not sure where you heard that from...he's usually 90-94mph http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/draft_report/y2008/index.jsp?mc=matusz
did some research...apparently matusz got off to a slow start this year, which is probably where you heard his dropoff in velocity, but in that start on april 25, he was up to 93-94mph and sitting 88-92 like he usually does.
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...t_id=2710321&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou recent story on the astros' draft my top 10 big board right now for us 1 RHP Aaron Crow 2 LHP Brian Matusz 3 SS Gordon Beckham 4 SS Tim Beckham 5 3B Pedro Alvarez 6 1B Justin Smoak 7 C Buster Posey 8 LHP Christian Friedrich 9 RHP Shooter Hunt 10 RHP Tim Melville
There is no clear cut favorite this year at #1, but the Astros have a chance to get some decent players and start restocking the farm system. One of my main concerns is that we are at #10 and the signing bonus for that slot is going to be high (in fact it will be more than what the Astros spent all of last year on the entire draft). I've heard interviews with Bobby Heck, the Astros director of scouting, who rebuilt Milwaukee's farm system and without saying who they're looking at, I think they are going BPA. Personally I like Gordon Beckham (SS) out of Georgia, I really like Tim Beckham, but he will probably be long gone by the time our pick comes up as well as Pedro Alvarez who should go top five. I'd like to see the Astros either take a projected starting pitcher (Tim Melville, Shooter Hunt, Christian Friedrich, Ethan Martin), a middle infielder (either of the Beckhams) or a slugging first baseman (Hosmer is my pick, but his signing bonus demands are going to be through the roof as he has Boras as his "advisor"). Either way the Astros have Bobby Heck and Ed Wade calling the shots and they are both known for being able to spot amateur talent.
Baseball America's newest mock draft http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/mock-draft/2008/266117.html 10. ASTROS. New scouting director Bobby Heck comes from the Brewers, who always keep their draft plans close to the vest. It's believed that Houston would prefer Skipworth if he got by the Marlins. Otherwise, one of the few remaining quality college starters could be the direction in which the Astros would go. Houston took another Tulane starter (Brian Bogusevic) in the first round three years ago, and it will hope for better results this time. Projected Pick: SHOOTER HUNT.
John Sickels draft board http://www.minorleagueball.com/2008/5/17/519689/john-s-2008-draft-board-as Here is a look at my current draft board. THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION OR PROJECTION OF THE FIRST ROUND. This is my current personal opinion of these players. This will continue to change as we approach draft day and some players are already ranked differently compared to the lists I've been doing this past week. 1) Buster Posey, C, Florida State: Great bat, has proven to be solid defender. 2) Tim Beckham, SS, Georgia HS: Overall tools package. 3) Kyle Skipworth, C, California HS: Hits, fields, and intuition loves him. 4) Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia: Love him almost as much as Posey. 5) Justin Smoak, 1B, South Carolina: Best college bat but not as valuable defensively as Posey and Beckham. 6) Aaron Crow, RHP, Missouri: Stock has dropped just a hair but still looks great to me. 7) Brian Matusz, LHP, San Diego: Could easily flip with Crow. 8) Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt: Injury knocks him back a couple of notches but still elite. 9) Eric Hosmer, 1B, Florida HS: All reports look great. Signability? 10) Yonder Alonso, 1B, Miami: Another bat impossible not to love. 11) Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Fresno State (ASSUMES GOOD HEALTH REPORTS): I loved him before he got hurt, not sure how to rank him now. 12) Aaron Hicks, OF-RHP, California HS: Hitter or pitcher? Either way I think I'd rank him here. 13) Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky: A safe solid pick. 14) Josh Fields, RHP, Georgia: Great stuff, could move quickly, affordable. 15) Shooter Hunt, RHP, Tulane: Great stuff, command is an issue. 16) Ethan Martin, RHP, Georgia HS: I'm assuming he will get drafted as a pitcher. 17) Bret Wallace, 3B-1B, Arizona State: Patience and power. 18) Ike Davis, OF, Arizona State: I rated him a bit ahead of Wallace before and they could flip flop again. 19) Jemile Weeks, 2B, Miami: Not sure he will have an impact bat like these other guys but all-around talent keeps him in the middle of the round. 20) Andrew Cashner, RHP, TCU: Closer prospect has risen rapidly. Could move up further. 21) Tim Melville, RHP, Missouri HS: Opinions are starting to shift about this guy, some rate him in the top 15 still, others have him dropping out of the Top 30 altogether. I don't know what to think. 22) Reese Havens, SS, South Carolina: Love the bat, though I expect him to move to third. 23) Zach Putnam, RHP, Michigan: I seem to like him more than other people do. 24) Kyle Lobstein, LHP, Arizona HS: My opinion of him is rising but signability looks like a problem. 25) Eric Thames, OF, Pepperdine: I buy into the bat improvement. 26) David Cooper, 1B, California: Another power bat that should do well in pro ball. 27) Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Illinois HS: I was thinking about him as a second rounder but stock has risen dramatically lately and the more I study the more I like him. 28) Ryan Perry, RHP, Arizona: Power arm, erratic but a high ceiling. 29) Isaac Galloway, OF, California HS: Another guy I like more than other people it seems. Is he getting nitpicked? 30) Jason Castro, C, Stanford: I'm not 100% convinced about the bat yet. Expect this list to change a lot, especially after the top ten.
