Why Didn't the Astros take Byron Buxton? Was it at least a discussion? He's going into next season as the #1 Prospect while looking like a Black Mike Trout this year in the minors. Granted, it's the minors but scouts are drooling over his projectability to the majors. This could be Derek Jeter all over again.
He ended up getting the highest signing bonus last year (higher than Correa and higher than Appel this year) despite being the 2nd pick. If we pay that, it's likely that we don't have the flexibility to sign McCullers and Ruiz. Given that neither Buxton or Correa by themselves will turn this team around, they needed organizational depth and picking Correa was the best chance to get that. And let's not slight what Correa is doing (in comparison to Buxton) just yet. He's playing amazingly for his age. He was also rated above Buxton by many at the time of the draft. Lastly, if you project Springer to be a CF, he fills a bigger positional need that btw is pretty damn important too. Lastly, Mike Trout was already in the majors at Buxtons age. They aren't the same players.
Probably not. This isn't basketball or football. The vast majority of fans have no idea when or if certain players were drafted.
I can't believe there are people questioning the correa/McCullers/Ruiz pick over buxton. The fact that there is even a debate of who the better player is between correa and buxton makes the Astros' decision a slam dunk.
It's too early to debate really anyway. But what you're looking at is Butxon the #1 rated prospect vs. Correa #8/McCullers #63/and Ruiz top #200 maybe? I'm absolutely happy with what we got and have no regrets.
Plus if they redid the rankings today, Correa probably becomes #2-5 range, and McCullers is top #35. Both have contined to improve as the season has gone on. Buxton's high A numbers aren't as good as his low A was, but they're still pretty good.
Thursday Stories Lancaster takes on Jonathan Gray. Tri-City busts out the brooms. Hooray for 9:05 starts in the minors. Recap Las Vegas 12, Oklahoma City 3 The winning streak was halted at 12 as the Redhawks got torched. Brandon Laird went 3-4 with a 3-run homer (14) in the 6th that constituted all of OKC's runs. Jose Martinez was 2-4. Asher Wojciechowski was all over the place in his 4 2/3 innings. He allowed 6 runs (2 inherited) on 7 hits, walked 5, and struck out 6. Rhiner Cruz couldn't even get the final out of the inning. Instead, he walked 3. To me, that sounds like a guy who's going to be outrighted off the 40-man roster after the season. Science Guy allowed a run (on a solo homer to Brandon Hicks in the 7th; the only hit he gave up), walked 2, and struck out 3 in 2 1/3 innings. Jason Stoffel was torched in the 8th, as he gave up 5 runs on 5 hits (2-run homer) and walked 1. In game 2, Bobby Doran will take on Matt Fox. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific. Northwest Arkansas 12, Corpus Christi 5 The Hooks couldn't get the sweep as they got crushed. On the bright side, Max Stassi was 3-4 with an RBI single in the 1st and an RBI double in the 3rd. Domingo Santana hit a 2-run homer (20) in the 8th, and Matt Duffy connected for his first homer as a Hook in the 9th. He's got 20 on the year, too. Preston Tucker was 2-5 with 3 runs scored. Drew Muren was also 2-5. Nick Tropeano got knocked around, and his rollercoaster season continues. He allowed 5 runs on 8 hits (3-run homer), walked 3, and struck out 6 in 5 innings. Alex Sogard allowed 2 runs on 3 hits in the 6th. Cam Lamb allowed 3 hits in a scoreless 7th. T.J. Geith got crushed in the 8th, as he allowed 5 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and struck out 1. Pat Urckfitz threw a 1-2-3 9th. The Hooks welcome the other Arkansas team to Corpus for 3 this weekend. Ross Seaton will start the opener against Lay Batista. First pitch is at 7:05. Modesto 6, Lancaster 2 The Jethawks were just stymied by Jonathan Gray. In fact, they were stymied by Modesto's pitchers, as they only managed to rack up 4 hits. They had the bases loaded with no outs on Gray in the 3rd and all they could manage was a sac fly from Carlos Perdomo, who was the 1st out of the inning. Brandon Meredith hit an RBI double in the 6th. Brady Rodgers gave up 3 runs (1 inherited) on 3 hits (2-run homer) without recording an out. He took a line drive off his leg and left the game under his own power. Michael Dimock allowed a run on 3 hits and struck out 5 in 4 innings. Tyson Perez went 2 innings and gave up 1 on 3 hits, walked 1, and fanned 3. Jordan Jankowski pitched the final 2 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 3. The Jethawks continue their roadtrip with what's basically a drive to Galveston for me. They've got 3 with High Desert beginning at 7:05 Pacific. TBA will take on Jordan Shipers. Actually, the