Glad to see that Cameron is getting signed. Quite the plethora of talent in the OF. There are so many projectable prospects, I don't think even the experts can predict who will have the better career. With Springer, Santana, Phillip, Preston Tucker, Kyle Tucker, Daz Cameron, Fisher, Hernandez, etc. there are a lot of possibilities. As of now, I would think the Ranking by potential is (but it is tight): 1. Springer 2. Cameron 3. K. Tucker 4. B. Phillips 5. Santana 6. Hernandez 7. Fisher 8. Preston Tucker The good thing (for at least the guys closest to the ML's) is that Kyle and Daz should still be 3 or 4 years away, which will allow the current guys to show what they have.
Cole Sands might be in play now because of the money available, although Luhnow might want Sandoval because he is a lefty. $987,860 is left before Eschelman's deal is made public with no penalty involving a draft pick. If Eschelman signs for $1 mil...Then Astros can have as much as $1,313,560 to offer any HS pitcher (Sandoval or Sands or Baker)
If you do the math, if someone like Sands or Sandoval wants to get paid like a Top 40 pick they might be asking around $1.2 million. So my guess is that Eschelman signs for 1.1 million or around $200,000 less than his slot which makes sense.
If just one of the HS players gets signed, then the Astros have absolutely bested almost any draft prognostication in recent memory. This type of draft has 2012 written all over it! The 2012 and 2015 were in different stages of the rebuild. And I think both drafts captured the phase the organization is in. The 2012 was all about the future. While the 2015 is a combination of both, there are some near ML ready guys and some 5 year prospects. But the 2015 is set to compliment the current Astros as soon as this or next year, and it is going to help establish team payroll flexibility; for example, in case Springer does not pan as the 5 tool expectations, but still has a high enough OPS to warrant a 10-15 million dollar salary! I could see the Astros trading Altuve, Springer, etc.. for more prospects, in hope of finding the true diamonds seen in repetitive All-star selections. I am going to say, I think that the Astros and Rockets are in some of the most exciting times in recent memory for either organization. Simply exceptional General Managers handling the team rosters.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wanna see Alex Bregman's first homerun as a pro? Here ya geaux. <a href="https://twitter.com/LSUbaseball">@LSUbaseball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LSU?src=hash">#LSU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MiLB?src=hash">#MiLB</a> <a href="http://t.co/tG6WUesaQN">pic.twitter.com/tG6WUesaQN</a></p>— Kelsey Wingert (@KelsWingert) <a href="https://twitter.com/KelsWingert/status/615657817786023936">June 29, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
ha. true. but one reason he got let go was for supposedly bad mouthing Astros management by letting Appel come up and throw at MMP...something like that.
Right? I'm not really a believer in Bregman at this point, despite all the comps to Pedroia. People don't seem to remember that Pedroia was considered something of an anomaly--most scouts didn't think he'd fare well in the bigs. With Bregman, the big question will be whether he can generate any power as he faces tougher competition. Is he Dustin Pedroia, or is he Tony Kemp?
The book on Kemp is that he's been an on-base machine at every level dating back to college. Are you suggesting someone who can get on base 37-40% of the time has no place in MLB?...
And considering he can play SS, I fail to understand the consternation about his size and perceived lack of HR power.
I'm pretty sure that was Ortiz from the Chronicle finding the one guy willing to give him a soundbite on something so insignificant, and creating drama out of nothing. The Houston Chronicle: Muckraking Run Amok!
Lol...Bregman was the right player to draft...It gave the Astros a chance to sign Cameron and possibly Sands...Plus the 2015 Mlb Draft didn't have a consensus #1 pick...The 3 players who were predicted to go first was 2 college shortstops around the same size and a very raw but talented HS SS. Plus Benentendi a power outfielder is only 5'10 at best and no one brings up his height. People say something about the other top 2 also Rodgers is raw and his hit tool digress a little or that Swanson strikes out too much and doesn't have enough power at SS... If you look at the home run that was impressive...The balk was to the inside that it was impressive he was able to get the sweet part of the bat for a HR.
Kemp? I thought Kemp was a 2B/OF? Doesn't matter, no one currently in this organization that lists as a SS will ever see significant time at SS at the MLB level... (RETRACT: It dawned on me Correa's likely a 3B down the line; he certainly has the frame. So they may need another SS during his (hopefully) long tenure here.)
Bregman is listed at 6'0, he's probably actually 5'11, maybe 5'10. There have been a ton of players who have succeeded around that height, he's not Pedroia small. Hell, we had a second baseman here in Houston for a long time that had a pretty good career around that size.
