Forrest Whitley, Alamo Heights HS. Got to see him twice, Nolan was there for his no-hitter a couple of weeks ago. The kid's about 6'6, 220. He has a great arm.
Looking forward to what Luhnow can draft without having an exorbitant draft pool money allotment. Because with the trades, call ups, and prospects that have faltered, the pipeline is going to be a bit on the weak side. It's time that Luhnow replenish it.
The pipeline is still very strong. The farm has 3-5 of the Top 100 prospects in the game. The position player depth top to bottom is as good as any. The recent wave of int'l signings should bolster the lower levels to make up for the later draft picks. That said, catching and left handed pitching are major weaknesses. And two or three bad drafts can set an org back a decade, so I agree it'll be important for them to continue to draft major league contributors in spite of picking later and having smaller pools.
It's a good system right now, but in two or three years most prospects, event the elite ones are exposed of their flaws. And the few that can make proper adjustments all through the minors an into the majors are few and far between. Look at Preston Tucker, though never an elite prospect, he had an OPS of .900+ in AAA, and in the majors he's been relegated to a .150 hitter
No system is perfect. And even if we had prospects at every conceivable position/scenario, they wouldn't all pan out. This year really showed me they aren't willing to fill all the holes with prospects anyway. Expecting any more than a couple of rookies on a team planning to contend isn't really reasonable.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PG Mock Draft v. 2 is now up from <a href="https://twitter.com/B_Sakowski_PG">@B_Sakowski_PG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mlbdraft?src=hash">#mlbdraft</a> - <a href="https://t.co/4tfOPld1nO">https://t.co/4tfOPld1nO</a> <a href="https://t.co/tR8VrvDsPQ">pic.twitter.com/tR8VrvDsPQ</a></p>— Patrick Ebert (@PGPatrickEbert) <a href="https://twitter.com/PGPatrickEbert/status/735497860788199424">May 25, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Spoiler 17. Forrest Whitley, RHP, Alamo Heights HS, San Antonio Perfect Game had the Astros taking Matt Manning, a RHP from Sheldon High School in Sacramento, at 17 in their first mock. His father, Rich Manning, played for 3 years in the NBA with the Grizzlies and the Clippers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New Baseball America mock draft from <a href="https://twitter.com/johnmanuelba">@johnmanuelba</a> is loaded with good info and the latest MLB draft buzz: <a href="https://t.co/Y56N6bMthl">https://t.co/Y56N6bMthl</a></p>— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenBadler/status/736224771478827008">May 27, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Spoiler 17. T.J. Zeuch, RHP, Pittsburgh
Just learned my old HS won a state champ this year, with Lance Berkman as coach and Andy Pettitte as asst. coach. I find that funny, carry on.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My second mock draft is now up for Insiders: <a href="https://t.co/qEkFcFPRQo">https://t.co/qEkFcFPRQo</a></p>— keithlaw (@keithlaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/736597805473665024">May 28, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I'm thinking choosing later and having a smaller pool simplifies the strategy for Houston. They'll draft the best player at each pick in the first 3 rounds regardless of signability and offer slot to each pick, since they probably wouldn't mind deferring picks to get bigger pools next year.
hope he falls to us. even though taking hs pitchers are risky, I wouldn't mind taking him. him or Braxton garrett. would be a nice home state story if we take whitley.
Top 5 wishes would be Braxton (if he slips), Collins (if he slips), Muller, Kay (underslot), or Thaiss (underslot).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mock Draft 5.0 <a href="https://t.co/lsiVO9atSl">https://t.co/lsiVO9atSl</a> <a href="https://t.co/I6oukclmRC">pic.twitter.com/I6oukclmRC</a></p>— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaseballAmerica/status/740362737298083840">June 8, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Spoiler 17. Cody Sedlock, RHP, Illinois <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gy-uSRDwWf0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The draft is tomorrow, and here's the schedule of events: Thursday: Rounds 1-Competitive Balance Round B Coverage starts at 5 PM Central, Round 1 begins at 6. TV: MLB Network Friday: Rounds 3-10 Coverage begins at 11:30 AM, Round 3 begins at Noon. MLB.com only. Saturday: Rounds 11-40 Begins at 11 AM MLB.com only. The Astros already have target times for their two picks on Thursday: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Astros estimate they will make their draft picks tomorrow at about 7:30 p.m. CT (17th overall) and 9:35 p.m. CT (61st).</p>— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) <a href="https://twitter.com/jakemkaplan/status/740592422938284032">June 8, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
