I'll be at that game! Stop by and say hi to bigtexxx I saw Appel pitch at Rice a couple years ago and he's very impressive. Stanek pitched there in June and he was extremely impressive as well. Both pumping upper 90s on the radar gun. Stanek's got incredible intensity on the mound -- loved it (although he shutdown Rice's bats!) You guys should come to more Rice games. You'll see a lot of talent. Over the years I've seen Dustin Pedroia, Evan Longoria, Huston Street, Drew Stubbs, Jason Jennings (I know....), Michael Bourn, Chris Snyder, Daniel Bard, Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole and many others from opposing teams, and of course Rice stars like Lance Berkman, Jeff Niemann, Philip Humber and Anthony Rendon.
yeah I forgot those guys. Former Astro Phil Barzilla as well, and other guys like Lucas Luetge (Mariners) and Joe Savery (Phillies)
I remember when Cruz Jr played for the Astros and was in the outfield, Berkman at first base and Byrdek came in to pitch. I am fairly certain it was the first and only time three Rice Owls were on the field at the same time for the same team.
Jim Callis: Appel Heads Thin Class for Second Straight Year College pitchers are definitely the strength this year, with the Big 3 of Appel, Manaea, and Stanek leading the way. As No Worries pointed out in the "Who Will Be the #1 Overall Draft Pick?" thread, Kris Bryant of San Diego is probably the best college hitter in a pretty thin selection of hitters. The article also notes two standout high school catchers in Jonathan Denney (Yukon, Oklahoma) and Reese McGuire (Covington, Washington).
Could turn out to be good luck if it manifests into a cheap 1-1, with dough to blow on later picks like last year. Sure, an "A" consensus prospect would be killer, but 3 or 4 "B+" prospects may turn out just as good.
I was happy with the talent the Astros picked up in the draft last year. 4 top 50 guys in Correa, McCullers, Ruiz, & Fontana. While there wasn't a prospect on the Harper or Strasburg level AKA a high upside high floor perennial All Star.. I think the Astros were able to find some impact guys. Only time will tell I guess. Astros more than likely will have the #1 pick in 2014 as well. And as the new member Progs likes to mention in every one of his posts (and unnecessarily emphasize in bold font) - Carlos Rodon is supposed to be a sure thing future ace.
help me out here, guys, but what leverage would Appel have this year in the draft? Is he doesn't get his money is he going to play independent ball and hope he gets picked in next year's draft? If I'm Luhnow, I have to think I've got a hell of a lot of leverage not to give Appel 1-1 money.
Look at it this way. We will probably be the worst team in baseball again, and we can draft the lefty from NC State next year.
Scott Boras has gone that route in the past, but the rules were different. Appel can go play independent ball, but would have to re-enter the draft. With teams limited on how much they can spend, and Rodon being the #1 guy heading to 2014, he is risking too much if he maintains high salary demands.
How do we know it's a weak draft? What makes these drafts weak? Everybody said last year's draft was "weak" and many players from it have started out extremely hot in the minors. Almost every year there is not a consensus number 1 pick, I hear that the draft is "weak". I just find it really tired. Many of the guys we picked in last year's draft are extremely talented, including our number one pick, and any team would be happy to have them in their system.
Top 50 Major League Baseball Draft Prospects for 2013: Very Early List Here is my current take on the Top 50 Draft Prospects for 2013. Obviously, at this point of the season we are working with nothing but scouting reports and projection, but as the college and high school seasons get going that will change quickly as we add current data and up-to-date reports to the mix. You'll see some of these guys fall, replaced by other players we haven't heard much (if anything) about. I'll have a look at "Early Draft Sleepers" in a separate article soon, looking at some names of players who could shoot up the list if all goes well. The general consensus is that this is a mediocre draft class, but we shouldn't make too much of that at this point. While 2013 certainly isn't as deep as some recent years have been, it isn't a wasteland and the view can change quickly. College pitching talent looks reasonable this year. There are a lot of southpaws available, with at least ten lefties with designs on the first round, evenly balanced between the college and high school ranks. Another possible strength is high school catching, a volatile demographic to be sure. In contrast, overall college hitting looks down to me, especially behind the plate and in the middle infield. This is NOT a Mock Draft or projection on where I think these guys will go; this is really just a starting point for our research. There will be a lot more on this stuff to come as the spring progresses. Check MLB Bonus Baby for frequent updates as well as this index of reports. 