I am really surprised that they took 4 HS players (plus 1 underclassman college player in Swanson). Between those guys and the velocity arms this class has a lot more upside (and lower floor) than I expected. I’m not all that excited about McDermott or Arrighetti since I felt like there was a lot of other really good players still available at those picks but otherwise I’m really happy with this draft. Getting a talent with Whitaker’s ceiling is a huge opportunity to make up for not having those 1st 2 picks.
Thanks to everyone posting the picks, tweets, clips, scouting reports, etc.. on all the picks. Greatly appreciated.
Deylen Miley, a RHP from Bellarmine, is the first undrafted free agent signing I've seen so far. Bellarmine is a school in Louisville that is in the middle of transitioning from Division II to Division I.
With the shorter draft, can highly ranked players who went undrafted be signed without penalty for going over the pool, or is there a rule that limits bonuses for UDFA? 4 of MLB.com's top 60 prospects went undrafted (I'm assuming due to signability).
2021 Astros - DRAFT RECAP ROUND 3 - CF TYLER WHITAKER (#87)...18 ...6-4, 190....B/T: R/R...2021 graduate of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV...has played the outfield and in the infield...Named the 2020/2021 Gatorade Nevada High School Player of the Year...Whitaker hit .508 in 2021 with 5 HR and 32 RBI in just 18 games at Bishop Gorman...ranked 37th on mlb.com’s Top 100 Draft Prospect List and 60th on Baseball America’s Top 500 MLB Prospects List. ROUND 4: SS ALEX ULLOA (#117)...18...**5-11, 180...B/T: R/R...**2021 graduate of Calvary Christian Academy in Florida....hit .483 in 2021 with 6 HR and 8 SB. ROUND 4 COMPENSATION: LHP CHAYCE McDERMOTT (#132)...22 years old...6-3, 197...Ball St. University...compensation pick for George Springer...in 2021, voted second team All-MAC and second team ABCA All-Region ... went 8-2 with a 3.05 ERA ... finished regular season fifth in the nation with 125 strikeouts and 12th in the nation with 13.61 Ks per 9 innings ... twice named MAC Pitcher of the Week. ROUND 5: OF QUINCY HAMILTON (#148)...23...5-10, 190...Wright St....in 2021, named the Horizon League Player of the Year and a DI Baseball First Team All-American...hit .374 in 48 games at Wright St. while leading his league in walks (56) and his club in RBI (56)...also had 18 doubles, 4 triples and 15 HR...named top hitter on the D1 Top 100 hitters list for 2021...also named to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll. ROUND 6: RHP SPENCER ARIGHETTI (#178)....21...6-2, 186...University of Louisiana-Lafayette...a native of Katy, TX, went 7-6 in 2021 with a 3.12 ERA and 91 K’s in 83.2 innings pitched...graduate of Cinco Ranch High School. ROUND 7: OF Joey Loperfido (#208)...22...6-4, 195...B/T: L/R....Duke University...team captain for the Blue Devils, started 53 games in CF in 2021...earned Second Team All-ACC outfielder honors and was the ACC Championship Tournament MVP after leading Duke to its’ first-ever ACC Tournament title....374 batting avg. led his club and was second in the ACC...also led his team in OBP (.473), runs (56), hits (77) and doubles (19)...also had 8 HR, 29 RBI. ROUND 8: LHP Colton Gordon (#238)...23....6-4, 225...University of Central Florida...in 2021, was 5-2 in nine starts with a 2.77 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 55.1 IP before his season was ended due to an elbow injury...in 2020, was 2-0 in four starts for the Golden Knights with a 2.35 ERA with 24 strikeouts...saw limited action due to pandemic-related absence...struck out 10 batters vs. Siena in what was his first start of the season. **ROUND 9: RHP AARON BROWN (#268)...22...6-4, 220...**Middle Tennesse St.... voted to the All-Conference USA Second Team...named to the 2021 All-Conference Tournament Team...recorded a conference-best 113 strikeouts in just 85.1 innings of work with just 15 walks...his 113:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked as one of the nation’s best in 2021 (No. 8)...struck out 11 or more batters five times during the 2021 season. **ROUND 10: OF MICHAEL SANDLE (#298)...23...5-10, 185...**University of South Alabama...hit .311 in 57 games in 2021 with 11 HR and 48 RBI...stole 15 bases in 16 attempts....drove in a career-high 8 runs on April 30, 2021 vs. Georgia Southern. **ROUND 11: IF CHAD STEVENS (#328)...21...B/T: R/R...6-4, 215...**University of Portland (OR)...named 2021 All West Coast Conference First Team as a shortstop...hit .333 for Portland in 49 games in 2021 with 19 doubles, 8 HR and 29 RBI with 12 SB...led the Pilots in batting, hits (67), HR and RBI...twice named WCC Player of the Week. **ROUND 12: RHP RHETT KOUBA (#358)...21...6-0, 180...**Dallas Baptist Univerity...in 2021, was 6-2 in 16 appearances (10 starts) for DBU with a 2.77 ERA...tallied 87 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched with 23 walks...earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors in April after hurling 7.0 shutout innings in a win vs. Indiana St. on April 24. ROUND 13: IF KATO KOBE (#388)...22...B/T: L/R...6-1, 170...University of Arizona...earned Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention honors, starting all 63 games at second base for the Wildcats...hit .350 with 16 doubles, four triples a HR and 34 RBI with a .460 on-base-pct.....had more walks (43) than strikeouts (34)...hit .368 in Pac-12 Conference play...hit .344 in eight postseason games with six RBI...named to the Tuscon NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team...in the summer of 2019, hit a league-record .441 in 39 games in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League. ROUND 14: RHP BRYANT SALGADO (#418)...21...5-11, 204...Oregon State...a Houston native and graduate of Klein Forest High School...earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention in 2021 after appearing in 23 games (all in relief) at Oregon St., posting a 3-0 record with a 1.01 ERA (3ER/26.2IP) and 27 K’s...allowed just 16 hits in his 26.2 innings of work (.182 opp. avg.)