161 - SS Brandon Wikoff(Illinois Champaign) 5'9 170lbs L/R Edit: Posted previously during my pee break.
Tejada hasn't posted a 0.900 OPS... ever. Counting on him to do it at age 36 is a reach, at best. That said, for a reasonable price, he's certainly a better option than the other crap we have out there. But from my understanding, his arm is his biggest weakness (as opposed to range). If that's the case, moving to 3rd just seems that it would make it worse. Is there a reason SS's usually move to 3rd instead of 2nd? If he could move there, it solves the arm problem.
That's what I wanted to see when the trade was consummated in the first place -- Tejada at 3rd. If he'll play for $5M-ish, and not turn into Adam Everett offensively (I had my doubts a couple times last year), I'm game.
Astros draft another SS pick 191 Enrique Hernandez 5'11 170 r/r american military academy Puerto Rico
They said Mier was a pure shortstop and will stay there, I wonder if they plan to move the last couple of guys to different positions
Some of Wikoff's numbers from last season: .373 avg, 56 runs, 4 HR, 41 RBI, 10/13 SB, 85 hits, 228 AB, 25 BB, 7 SO
Pick 221 Dallas Keuchel Left-Handed Pitcher Height: 6-2 Weight: 194 Sophomore Bats: L Throws: L Previous Affiliations Bishop Kelly Previous Experience 1L Tulsa, Okla. Printable Page Courtesy: Phil Pierce, Athletic Media Relations Release: 01/29/2009 2009 Outlook Entering the season as Arkansas’ most experienced starter, Keuchel hopes to improve upon a second strong summer in Cape Cod ... Was a Cape Cod League West All-Star for the Wareham Gatemen ... A possible Friday night starter which was a role he filled some in 2008 ... Looked outstanding in fall practices, helping to solidify his position as one of Arkansas’ starters ... Increased his velocity over the summer to move his fastball into the low 90s with an outstanding change-up and breaking pitch. 2008 (Sophomore) Earned a spot in the weekend rotation after a brilliant spot start against LSU, where he pitched a complete game and allowed just four runs on a Sunday when Arkansas’ bullpen needed rest ... Finished the year with a 4-3 record and 4.58 ERA in 74.2 innings and 11 starts ... Was second on the club in wins (4), starts (11) and strikeouts (61) ... Named the SEC Pitcher of the Week on May 12 after holding South Carolina to one run over eight innings with a career high 10 strikeouts ... On a Friday night at Florida pitched a career high 8.1 innings and allowed just one run on six hits ... Threw five or more innings in six of his 11 starts and had a 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio ... Was 2-1 against the SEC with a 4.72 ERA over 47.2 innings and 30 strikeouts. 2007 (Freshman) SEC All-Freshman Team ... Went 6-3 on the mound with a save in with nine starts and 24 appearances ... Pitched 52 innings and accumulated a 5.88 ERA, striking out 49 and walking just 19 ... Served all roles as a freshman: starting, long relief, set-up man and closer, and was 2-1 out of the bullpen over 22.1 innings ... Allowed seven of 16 inherited runners to score ... Earned his first win against Kansas on March 9 by throwing 3.2 innings and allowing two earned runs ... Won back-to-back starts against Missouri St. and Wichita St. (April 18 & 25), on pitch count starts that combined for 5.2 innings and two runs with six strikeouts ... His sixth win of the year came from the bullpen against Ole Miss, when Arkansas clinched the SEC West title in a dramatic come-from-behind affair ... Earned the start in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. Summer Baseball Has pitched two seasons for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod League ... Earned an all-star bid for the West Division ... Was just 1-3 for the Gatemen his second year, but was consistently among the league leaders in innings pitched and ERA ... Ended the 2008 season with a 2.63 ERA over 54.2 innings ... Struck out 36 while walking 13 and allowed 55 hits in nine appearances and eight starts ... In his first stint, he led the league in innings pitched with 59, going 2-4 with a 3.20 ERA ... He struck out 45 and walked just 15. Bishop Kelley High School A three-time all-Metro Lakes honoree and two-time MLC Pitcher of the Year ... Led the Comets to three 5A state finals and two state championships (2004, 2006) ... As a senior went 10-0 with a 1.57 ERA and 94 strikeouts ... Held opponents to a .170 batting average ... Won his second pitcher of the year award and was named first-team Tulsa World All-Metro ... As a junior, took first-team all-Metro Lakes and second-team Tulsa World All-Metro ... Sophomore year, was 7-1 on the mound with a 1.98 ERA and 61 strikeouts ... Earned co-Pitcher of the Year honors and led Bishop Kelley to a state title ... Also played Football and was an All-5A East Quarterback by the Oklahoma Football Coaches Association. Personal Keuchel is the son of Dennis and Tresa Keuchel ... he has one sister, Krista ... majoring in apparel studies.
I think SS are always deemed the most athletic kid on the team. Projection wise, they can move all over the place if needed. And so the Astros are probably focusing on trying to get some athletes in the system.
he currently has a .900 OPS. i, of course, don't expect him to have one in september but... the lowest OPS he's ever posted is .729 (which was last year). if he does that again the rest of the way, he'll finish with an 800+ OPS, which i'll take from my 3B considering we have next-to-no other viable alternatives. certainly not what i've seen. his arm is more than adequate to play 3B. his range has diminished considerably. because range (usually) goes quicker than the arm and 2B is an awkward transition for a SS. as a SS (or 3B), you're more often facing and moving toward 1B; as a 2B, you're often having to turn while moving away from 1B. you also have A LOT more ground to cover because the 1B is often holding runners on.
From what I understand, Walker was a big arm out of Austin that wanted to pursue his education, but never really put it together with the Cardinal. Hopefully the Astros can help him tap that potential.
He supposedly was a highly rated prospect out of high school and has a big arm, he just never put it all together at Stanford.
Even though I know most of these guys will move around, I'm curious to know from the draftees point of view that by seeing so many guys that play the same position that you do, will that create a sense of confusion or uneasiness in their minds that could affect signability? I mean, what if some of these guys dont want to move, or they split these guys up amongst two or three positions and there is still a decent logjam, do you really want to sign here with this much competition being brought in? Just a thought, there's probably so many different lower levels it won't matter, I've had a ton of friends get drafted and it all basically came down to how much money was being offered haha