I graduated from cy-fair and have been impressed with the players as of late coming out...this is the first time i've heard of grossman..is he 1st round material?
new mock from mlb.com http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080521&content_id=2742021&vkey=draft2008&fext=.jsp "10. Houston Astros: Yonder Alonso, 1B, University of Miami With last week's pick, Scheppers, no longer an option, the Astros could still go pitching with Hunt or maybe Christian Friedrich out of Eastern Kentucky. But here's a hunch that they'll decide an advanced bat is the way to go and unless Smoak drops to them, Alonso is the next best option as a lefty-hitting first baseman who can hit for average and power. Last week's projection: Tanner Scheppers" http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080521&content_id=2743374&vkey=draft2008&fext=.jsp "txboy2004: Do the Astros take the best available player with the No. 10 pick since the farm is so empty or do they go with a college closer to try to help quickly? Mayo: I don't think i'd necessarily go college closer at No. 10 overall, though that is a strength of this Draft and there are some guys with some big arms to choose from, like Ryan Perry and Andrew Cashner. I think they can take the best available guy who'll get there pretty quickly. To me, that's a college bat like Yonder Alonso."
Is the guy athletic enough to convert to another position? Presumably, Berkman is established at 1B for the next 5 or 6 years (and Lee for at least 3 or 4 in LF) and since he's a college guy, I'm assuming the plan wouldn't be to wait 5+ years on him, so he'd need be able to move, or we risk another Daryle Ward/Jason Lane/Chris Burke type situation where they languish in the minors because there's no place to put them.
alonso: no dh or 1b Smoak: gold glove caliber at 1st, possibly can be moved to left in 3 years berkman would be over 35. Most players, including Bagwell and Biggio, are basically done after 35. Berkman may or may not, but at that point you can either trade your prospect or trade berkman. I would hope that the organization would have learned from the way they handled the biggio/burke (kent) debacle.
I believe I have read that Alonzo is basically only a first baseman, and not the best one in the world at that. According to MLB.com, the same is true of Smoak.
What were Eric Hosmer's numbers for this past season? His size is impressive but if we're looking at just numbers look up Anthony Rendon SS for Lamar in Houston. Led or was top 3 in every major offensive category in the Houston area this past year. Led the Houston area last year in HR's also.
Rendon is a player. He's already committed to Rice and will be one of the NCAA's best hitters the next 3 years
Agree, but money talks as we all know and if he can get a nize sized signing bonus he will bypass college. The great thing about the contracts these kids coming out of high school get now is there is a clause that if they have a career season injury the team will pay for them to go back to the college they were originally supposed to go to. The hard thing for them is ACTUALLY going back if that were to happen.
hosmer might be the best option, with no consideration to signability. he's got a strong arm and can throw 95mph. he has a hitch in his swing, and he's got an abnormally high amount of strikeouts for a dominant high schooler, even though the competition is very good in his area. he does have 17 steals this year, leading me to believe he could move to LF if need be. however, he may be 4 years away and berkman might hang em up by then.
Of course if he gets the cash I'm sure he'll go that route. However, I haven't seen him listed among the top prospect lists....likely because of his size. He's not that big of a dude. Rice got burned last year by the Yankees when they decided to throw a million bucks at their 10th round pick (and Rice signee), Lake Charles SS Carmen Angelini. That's 1st round money. Unless you're picked by one of the NY teams, Cubs or Dodgers, if you're picked below about the 5th round or so, you're not getting enough cash to make the decision to bypass college
