Havent signed Jason Castro or Ross Seaton yet, but the top 2 signed picks, Jordan Lyles and Jay Austin are playing at Greenville right now. Lyles has pitched 5 innings with 8 K's and 0 BB's. 1 hit allowed and 0.00 ERA. He describes himself as a location pitcher and definitely not a power pitcher who likes to move his fastball in and out. He's a projectable 6'4 185lbs and has gotten his fastball up to 94mph but usually sits at 88-90mph. As he grows into his body, he'll add more velocity, and he already has very good command. I really like this pick the more I research on him, and his mechanics are insanely smooth. No effort at all. Austin is struggling with only 7 hits in 39 AB's. 14 K's and 1 BB. He has gone 4 for 9 in the past 2 games though, so hopefully he can make the adjustment to pro ball. Have to keep in mind that Austin is a raw type, so he'll take awhile, but he has tools to work with. Both Lyles and Austin are 17 years old and don't turn 18 until October and August respectively.
Luis Crus, a 5'9 lefty from Puerto Rico has thrown 5 innings and has 3K's and 2 BB's also with a 0.00 ERA with 3 hits allowed. Profiles as a lefty reliever, he sits right around 89-90mph
Phil Disher, Ashton Mowdy, Philip Rummel and TJ Steele have had great starts to their careers in Tri-City. Luis Cruz has started well in Greenville. They have to find a way to sign Castro, Seaton, Chase Davidson, and Brad Dydalewicz.
Phil Disher hitting .444 with 3 HR and 14 RBI. Struck out alot in college, I don't think he projects much. Pretty much what you see is what you get. A power bat and not much else. Hopefully he'll hit enough to make up for his other shortcomings. Jon Gaston hitting .229 with 7 K's and no BB's. He has every tool except hitting ability. Will hit for power, steal bases, and play defense in RF, but his average will always be low and he'll strikeout quite a bit. TJ Steele is like a CF version of Gaston. He's hitting .370 with 4 RBI. 2 BB and 7 K's. Again, has all the tools except hitting ability. Strikes out alot, doesn't walk, and his average will never be very high. His swing is also pretty ugly, but he's got speed and power. Michael Diaz is hitting .346 with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Drafted in the 30th round. David Duncan is off to a rocky start. 4 innings, 6 hits, 2 BB and 7K's with a 6.75 ERA
Derek Dietrich, our unsigned 1st pick last year, finished his 1st season at Georgia Tech. .332 14 HR 66 RBI 16 Doubles .592 SLG .410 OBP 26 BB 50 K 238 AB's Brett Eibner, our unsigned 2nd pick played at Arkansas .298 8 HR 48 RBI 10 Doubles .497 SLG .405 OBP 28 BB 46 K's 3-1 24 innings 14 BB 24 K 25 hits allowed
I'm pretty sure the only tool Jason Lane ever had going for him was his hitting ability. He was not fast and was barely an average defending outfielder.
I remember Lane as a solid defender in RF, although he was well below average in center. Much better defensively than say a Luke Scott.
no, lane didnt have hitting ability. thats why he never hit above .270. the 5 tools that players are graded on are: arm strength defensive ability speed power hitting ability/ability to make contact lane had a solid arm (probably graded out a 55 on the 20-80 scale) and was our best defensive outfielder for some time. he had solid average speed and everyone knew he had power. he could never hit for a decent average though.
I think Castro will be in soon. He just finished the College World Series and I think they're allowing him a breather before he signs and heads to Greenville. I'm curious to see what they do with him. Will he stay at catcher? The kid seems like he can be a very good offensive player. I wonder if he stays at catcher or they attempt a move to 3rd.
Why would they move him to 3B? I haven't heard anything about that, he's actually supposed to be a pretty solid catcher defensively as well.
Well, I was going from personal observation. Never really was impressed with his arm strength, speed or defensive ability. To me, he was maybe average in all those, but not strong enough in any for me to consider that "tool" a strength. Power he had, when he was dialed in. Hitting for average, not so much.
If he's as good offensivley in the pros as he's shown to be thus far, they might do it to prolong his career. Also, if Towles straightens things out (he's hit 2 hr's in his last 2 games) and they still consider him for the long term, what will you do with Castro? 1st base could be a possibility to if they don't think Lance will be here in the next 3-5 years.
Jordan Lyles, our sandwich pick, has looked pretty impressive so far. 9 IP, 6 H, 1.00 ERA , 1 BB, 12 K, 2.00 GO/AO
Well, it never translated to the bigs. He was pretty good in the minors; won MVPs at every level. But a complete waste of time in the bigs.
Brett Eibner was named to Baseball America's 1st team Freshman All America as a utility player (hitter/pitcher) Derek Dietrich was named to the 2nd team even though he led all freshman in HR and RBI
As already posted, the Astros have signed 1st rounder Jason Castro. Terms were not disclosed, but chances are he received a bonus in the $2 million range. Last year's 10th overall pick, HS LHP Madison Bumgarner, received $2m even from the Giants.
according to Baseball America, Jason Castro signed for $2,070,000. 70k more than last year's #10 pick. a fair deal, but i would have thought we could get him cheaper than that.
