Jeff Luhnow built the Astros the Right Way. Even though Astros fans were angry back then with constant 100 loss seasons. Credit Tim Purpura and Ed Wade Tim Purpura signed 15 year old Jose Altuve from Venezuela Ed Wade selects George Springer The way the Astros, Jeff Luhnow selected Carlos Correa over Byron Buxton. 2nd Pick Alex Bregman The Backlash of not signing the Lefty, with a bad arm Brady Aiken and now he is not in the League. He looked over 30 years old and when he was a High Schooler. Not signing Brady Aiken and getting Kyle Tucker from the 4th pick.
Christian Javier Luis Garcia Abreu Enoli Paredes I think Real Gems are in the Domican Republic, Venezuela. Signing 15 year old kids and placing them in the Academy
Yeah but this unnamed GM would have all of his first and second picks I think that the West AL non-Astros fans must be saying to themselves "Are you ****ing kidding me?" when the Astros trot out all of these non-prospects like Cristian Javier (1.7 WAR), Luis Garcia (2.1 WAR), Jose Urquidy (1.8 WAR), Framber Valdez (1.1 WAR) and Yordan Alvarez (1.9 WAR) ... those are mid-season WAR BTW.
Those guys weren't non-prospects. Urquidy and Garcia were the low guys, but still both FV40 prospects before callup, and besides for Garcia produced at the upper levels (Garcia did dominate A Advanced). The Angels AAA best hitter this season is Jack Mayfield. Mayfield is putting up some decent stats in AAA when he isn't doing a Taylor Jones impersonation in LA, but the AAA home park is basically like Coors Field before the humidor. I am skeptical of batters that can't hit AAA pitching while playing in essentially vintage Coors Field. The Angels may have some hitting prospects, but besides for Marsh and/or Adell figuring out how to make contact, it is doubtful they get much help soon.
https://theathletic.com/2710299/202...0-pitchers-mariners-as-and-astros-breakdowns/ Houston Astros The Astros lost their first two picks as a penalty for their sign-stealing ways, which also meant they had the smallest bonus pool and didn’t have a lot of room for creativity. They did go for ceiling with their first pick, Nevada high school outfielder Tyler Whitaker (3), who has plus-plus power and a plus arm. He has a leak at the plate and swings and misses too often; I compared him earlier this spring to Nolan Gorman, but right-handed, and Gorman has had success in the minors by refining his approach. When you don’t pick until No. 87, this is the way to start. High school shortstop Alex Ulloa (4) stays incredibly balanced through contact and seems comfortably using the whole field; if he can really stay at shortstop, this might be a steal. Ball State had its third player taken in the top five rounds in three years with Chayce McDermott (4C), a right-hander up to 96 mph with a sharp spike curveball and a hard, downward-breaking slider. He barely used a changeup all year and needs a better weapon for lefties, while commanding those two breaking balls is going to be very difficult, but there’s something here with his arm strength, and the delivery works fine. Spencer Arrighetti (6) is 92-94 with a 50/55 slider and a four-pitch mix to potentially start; he transferred out of TCU to Navarro JC to Louisiana-Lafayette over the past three years, finding success as a starter for the Cajuns this spring. He’s listed at 6-foot-2 but looks taller than that. I’d definitely send him out as a starter. Their other picks in the top 10 rounds were all senior signs, although Quincy Hamilton (5) has always performed at the plate for Wright State and could surface in the majors if he can improve his defense in center field.