distance between Lancaster and Adelanto might less than the distance between Cypress and Galveston. Quad Cities 2, Clinton 1 The River Bandits got even behind a stellar start from Vince Velasquez. Velasquez threw 6 shutout innings and allowed 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 7. Zach Morton, in his River Bandits debut, allowed 2 hits and fanned 1 over 2 scoreless. Juan Minaya allowed a solo homer to D.J. Peterson to lead off the 9th, but he immediately ended any thoughts of a rally by retiring the next 3 LumberKings to finish it. He struck out 1. QC got on the board first in the 2nd with an RBI double from Rio Ruiz. Both of The River's hits (in 4 at-bats) were doubles. Bobby Borchering was also 2-4; he hit an RBI single in the 8th. He also had a double. In the rubber game, Chris Devenski will face Scott DeCecco at 7:00. Tri-City 10, Williamsport 2 The ValleyCats swept the Crosscutters out of the Capital Region with a pair of 5-run frames. The first came in the 4th in response to Williamsport scoring 1 in the top of the frame. James Ramsay started it off with a triple, then came home on a Tyler White single. White would score on a Conrad Gregor triple. Ronnie Mitchell followed that up with a single to get Gregor home. Mitchell came home on a double from Jake Rodriguez. Another double from Jack Mayfield put runners on 2nd and 3rd; Chan-Jong Moon grounded out to bring Rodriguez home. The other 5-run inning was the 8th. Mitchell and Mayfield led off with singles, and a 3rd single from Rodriguez scored Mitchell. Moon then hit a 2-run triple and scored when White grounded into a force out. Gregor added a sac fly. White, Gregor, Mitchell, Rodriguez, Mayfield, and Moon all had 2-hit nights. Moon drove in 3, White and Gregor had 2 RBIs apiece, while Mitchell and Mayfield both scored twice. Andrew Thurman rebounded well from getting blasted his previous time out. He went 5 innings and allowed a run (on a solo homer) on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. Michael Feliz finished it off, and he allowed a consolation run on 5 hits (all singles) and struck out 6. The ValleyCats will welcome the Jamestown Jammers to Troy for a 3-game weekend series. In the opener, Chris Cotton will face Jackson Lodge. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. Greeneville 10, Bristol 8 in 10 innings The Appy Astros coughed up a 7-4 lead, but they recovered nicely to get the win and the sweep. Down 3-0 in the 2nd, Wallace Gonzalez hit a 2-run double and Parker Hipp added an RBI groundout. Greeneville got 4 in the 5th thanks to a solo homer from Tanner Mathis (1), a 2-run homer from Ricky Gingras (3), and an RBI single from Angel Ibañez, who finished 4-5 with 2 runs scored. The Appy Astros trailed 8-7 heading into the 9th, but Edwin Gomez brought them to even terms with an RBI infield single. Ibañez scored the go-ahead run on an error in the 10th. The error allowed Cristian Moronta to reach 3rd on a sac bunt attempt. He'd score on another error, which allowed Mathis to reach. Mathis, Gomez, and Gingras had 2 hits apiece. Enderson Franco pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits and struck out 5. Ryan Connolly got the final out of the 6th. Sebastian Kessay came on to pitch in the 7th, but didn't record an out. He gave up 4 runs (3 earned, 1 inherited) on a hit and walked 2. Raul Rivera allowed the runner he inherited from Kessay to score, but didn't have a run charged to him. He threw 3 scoreless and gave up a hit and fanned 4. Gonzalo Sanudo struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 10th for his 10th save. The Appy Astros will now begin a big 3-game series against Kingsport at home. The Mets sit in 2nd, 4 games behind Greeneville. Chris Lee will get the start in the opener against Robert Whalen. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. GCL Blue Jays 13, GCL Astros 9 The Blue Jays put the GCLstros away with 4 in the 9th, which made it a 13-8 game. Well, on the bright side, Kent Emanuel has started off his career with 4 scoreless innings. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 2 in 2 innings. Matt Heidenreich allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and walked 1 in the 3rd. Jose Montero gave up 3 runs (2 inherited) on 2 hits in the 4th without getting an out. Erick Gonzalez went 2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 2. Jorge Perez threw 2 2/3 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 4, and fanning 3. Javier Lozano went 1 1/3 and allowed 4 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits (3-run homer) and struck out 2. The Kissimmee Stros got 4 in the 3rd on 3 RBI doubles from Jason Martin, Jean Carlos Batista, and Yonathan Mejia. Javaris Reynolds added an RBI groundout. Batista scored on a wild