He could be working on a 3rd/4th pitch. That would be nice to know, if he's just throwing 80% sliders or whatever in any given start.
Yep, but if they had issues with potentially rushing him to majors, he wouldn't be in AAA. He's only in AAA because they want him in majors soon.
The only explanation as to why I think the Astros didn't draft Benintendi is because they had a set list heading into that college and high school season on who they'd consider with the 2nd and 5th pick and Bentintendi had taken that summer off and was kind of considered a "pop-up prospect."
The most likely reason is..... that Luhnow preferred Tucker. Luhnow had followed him since his freshman year in high school.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2015-mlb-mock-draft-v2-0/ The Astros have been tied to Tucker and Cameron here for months and lately have been tied to Benintendi and Bregman. The strong industry belief is that the Astros want two bats with these two top picks and want huge upside to justify taking a prep bat at 5. There’s been more buzz recently that Tucker has overtaken Cameron (I would take Tucker over Cameron as well), but Bregman would likely be the pick over Tucker if he slides past Texas. Benintendi is a late riser that looks to be the choice behind Tucker, or if they want to save a little more money at this pick. Texas prep LF Trenton Clark has also been tied here, but he fits a little lower and college arms Tate, Fulmer and Jay have all been seen by Houston’s heavy hitters recently, but those seems like backup plans to Tucker and Bregman here.
Spoiler Akeem Bostick, RHP, Houston Astros (High-A Buies Creek) Under a Dontrelle Willis-model lid is a well-proportioned, 6-foot-4, 224-pound frame that looks like a second-round pick right off the bus. Bostick’s athleticism presented itself several times throughout Wednesday morning's game against Myrtle Beach: his full-windup motion was fluid and balanced, he repeated well, he even bobbed and weaved off the mound to elude some sort of stinging insect. When the weak Pelicans lineup made contact, it was often soft and on the ground, the result of excellent angle and deception born from an arm action that keeps the ball hidden until it comes out of his ear. Despite fastball velocity that sat 91-92 and topped out at 95, I couldn’t help but wonder if loosening up or elongating his arm action would unlock another tick or two, or add some needed life. Bostick controlled well inside and out, and pounded the bottom of the zone—save for a few times he abandoned his easy delivery and overthrew, leaving the ball up and off the plate to the glove side. His best secondary on this day was a sweeping slider at 83-85 that he wasn’t afraid to sequence first in an at-bat or double down when the first one had the hitter off balance. Against a squad flush with righties, I didn’t see enough of the changeup to ruminate on his ability to stick in the rotation, but it was a positive outing overall, a sign that Bostick still has time to realize some of the potential that’s been obscured by injuries and command struggles. —Greg Wellemeyer
Guys, it also isn't any sort of slam dunk that Benintendi has a better career than Tucker. I have a feeling we are going to be very happy with Tucker at the end of the day.
Luhnow and staff built such a strong young talent base that it gave them the opportunity to take a high upside prep bat. I still shake my head in disbelief that their rebuilding plan pretty much could not have gone any better (yadda yadda Kris Bryant).
Fangraphs posted their review of the Rangers system today, and they have it pretty much on par with Houston's farm, based mostly on their 2015 international haul. I disagree and think that Houston's system has both better high-end talent and a LOT more depth. I look down their list of top 22 prospects and I like Mendez as a Top 100/55 grade and Yanio Perez as a 50 grade, but I don't see Taveras as a 55 (don't think the power will come and don't think he's as stellar defender as they're saying so I'd say he's a 50 with tons of upside) and the other guys are 40s with a few fringe 45s.
KT has been killing it in the minors. I'm happy with that choice. Now, Kris Bryant had failed 4 mar1juana tests while in San Diego. That's the main reason why Luhnow didn't draft him.
I recall reading somewhere that his attitude upon signing was he would play as long as he moved quickly and if he didn't move quickly he would go do something else (like go back and play in Holland). I doubt there was major drama. Houston probably told him he'd be on a short leash when he demanded to start off in full season ball, and when he floundered out of the gate they may have both agreed to part ways.
That's right. I mentioned that when he originally signed (in last year's draft tracker thread) and that detail skipped my mind. The article linked in the tweet above suggested there was much drama behind the scenes. Probably for the best for both parties... someone else in the system takes his spot and he's free to pursue other opportunities in the game instead of just spinning his wheels in a minor league system. Article on his signing