1) Sean Manaea, LHP, Indiana State 2) Clint Frazier, OF, Loganville, Georgia HS: 3) Austin Meadows, OF, Grayson HS, Loganville, GA 4) Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford University 5) Ryne Stanek, RHP, University of Arkansas 6) Reese McGuire, C, Kentwood HS, Covington, WA 7) Jonathan Denney, C, Yukon, Oklahoma, HS 8) Kris Bryant, OF-3B, University of San Diego 9) J.P. Crawford, SS, Lakewood, California HS 10) Dominic Smith, 1B, Serra HS, Los Angeles, CA 11) Colin Moran, 3B, University of North Carolina 12) Austin Wilson, OF, Stanford University 13) Jonathon Crawford, RHP, University of Florida 14) Trey Ball, OF-LHP, New Castle, Indiana, HS 15) Kohl Stewart, RHP, St. Pius X HS, Tomball, TX 16) Bobby Wahl, RHP, University of Mississippi 17) Oscar Mercado, SS, Gaither HS, Tampa, FL 18) Rob Kaminsky, LHP, St. Joseph Regional HS, Montvale, NJ 19) Jordan Sheffield, RHP, Tullahoma HS, Nashville, TN 20) Phillip Ervin, OF, Samford University 21) Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State University 22) D.J. Peterson, 3B, University of New Mexico 23) Ian Clarkin, LHP, Madison HS, San Diego, CA 24) Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Cathedral Catholic HS, San Diego, CA 25) Ryan Boldt, OF, Red Wing, Minnesota, HS 26) Rowdy Tellez, 1B, Elk Grove HS, Elk Grove, CA 27) Dillon Overton, LHP, University of Oklahoma 28) Justin Williams, OF, Terrebonne HS, Houma, LA 29) Tom Windle, LHP, University of Minnesota 30) Mike Lorenzen, RHP/OF, Cal State Fullerton 31) A.J. Vanegas, RHP, Stanford University 32) Kevin Ziomek, LHP, Vanderbilt University 33) Karsten Whitson, RHP, University of Florida 34) A.J. Puk, LHP/1B, Washington HS, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 35) Jan Hernandez, SS, Carlos Beltran Academy, San Lorenzo, PR 36) Eric Jagielo, 3B, Notre Dame 37) Ryan Eades, RHP, Louisiana State University 38) Marco Gonzalez, LHP, Gonzaga 39) Trevor Williams, RHP, Arizona State University 40) JaCoby Jones, 2B-OF, Louisiana State University 41) Conrad Gregor, 1B-OF, Vanderbilt 42) Colby Suggs, RHP, University of Arkansas 43) Garrett Williams, LHP, Calvary Baptist HS, Shreveport, LA 44) Travis Demeritte, 3B, Winder-Barrow HS, Winder, GA 45) Hunter Renfroe, C-OF-RHP, Mississippi State University 46) Carlos Salazar, RHP, Kerman, California, HS 47) Dustin Driver, RHP, Wenatachee, WA, HS 48) Chad Pinder, SS, Virginia Tech 49) Dan Slania, RHP, Notre Dame 50) Cavan Biggio, INF, St. Thomas HS, Houston, TX
Appel Heads Thin Class For Second Straight Year By Jim Callis February 1, 2013 There's a sense of déjà vu with the 2013 draft. Once again, the Astros have the No. 1 overall pick. Stanford righthander Mark Appel will enter the spring as the top prospect for the second straight year. And teams remain underwhelmed by the overall talent available. "It's not a great class," a National League scouting director said. "I guess the strength of the draft would be college pitching, especially at the top if you're fortunate enough to pick up there. There are some good high school outfielders, and there's some high school lefthanded pitching. "But there aren't a lot of college bats who have shown they can hit. I don't remember a draft with as many high-profile college guys where you were really concerned about their ability to make contact. There aren't a lot of up-the-middle players either." No prospect has separated himself from the pack in the manner of a Stephen Strasburg in 2009 or Bryce Harper in 2010. Given the talent available and teams' constant thirst for pitching, the draft could begin with the Astros, Cubs and Rockies taking Appel, Indiana State lefthander Sean Manaea and Arkansas righthander Ryan Stanek in some order. The only other time that a draft opened with three consecutive college arms was in 2011 with Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen and Trevor Bauer. The best bets to break that pitching blockade are a pair of center fielders from high schools in Loganville, Ga., an Atlanta suburb with a population of 11,000. Grayson High's Austin Meadows and Loganville High's Clint Frazier are five-tool athletes who have played against and with each other since they were 9-year-olds in Little League. Meadows and Frazier highlight the difference between the up-the-middle talent in the high school and college classes. There's no college catcher or shortstop projected to go in the first two rounds, and the most talented college outfielders may wind up in right field. By contrast, Yukon (Okla.) High's Jonathan Denney and Kentwood High's (Covington, Wash.) Reese McGuire headline a deep prep catching crop. High school shortstops aren't as plentiful, though Lakewood (Calif.) High's J.P. Crawford and Gaither High's (Tampa) Oscar Mercado are slick fielders who could fit in the first round. Crawford's feel for hitting might boost him into the top 10 selections. Limited Strategic Options Teams had to adjust to major changes in the draft rules in 2012, the first year of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The CBA assigns teams bonus pools for the first 10 rounds and prescribes harsh penalties for exceeding them. Clubs have to pay tax on any overage, face the loss of a first-round pick for going 5 percent over their pool and forfeit two first-rounders if they go 15 percent over. No team was willing to give up a premium draft choice last year, and just 11 spent enough to generate taxes. All told, clubs spent $208 million on bonuses, down from a record $236 million in bonuses and salaries in major league contracts (forbidden in the new CBA) in 2011. The 2012 spending still represented the second-highest total in draft history, and most of the decrease came because of a marked decline in the quality of the first seven picks, who signed for a combined $47 million in 2011 but garnered just $29 million a year ago. Clubs found two strategies to gain financial flexibility, but no way to exploit the new rules. Some signed top choices for less than their assigned value and distributed that cash among later selections. The Astros paid top pick Carlos Correa $4.8 million (saving $2.4 million in pick value) and then landed supplemental first-rounder Lance McCullers Jr. for $2.5 million and