I've been thinking about the Astros' issues signing draft picks, and I'm a little confused. I hope someone can clear something up for me. The supposed issue is that Drayton really wanted to stick to the MLB recommended bonuses for those players, and they wouldn't sign for that, right? How does that work? Let's use Derek Dietrich for an example. He's drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round. Spitballing here, let's say his slot bonus is $300,000. The Astros don't go over slot, he goes to Georgia Tech for three years, and then is drafted by the Rays in the second round. He signs for the slot bonus from the Rays at $457,200. Is it really the $150,000 in three years that kept him from signing? Or did the Astros just misjudge his signability? Was he going to college no matter what? If it is the signability, how do you judge that? Are you allowed to interview high school kids on whether they're willing to play with you before you draft them?
I'm sure Derek Dietrich thought he had a chance to be a first round player when he decided to go to college. He didn't and couldn't have known that in 3 years he would only up his value $150,000....
I think it had to do with the Astros got an incorrect number on what Dietrich wanted and it was too late when they noticed what they had done..he was apparently am easy sign. (misclaimer-I don't have a source, just what I have read from an Astros blog "crawfishboxes")
You may not specifically ask a player if he would play for your team but players usually make their feelings known publicly on whether they're leaning towards college or pros. It's basically game theory. A player who says he's going to college has more leverage and may command a higher price to sign but could also fall in the draft and not be offered an above slot price. A player who is definitely going to the pros is likely to be drafted higher (and thus receive a higher slot salary) but has less leverage in negotiations.
That actually explains a lot. Thanks. It seems as if players that knew they wanted to play baseball out of high school would eventually sign for the slot, if they were drafted high enough. There might be some bluffing to get the team to offer more, but at the deadline, they would accept what was offered.
This is grossly oversimplifying things. Purpura presided over perhaps the best farm in Astros history. An era that allowed the Astros to trade for the likes of Randy Johnson, Moises Alou and develop players like Berkman, Oswalt, Lidge, etc. I can't imagine the guy being our Director of Player Development for 8 years and not even know how to handle signing a draft pick. I would have to put most of the blame on Drayton. Purpura was his Yes Man.
That was never his job. Hunsicker didn't have problems signing our top picks, and Ed Wade didn't have problems afterwards. What was different? Tim Purpura. There's a reason he got fired so quickly, and has never gotten a similar job. Our farm system was great because we owned the Venezuelan market.
Are you literally saying Hunsicker personally took care of all the signings and his right hand man didn't know a thing about the process? If so, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'm not sure what your point is. Did Purpura make the decision to shut down the Venezuelan market? And even if we ignore our Venezuelan pipeline, I would kill to have the Astros farm during Purpura's years in our minors over anything Wade has done. Yes, this would mean you can take out the RJ/Alou trades, Hidalgo, etc. And I'd still take our farm in Purpura's years.
It is hard to say how good or bad Purpura is as a baseball man. He over saw a minor league system that produced Oswalt, Lidge, Miller, Santana, Ordonez, Berkman, Wagner, Pence, Mora, Hidalgo, Abreu, Guillen and others... Not all of these players were hand picked by Purpura but certainly some were. Even if some of these players were the result of the Venezuelan pipeline, and some were prior to his arrival, that doesn't explain his success in selecting domestic players. He was the first willing to draft small or short pictures, now more common. His trades as a GM and free agent signings were terrible, but I believe most of these had Uncle Drayton finger prints all over them. I believe he was thrown in a situation doomed for failure. Also, Purpura is now in charge of the Rangers minor league system. As hard it is to say, the Rangers are a model franchise. They wouldn't hire him if he didn't know what he was doing. Ultimately I believe he is a classic #2, he didn't have the temperament or personality to be an alpha. One last odd thing, when I worked for the Astros other teams always said our minor league guys lacked basic fundamentals. Heard it about Berkman, Ensberg and especially Pence... That reflects poorly on Purpura.
Yes, I believe Purpura was not put in charge for signings, especially for top picks where pre-draft and post-draft negotiations are very important. If Purpura was allowed to offer the 20th round pick a $5,000 bonus, how does that help him in negotiations. All reports were Dietrich was ready to play, but the Astros totally mismanaged the situation. Our Venezuelan pipeline was killed when the other 29 teams saw our success. We closed the Venezuelan academy because we no longer had a competitive advantage, and looked to invest that money elsewhere. Andres Reiner had more to do with our success than anyone. Purpura was GM for 3 years, and for his 3 drafts, the following players have made it to the majors: Brian Bogusevic (Converted from the pitcher he was drafted as) Tommy Manzella Chris Johnson Bud Norris