pitch in the 7th. Martin hit a 2-run triple in the 8th, and Reynolds had another RBI groundout. Jose Fernandez scored on an error in the 9th. Ydarqui Marte was 3-4 with a double and 2 runs scored, while Martin and Batista had 2 hits apiece. They're in progress at Disney World against the Braves. DSL Mariners 9, DSL Astros 2 in 7 innings This game was (probably mercifully) called due to rain. Actually, this game was originally played on July 5, but was suspended due to rain. There was also another game that was supposed to be played, but since this one got called because of weather, it most likely got postponed. Jean Estrella, who's now in Kissimmee, scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch in the 3rd, back on July 5. After that, it was all Mariners. Kristian Trompiz was 2-2 with an RBI single in the 7th. Jarico Reynoso and Brian Peña both went 2-3. Geronimo Franzua pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 inherited) on a hit (not a grand slam), walked 3, and struck out 3. Javier Saucedo got the last 2 outs of the 3rd, but the hit he did allow was a grand slam. He was charged with the batter's run while Franzua was on the hook for the bases loaded. Saucedo struck out 1. Juan Delis pitched a scoreless 4th, then walked the bases loaded in the 5th and issued another walk, which resulted in a run. Delis allowed 4 runs (3 inherited) and walked 4 in his 1+ inning. Carlos Vasquez walked 4 and struck out 2 in 2 1/3. The 3 inherited runners scored on a wild pitch, a walk, and a sac fly double play.
If we were truly happy about what we got, then Byron Buxton's name shouldn't be mentioned here. Just my $.02 there...
Well lets see.... Correa is almost a year younger, is far bigger and stronger and plays a more demanding position. Buxton has more speed but Correa has better control of the strike zone. If Buxton is "tearing it up", then Correa is certainly as well as they both have/had OPS of or above .900 . I don't really get why anyone can be unhappy with the Correa pick at this point. In the low minors a year difference in age is a relevant factor.
I just can't wait for Correa to fill out. He's 6'4 205lbs now and he still looks rail skinny. He's going to be 220lbs in a few years and hitting plenty of home runs. 29 doubles as an 18 year old so far and reportedly put on one of the more impressive BPs at the futures game. Can't wait.
I'm not second-guessing the astros' decision but to say the comparison is buxton vs correa and McCullers and ruiz just isn't true. The astros still could have afforded McCullers at 41 if they went with buxton. The discussion really is would you rather have correa and Ruiz or buxton and a slot (or below slot) 4th round pick.
Has someone actually gone back and checked if the Astros would have been able to sign their "over-slot guys" (other than Ruiz) had they given Buxton what he wanted? Plus, even if that were true, hindsight is 20-20. There was no telling at the time exactly how far over slot the Astros would need to go in order to actually sign McCullers or Ruiz.
Yes, the difference btw ruiz's slot and what he signed for is larger than the difference btw what buxton and correa signed for. Even if you assume buxton would have gotten even more in the #1 slot the money would have still been there to sign McCullers when you factor in the later below slot picks and the unspent overage $. To your second point, yes, the astros knew what it would take to sign McCullers before they drafted him. Luhnow told reporters that he called boras before he picked McCullers to get a sense of what it would take to sign him. With the new cba most high or above slot picks come with tentative pre draft deals. But I love correa and I will be excited to see him in an astros uniform for the rest of the decade. What's done is done, and if correa turns into the next Tulo I doubt anyone will care what buxton does.
Buxton signed for $6.2 million vs. Correa at $4.8 million. Ruiz signed for $1.85 million, about $1.5 million over slot. McCullers signed for $2.5 million, or about 1.25 million over slot. Correa's slot value was 7.2 million, and so the 2.4m savings gave the Astros the majority of the room for Ruiz and McCullers (they needed another 250k, but 5% buffer probably did most of that). Buxton may or may not have been willing to sign for $6.2 million with the Astros - he signed for exactly slot with the Twins. Assuming he was, it would have cost the Astros Ruiz OR McCullers (they would've drafted someone they could sign for slot instead), but not both.
Mark Appel was the top pick that year. Are you saying that the Astros should drafted Mark Appel instead? ... but wait they did.
Correa homers to straight center. He just bides his time and waits for people on Clutchfans to long for Buxton, and then strikes.