fourth-rounder Rio Ruiz for $1.85 million. Others gave most of their cash to their early picks and used later-round choices on college seniors, who have no negotiating leverage. The most notable example was the Blue Jays, who spent $8,910,000 on seven choices in the first three rounds and $31,000 on their next seven selections. "There's really only a couple of ways to play it," an American League scouting director said. "There's not a whole lot you can do to beat this system. You can save money early, you can take college seniors or you can play it straight up. To each his own." The assigned pick values will increase annually in proportion to the rise in MLB revenues. Teams have yet to receive the 2013 numbers but multiple sources project an increase of 6 to 8 percent. Houston will have the largest pool at roughly $11.5 million. Washington will bring up the rear near $2.7 million after finishing with baseball's best regular season record in 2012 and giving up its first-rounder to sign free agent Rafael Soriano. The Astros join the 2009-10 Nationals as the only teams ever to have consecutive No. 1 overall picks. Mike Elias, in his first year as Houston's scouting director after serving as a special assistant to general manager Jeff Luhnow last year, said the club currently has eight to 10 candidates for the top choice. The Astros will let the spring play out before determining how they'll spread out their money. "We're trying to keep the book as open as possible," Elias said. "We'll try to scout as many players as possible, and I don't think we'll narrow the pool until late in the process. We're approaching this whole thing as how to extract the most talent from the draft pool, from having 1-1 and having the largest bonus pool and then deciding how to deploy it."
Here's a guy that has caught my eye: Andrew Dunlap, a catcher-turned-pitcher from Westbury Christian, right here in Houston. At 5'11", 215, he's a pretty stocky kid whose fastball reached 96 in a Perfect Game showcase this weekend. He was committed to Texas Tech, but has re-opened his recruitment. The thought of adding a hometown kid with a low-mileage power arm into the Astros system has piqued my curiosity. Perfect Game profile Perfect Game: Pitcher-only Dunlap sets mark The video is towards the end of the story. Also, he appears towards the end of the video.
The scouts are hard at work for June 6. Jose de Jesus Ortiz and Brian T. Smith have more. I'm debating as to whether to double-post this by putting this in the "Who Will Be the #1 Overall Draft Pick" thread.... you know what, I'll do it anyway. Ultimate Astros: Astros narrow pool for No. 1 pick to eight players Also, insight on some famous Astros' kids. And a future Aggie QB. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>We'll attempt to show fans how Mike Elias and his 23 full-time scouts, 4 part-timers and associates track No. 1 pick and other prospects.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/status/300765273932316672">February 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Baseball scouting season picks up after Super Bowl. Elias just returned from Calif. showcase in my hometown of Compton, Calif.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/status/300765718054596608">February 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>With no consensus No.1-type prospect in this year's draft, the <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Astros">#Astros</a> are looking at about 8 players as potential top picks.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/status/300766756438417408">February 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Of the 8 prospects <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Astros">#Astros</a> are considering, it's fair to say there isn't a high school pitcher in that bunch.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/status/300766978832990210">February 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>For the top pick, "we have right now a list of 8 names. We’re going to keep scouting those guys throughout the year," Mike Elias said.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/status/300769650101350400">February 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>"We’re going to keep our eyes on them and then maybe narrow that list," said Mike Elias, the Astros' scouting director.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/status/300769750663979008">February 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Astros">#Astros</a>' college scouting will move north once season changes. Geography-based thus far. National cross-checker has been handling Florida.</p>— Brian T. Smith (@ChronAstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChronAstros/status/300771786365227009">February 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
These are the kinds of things I love to read. The top guys will have tons of write-ups, but you don't get much information about later guys. We know they have an affinity for local guys.
Well he doesn't have to sign with us for one year so he could just wait all that time not allowing us to spread excess, if any, money around. We might want to sign him fast. Also I thought he became a free agent if he didn't sign but Im probably wrong. I dont really want Appel, I'd prefer someone like Manea
Right on the first count, but that is very little leverage. You used to become a FA if he went and played a year of independent ball instead of signing. MLB squashed that a while back and now he would re-enter the draft again. Edit: Only way to sign as a FA is to go undrafted, and then you'd be subject to the caps.
