We need an Ace desperately. It's gotta be a college arm. Either Appel of Jonathan Gray. The guy from Indiana St. has had arm problems and I wouldn't touch him with the 1st pick.
http://sbb.scout.com/2/1294726.html Pick 1-Astros-Mark Appel ANALYSIS: I'm not buying all the buzz of momentum for Oklahoma RHP Jonathan Gray or North Carolina 3B Colin Moran at this pick. I reported on twitter earlier this week that Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and Owner Jim Crane were recently spotted scouting Moran (Luhnow had been in multiple times earlier in the year) and it appears if the Astros want to go cheap at #1 overall to spend their bonus pool elsewhere, that Moran is the pick. The other three real options at #1 (Appel, Gray and San Diego 3B Kris Bryant) all appear to be ticketed for the top three picks ($5-8 million bonus each) unless a club in the top three opts to go cheap or pick one of the next few players (no real reason to believe they will). So none of those three are motivated to give a big discount to entice the Astros and I don't think they will. So some people assume that means Moran is the pick since last year the Astros took the least expensive of the top group of talent in Carlos Correa. The difference is the top of this class is generally considered to be three players whereas last year's group was generally considered to have eight. I have Appel as the clear top talent, the many scouts I've spoken with agree and in the case one of the scouts prefer Gray or Bryant, they have to go through a pretty extensive list of conditions and qualifications. This week, I've been hearing the Astros current posture is "exploring every alternative to Appel" and the buzz coming out of Houston matches the deliberate, measured approach they took last season to keep everyone in the dark, maximizing their negotiating leverage with misdirection and hoping one of their targets blinks. I expect some lively internal discussion in the Astros draft meetings the next two weeks that eventually will end up on "we've gotta take the best player here" and realizing there's only one correct answer this year when the price tags are all comparable.
The NCAA Tournament has begun. Jonathan Gray looks like he'll be taking the mound for OU's opener against Coastal Carolina, in the Blacksburg Regional (Virginia Tech). First pitch is scheduled for 1 PM Eastern, and it can be seen online, on ESPN3.
I am not sure that Appel's potential is a #1. The consensus, highest potential pitcher in this draft is Houston HSer Kohl Steward. But Steward will have a longer road to get to being aToR pitcher viz-a-viz Gray or Appel.
Gray's stuff looked fine through the first, though he was having trouble locating his fastball. Carolina scored 2 with a combination of bunts, errors by OU, and a hit. Gray's slider looks nasty at 85mph with good depth. Doesn't have quite the snap I'd want to see though. It looks more like a hard slurve than a true slider. Also he only threw fastballs and 4-5 sliders that inning. Haven't seen anything resembling a changeup.
Brian T. Smith (@ChronAstros): Continue to hear if #Astros picked 1.1 today, Gray would be the one with Appel close second, then Bryant and Moran on club's board. @ChronAstros: Everything from Houston meetings early next week to 1.1 contract value are legit issues, though, and nothing's finalized at this point. @ChronAstros: Gray's power, overall stuff and potential ceiling will be hard to pass up for #Astros club with good young arms in minors but no true No. 1. @ChronAstros: There continue to be uncertainties about Gray, though, while Appel's seen as safest bet among four still on top of board. @ChronAstros: As for Bryant vs. Moran, clear edge toward Bryant. But some are intrigued by Moran's polish and #Astros will take a hard final look at him. @ChronAstros: If #Astros are sold on Gray after internal meetings, his asking price could be tipping point.
Jonathan Gray goes the distance in a 7-3 OU win. 2 of those 3 runs were earned. He allowed 9 hits, walked 1, and struck out 11. Zach Remillard, who was the Astros' 38th-round pick in last year's draft, was Coastal's starting shortstop. He went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts.
Definitely, but in college he probably doesn't have much reason to try to show his fringy changeup when he has 2 plus pitches that most college hitters will struggle with.
Rodon Watch: Had a no-hitter broken up with 2 outs in the 5th. He's hit 2 batters, but hasn't walked anyone and has struck out 6, as NC State leads William & Mary 1-0 heading into the 7th. Colin Moran is currently 0-3 with a walk. He's 1-8 in the regional.
sadly, it looks like the rodon watch may prove to be fruitless, at least anywhere but the marlins bbs. who can we look forward to at 1.2? may need to get a new watch started soon.
I don't think Rodon is a lock for #1 anymore. From what I've read there is Beade and that HS pitcher with the name I'd rather not try to spell
I put the link below earlier in this thread that helps explain why Rodon did not fare so well this season. I agree with cardpire that Rodon will bounce back. Rodon is especially intriguing because of his velocity, repertoire, polish and left-handedness. The high school pitcher that should be interesting to hear is Touki Toussaint out of Florida. Tyler Beede is a good one as well, but is not as polished as Rodon. http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/20/2905967/nc-state-pitcher-carlos-rodons.html I look forward to the top names for the 2014 draft the day after the end of the draft. Last year Meadows and Appel were at the top, no one considered Jonathan Gray for the top ten much less the top spot.
Yeah I know Rodon will most likely rebound but just like we saw with Correa, you never know who will show up out of nowhere. There's still a lot of time for there to be fast risers. And yeah I didn't want to mess up the spelling of toussaint lol
Interesting comments from Boras: ChronAstros Agent Scott Boras said he has no plans to overvalue potential 1.1 pick Mark Appel and back #Houston #Astros into a corner. #MLB 5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite ChronAstros Scott Boras on Appel, #Astros, 2013 #MLB draft: "I don’t think that anybody in the draft that I know is seeking what I would call ... 5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite ChronAstros ... dollars that are not within the realm of what everyone anticipated the draft to be." 5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite ChronAstros Boras: "The expectancies of certainly everyone involved are within the traditional dynamics of what’s expected in the process.” 4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite ChronAstros Boras said #Astros have yet to make an internal decision about 1.1; doesn't believe organization is going to underpay to save slot money. 3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite ChronAstros Boras said he's had a couple recent general pre-draft conversations with #Astros GM Jeff Luhnow that were positive. about 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite ChronAstros Boras on #Astros: "This idea that they’re not taking the best player, I think they’re in a position to take the best player they see.” 31 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite Definitely sounds like some posturing and maneuvering a couple of days before the draft. Doesn't sound like the usual Boras commentary.
sounds like a guy who is scared that his reputation and tendency to play hardball is going to cause his client to miss out on getting taken #1 two years in a row. can't be great for future or current business.
