Astros might be all in on Whitaker with a big overslot deal. Their 4thC, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th round picks have all been seniors who were overdrafts likely to sign below slot.
I get your point but none of them are typical seniors, in that they all have a year of eligibility left (McDermott & Gordon have 2)
Astros 2021 Draft Picks: Rounds 3-10 July 12, 2021 Jimmy Price The Astros made nine picks on the first day of the draft with the first pick being in the third round (for the Astros since they didn’t have a pick in the first or second round). Below are the picks! Rd 3, #87) Tyler Whitaker, OF, Bishop Gorman HS (NV) With the Astros first pick this draft, they took a prospect who fell right in their laps. Whitaker was ranked the #37 prospect by MLB. Scouts noted that he has a plus arm in the outfield and big raw power. He started as a shortstop and has since moved to the outfield. Whitaker is a good athlete for his size. He has some swing in miss to his game but has the upside to be a big run producer at the major league level. He is 6-4 and 190 lbs. Rd 4, #117) Alex Ulloa, SS, Calvary Christian Academy (FL) Ulloa was the #165 prospect by MLB. He is an offensive minded shortstop and scouts fell in love with his bat. He possesses excellent bat speed and above average run times. Scouts think he may have to move off of shortstop and maybe end up at second base, but the bat can play at either position. He is 5-11 and 180 lbs. Rd 4C, #132) Chayce McDermott, RHP, Ball State McDermott put together a really good season at Ball State posting a 3.05 ERA with 125 K in 82.2 innings. He has a fastball that works mid 90s and touches 98. His curveball plays as a plus pitch at times and he also has a good changeup. He can be successful as both a starter and reliever. Rd 5, #148) Quincy Hamilton, OF, Wright State Hamilton is already 23 but put up some impressive numbers in his last season at Wright State. He slashed .374/.535/.771 with 15 HR, 20 SB at Wright State in 2021. The left handed outfielder stands 5-10 and weighs 190 lbs. Rd 6, #178) Spencer Arrighetti, RHP, ULL Arrighetti is a 21 year old pitcher from Louisiana Lafayette. He attended Katy HS before going to college. At ULL he put up some solid numbers striking out 91 in 83.2 innings his last season. Rd 7, #208) Joey Loperfido, OF, Duke Loperfido played outfield all four years for Duke Univeristy. His best season was his last as a senior where he hit .374 with 8 HR, 12 SB. He played solely in CF in 2021 and appears that is where he will project at the big league level. He bats left handed and throws right handed. Rd 8, #238) Colton Gordon, LHP, Central Florida Gordon started his college career at Kenosha before transferring to Central Florida. The lefty, who is listed at 6-4 and 225 lbs, started 13 games at Central Florida and had a 2.64 ERA with 96 K in 78.1 innings. Rd 9, #268) Aaron Brown, RHP, Middle Tennessee State Another Brown drafted by the Astros following Tyler and Hunter the last two years. Aaron started his career at Vanderbilt but transferred to Middle Tennessee State where he posted a 3.99 ERA but had 15 BB/113 K in 85.2 innings in 2021. He stands 6-4 and 220 lbs. Rd 10, #298) Michael Sandle, OF, University of South Alabama Sandle was a four year started in the outfield for South Alabama. His best season came as a senior where he slashed .313/.389/.522 with 11 HR and 15 SB in 58 games. He is listed at 5-10 and 185 lbs. The Astros will make 10 more picks in rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
Jimmy needs to work on his research. Arrighetti went to Cinco Ranch, not Katy, and Loperfino played 1B as a frosh, 2B as a soph, then moved to the OF. Probably should mention that Gordon had TJS in May.
A really good day IMO. Whitaker (like Santos last year) gives the Astros a premium talent that very easily could have been drafted in the early 2nd round. I really like the other position players they drafted, even if there were other guys available at those picks that I would have rather had. They definitely didn’t draft for need since 4/5 of the position players they drafted today profile as CF. I don’t know anything about the pitchers they drafted but I like the idea of grabbing guys with injury history like Gordon who have potential to drastically exceed their draft status. McDermott seems like he could move really quickly if they see him as a RP. I like him more than I liked Ty Brown last season.
I've got a friend in Vegas says the Bishop Gorman program is the best hs program in the country. I will take the over on him making the majors.
I know nothing about the players drafted. But I can sense there is some excitement about Whitaker... It would be great if the Astros sign him, but he is a HS player, hence sometimes there is something other scouts saw that showed a s a red flag. Nevertheless, I think from the positives you guys are saying about him, it seems Astros got a bit of luck here. Now let's hope they can sign him soon, to get him into their farm system.
Agreed, Click cant afford to not have Whittaker sign since Click didn't have his 1st,2nd round picks. From what I've read the reason he fell was due to the swing and miss in his game. I know Whittaker is no Harper but I wonder how his game compares to Gallo's? Seems his scouting report would read a lot like Gallo's.
I can see Loperfino getting time at 1B. Our system has a lot of OF but not 1B, and looking at box scores there's usually a catcher playing 1B in Fayetteville/Asheville/Corpus. Any CF can slide to either corner OF spot. Also, correction- Bryce Harper did not go to Bishop Gorman. He went to Las Vegas High School, a public school and the oldest HS in Las Vegas.
Gallo has always had crazy power and hits from the left side. A HS RH corner outfielder is a pretty risky profile because he really needs to hit to provide much value.
Overall, this appears to be a very good draft. A couple high upside picks combined with a number of solid floor picks. I really like the top 3 picks, even with McDermott being a senior. Also noticed that Whitaker was announced as a SS instead of an OF, and Jake Kaplan reported that the Astros think can play CF. Interesting
