Good to see our organizational system is on the same page, we're teaching these guys proper Astros baseball.
There are SIXTY ONE players on the IL across the 6 stateside rosters in the Astros organization, out of 222 total players, a full 27% of all players.
Thinking about this more, I am starting to wonder if (at least on the minor league level) Houston is using the IL as a way around the new 165 player limit. Placing guys on the IL allows them to keep evaluating them while maintaining their rights. We will see a big round of players getting released over the next few weeks then again at the end of the season, because I think at some point orgs have to get under 165 inclusive of players on the IL.
Big opportunity for him. I also saw that Yamal Encarnacion and Jack Blomgren were added to the Asheville roster. Both guys are under the radar prospects with some upside. Encarnacion has plus contact skills and elite speed; he was on the Astros prospect breakout team this spring before getting hurt. Blomgren has been super productive throughout his minor league career but has never been healthy for any stretch of time, as a middle infielder with offensive upside he should get a legit look over the next 2 months, hopefully with some time in AA.
I can’t find any details on his injuries over the last 3.5 seasons. He played 137 out of 141 possible games in college at Michigan so he wasn’t injury prone until he went pro. His IL stints were prolonged (rather than a bunch of short ones), which makes me think he suffered one major injury that has turned into a chronic/recurring issue, but that is me speculating. He has a good defensive rep and clearly has a knack for putting together good at bats and can hit for some gap power, but lacks HR numbers. But by far and away his main flaw has been lack of availability.
So...where do we think Neyens, Frey and Mitchell fall on our Top-30 Prospects list? Anyone else from this draft class who merits an immediate inclusion in the Top-30?
I think Neyens is the top prospect in the system and Frey falls in the 8-12 range. Monistere, Potter, and Mitchell have an argument to be in the 20-30 range but more likely are just outside until we get some pro data on them next season.
A high school bat with an ambiguous position, that best case scenario is going to see Houston in 2029 is a really depressing top prospect in the system. I wish this were not the case but suspect it probably is.
That is a pretty pessimistic way of describing him. A teenage bat with 70 grade power and an average hit tool who can very likely stick at 3B and 6 months ago was in the conversation for #1 overall is how I’d put it.
2029 is a looooooong way away and anything can happen between now and then. I like it when the top prospects are at AA or at least high A, that means you have passed a lot of tests that weed guys out. I don’t mind a (high school) guy out of the draft having the highest upside but would prefer to have at least 2 or 3 guys considered better prospects since so many guys bust. it is what it is and we aren’t going to dig out of it overnight.
Absolutely fair take. Ideally, Neyens would come in at 3rd or 4th in the system and Houston would have Kevin McGonigle and Aiden Miller playing for the Hooks, such that their system would be ranked among the top 10 in the league, instead of the bottom 10.
I'm thinking Frey is on the timeline you're looking for. He's also going to be very good IMHO. I bet he's in the majors in 2 to 2 1/2 years.
When your top proposed t is in AA there’s likely what- an 80 or 90 percent chance he makes the big leagues? My guess it’s a coin flip this guy ever plays in the majors. Like I said a lot of check marks he needs to pass that guys further along have already passed. When I was working as assistant GM in north woods league we had a guy that turned down 850k signing bonus to go to school because he said his number was 1M. He was a good hitter, up to the point where his solid contact with a wood bat didn’t fly over the wall but instead settled into gloves just this side of the warning track. I think he signed in 2 more years for 10k or something like that and never made it anywhere in pro ball. Theres a million stories of guys like that at 18. There’s only half a million of 21 year olds at AA!