...pitched for San Jacinto Junior College before transferring to Oregon St. ROUND 15: RHP ADRIAN CHAIDEZ (#448)...22...6-1, 180...UCLA...one of three relievers named to the 2021 Pac-12 All -Conference Team...in 30 appearances for the Bruins, was 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA, tallying 48 K’s in just 32.2 innings...allowed just 14 hits in his 32.2 innings for a .128 opp. avg...posted an 0.52 ERA with 27 K’s in 17.1 innings vs. Pac-12 opponents...allowed a hit in just four of his first 26 outings, including a stretch from Feb. 27 to May 7 that saw him give up a hit in just one of 18 appearances... also stranded 26 of 31 inherited runners for the season. ROUND 16: RHP NIC SWANSON (#478)...22...6-2, 180...Northeastern St. University...in 2021, was 9-1 in 13 appearances (12 starts) with a 1.55 ERA with 106 K’s in 87.0 innings, while allowing just 69 hits...had 14-strikeout game vs. Missouri Southern and four starts overall with 10+ K’s...named to All-MIAA First Team and named NCBWA All-American. ROUND 17: 3B JUSTIN WILLIAMS (#508)...21...B/T: R/R...6-2, 195...Penn St. University...started all 42 games at third base for the Nittany Lions...hit .302 with 12 doubles, five HR and 23 RBI...had 4-RBI game on May 17 vs. Rutgers...made just 4 errors in his 42 games at third base...in 2019 was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team for third base. ROUND 18: 2B WILL WAGNER (#538)...22...B/T:L/R...6-0, 185...Liberty University...hit .333 in 53 games at Liberty with 16 doubles, three triples, seven HR and team-best 52 RBI, helping to first-place finish the ASUN Conference (regular season)...had .989 fielding pct., committing just 2 errors at second base...is the son of Billy Wagner, former Astros All-Star pitcher...Billy was a first-round selection of the Astros in 1993. ROUND 19: SS HECTOR NIEVES (#568)...18...B/T: L/R...6-3, 185...Puerto Rico Baseball Academy...left-handed hitting shortstop has been clocked at 6.45 in the 60-yard dash...2021 Perfect Game Preseason All-American. ROUND 20: OF JACKSON LINN (#598)...18....B/T: R/R...6-3, 215....2021 graduate of Cambridge Ridge & Latin High School in Cambridge, MA...this high school has produced former NBA stars Patrick Ewing and Rumeal Robinson...in 2021, hit .486 in 14 games with 5 HR, 16 RBI and 14 SB...in addition to playing the outfield, Linn is also a pitcher...was named 2021 Perfect Game Northeast Preseason First Team All-American...took part in this year’s MLB Draft Combine. https://www.mlb.com/press-release/astros-2021-mlb-draft-recap
It is odd that both the number of rounds and the max 11+ round salary both got reduced. Cost savings is cost savings, I guess.
I think pitchers are easier to scout and develop with limited game action. If they like their position players they already have, then it might make sense to prioritize pitching. I think Click mentioned that the draft was really deep in college pitching. But yeah, somehow the Angels are doomed to be a stars and scrubs team for some reason.
The Astros’ limited picks and bonus pool meant that after taking two prominent, likely over-slot high schoolers early, they were forced to take several seniors. But because they pivoted to seniors earlier than most teams, they ended up with a couple of my favorites. Let’s start with the high schoolers. Bishop Gorman’s (NV) Tyler Whitaker (third round) is a traditional right field prospect with power, a projectable frame, and some swing-and-miss risk (he has a big hole down and in). Calvary Christian shortstop Alex Ulloa (fourth) is similarly a power-over-hit type who is likely to end up at third base long-term. At 5-foot-11, he’s less projectable than the 6-foot-4 Whitaker, but Ulloa’s swing is much more athletic. Wright State center fielder Quincy Hamilton (fifth) and Duke center fielder Joey Loperfido (7) are toolsy seniors. Hamilton had a huge statistical breakout in 2021 with 15 homers and 20 steals after he never had more than two homers and three steals in any previous season. He’s definitely a pull-heavy hitter but he has the pop to take balls out to the opposite field, he walked more than he struck out this year, and just generally checks lots of scouty boxes. Loperfido has a great baseball frame and an interesting power/speed blend, but his approach can be an issue. Fourth rounder Chayce McDermott out of Ball State has a relief look. His arm action is long but loose, he gets down the mound well, his fastball has carry, and his curveball has depth and bite. If he enjoys a velo spike out of the bullpen, he’s a high-probability bullpen piece. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2021-draft-odds-ends/
I love college stats for their qwirks. In 60% of Brown's games, he hit at least as many batters as he walked. He didn't walk many and the HBPs are likely the result of poor hitters leaning into anything close.
