAstros: Goldstein said Nate Freiman is for real. Great splits, crushes fastballs. Astros happy and surprised they picked him up. @ChronAstros: Burgess will likely start season in Double A. @ChronAstros: Goldstein said Fields' age isn't a concern. Was drafted twice, held out. Topped #Astros' list early in evaluation process. @ChronAstros: #Astros' roster at 39 after Rule 5.
From baseball prospectus. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19099 Favorite Pick: Josh Fields (RHP, Houston Astros) – Many in the industry were surprised when Fields was not protected by the Red Sox. The 27-year-old right-hander finished the season strong by not allowing a run in 10 appearances with Triple-A Pawtucket and then continued to show well in the Arizona Fall League. His fastball-curveball combination is big-league ready and his command has improved to the point that he can hang with the big boys. He has a setup reliever ceiling and could pitch in that role by the end of the season.
I wouldn't go that far, we have many pieces but few elite pieces at this point. We are doing it the right way though.
I really don't understand this sentiment. Bring him back super cheap as a nice story / nice end to his career / nice fill of the DH role while Singleton takes another year? Sure As a "veteran presence" ? Why? On a team that's trying to win, I get it. He does things that you need to do to win games, he gets on base, etc. On a young team? He's not the model of practicing or preparing for games...he's not a model for how to handle the media. He's a guy that might keep the locker room tighter potentially or something. But I don't see why you need that on a young team without other good reasons
Reading the Red Sox prospects forum, someone said that the reason they left him unprotected was because his fastball doesn't move enough for the big leagues. I guess we'll see how true this is next year.
People said the same thing about Linebrink and Wagner and Nenn.... we will just have to wait and see. It would nice to see him become a good closer and then move him for better prospects.
