Astros load up on pitchers on Draft's second day Here is a rundown of the Astros' Day 2 picks: Round 2, Adrian Houser, RHP, Locust Grove High School (Okla.) The 6-foot-3 right-hander is the third straight high school pitcher taken in second round by the Astros. An 18-year-old senior, he was 10-1 with a 0.62 ERA in 2011. Round 3, Jack Armstrong, RHP, Vanderbilt University His father pitched in the Major Leagues for seven seasons. Armstrong had control issues and injuries that he overcame but now features a fastball in the upper 90s. Round 4, Christopher Lee, LHP, Santa Fe CC (Fla.) Another pitcher standing over six feet tall at 6-foot-2, he was 3-3 with a 2.85 ERA in six starts this season. Round 5, Nick Tropeano, RHP, Stony Brook University (N.Y.) Tropeano was 12-1 with a 1.84 ERA in 2011, tossing four complete games. He was named the America East Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2010. Round 6, Brandon Meredith, LF, San Diego State University The 6-foot-2, 225-pound outfielder was the first high school player to hit a home run at PETCO Park. He was named a preseason second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America and hit .272 with five home runs this season. Round 7, Javaris Reynolds, CF, King High School (Fla.) The high schooler missed his graduation to participate in a pre-Draft workout with the Astros. It paid off for the 6-foot-2 outfielder from Tampa, who was scouted by Larry Pardo. Round 8, Brandon Culbreth, RHP, Forsyth Country Day School (N.C.) He continued a trend of tall and large pitchers on Day 2, standing 6-foot-3, 200 pounds. He was on the 2010 All-Region Second Team. Round 9, Jonas Dufek, RHP, Creighton University The 6-foot-5 Dufek recorded 128 strikeouts in 112.2 innings in 2011, walking just 29 batters. He was 12-1 and threw 16 complete games. Round 10, Kyle Hallock, LHP, Kent State University He led the Golden Flashes with a 1.95 ERA in 16 starts. It marked the second straight season he tallied at least 15 starts. Round 11, Justin Gominsky, CF, University of Minnesota Gominsky fought past a knee injury that limited him in 2010 to hit .307 in 2011. He is a former two-sport athlete, having played football and baseball in college. Round 12, Miles Hamblin, C, University of Mississippi The Rowlett, Texas, native appeared in 46 of 52 games in 2011 for the Rebels yet committed just three errors. The versatile catcher also played first base and designated hitter and was a relief pitcher in 2010. Round 13, John Hinson, 2B, Clemson University The redshirt junior hit .331 and swiped 23 bags in 2011 while also showing power, blasting nine home runs. He hit .351 with 17 home runs the previous season. Round 14, Horace Stubblefield, RHP, Lufkin High School (Texas) The only Texas player high school player drafted by Astros during the first 30 rounds, Stubblefield was 6-0 in district play with one save. He had a 1.07 ERA in 2011. Round 15, Zachary Johnson, 1B, Oklahoma State University Johnson led the Cowboys with a .356 batting average. The junior college transfer also led the team with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs en route to being named the 2011 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Round 16, Scott Zuloaga, LHP, Scottsdale CC (Ariz.) The Thousand Oaks, Calif., native tossed 1.08 strikeouts per inning and recorded a 1.82 ERA in 2011. Round 17, Tyson Perez, RHP, Fresno CC (Calif.) Perez made the First-team Central Valley All-Conference team this season, posting a 3.49 ERA in 69 2/3 innings. Round 18, Kevin Miller, RHP, University of California-Berkeley Standing just at six feet, Miller was still imposing on the mound, striking out 84 batters in 79 innings. He was 6-4 with a 2.62 ERA, lowering his ERA from last year, 4.72. Round 19, Mitchell Lambson, LHP, Arizona State University He made the honorable mention Pac-10 All-Conference team, posting a 4.41 ERA with a 7-2 record. He earned First Team All-Pac-10 honors in 2010. Round 20, Matthew Duffy, 3B, University of Tennessee The 215-pounder hit .312 this season with six home runs and snagged seven bases. He was also the Volunteers' regular third baseman the previous season, playing in 55 of 56 games. Round 21, James Howick, SS, Jacksonville University (Fla.) He started 51 of 54 games, hitting .319 and striking out 29 times in 207 at-bats. He showed a little power with four home runs. Round 22, Andrew Muren, CF, Cal State-Northridge The 6-foot-6 athlete committed only one error in 2011 despite starting 53 of 55 games and managed to hit .307 with nine stolen bases. Round 23, Ruben Sosa, 2B, Oklahoma City University The speedster stole a whopping 44 bases and posted an on-base percentage of .446 while hitting .389. Round 24, Jesse Wierzbicki, 1B, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill The sure-handed defender posted a .996 fielding percentage this season and hit .301 at the plate. He showed speed at first base, stealing seven bases and legging out three triples. Round 25, William Flamion, LF, Central Catholic High School (Calif.) Flamion reached base more often than not, posting a .522 on-base percentage and walking 22 times while striking out just five times in 85 at-bats. He hit .388 his senior year. Round 26, Jared Fisher, RHP, Newport High School (Wash.) Fisher struck out 64 batters in just 51 innings en route to becoming an All-Region First-Team selection with a 1.92 ERA in nine starts. Round 27, Alexander Todd, SS, Sonoma State University (Calif.) Todd hit .332 in 214 at-bats in 2011 after transferring to Sonoma State from Centenary College. He also smashed five home runs and 10 doubles this season. Round 28, Jordan John, LHP, University of Oklahoma John made the 2011 All-Big 12 freshman team, posting a 2.35 ERA with a 4-2 record and starting seven of his 20 games. He allowed 23 runs in 61 1/3 innings but only 15 were earned. Round 29, Wallace Gonzalez, OF, Bishop Amat Memorial High School (Calif.) Gonzalez, the final high schooler to be snagged by the Astros on Day 2, had a 4-for-4, six-RBI performance to lead Bishop Amat past Mountain View St. Francis to advance to the Hard 9 National Classic semifinals. Round 30, Jordan Steranka, 3B, Penn State University The junior hit .323 with eight home runs and 57 RBIs for the Nittany Lions, hitting one more home run than he did in 2010. He started all 54 games he played in and also snagged six bases.
Bobby Heck chats with media about first full day of draft, rounds... - <iframe title="Twitvid video player" class="twitvid-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="360" src="http://www.twitvid.com/embed.php?guid=MQMXH&autoplay=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>
I am really excited about Jack Armstrong, the kid seems like a 1st rd talent but with his injuries it pushed him back. Curious to see what he does at the Cape Cod league and if he succeeds, how much will he be asking for. I have a feeling that he may ask for 1st rd money but also think the Stros are prepared to pay him.
Mitchell Lambson was primarily a reliever at Arizona State in his first 2 years. And he was pretty dominant up until this season, when he regressed a bit across the board. Here's his stats and bio from his ASU player page: Year ERA G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER BB SO Opp/Avg 2009 3.01 32 1 1 9 5 5 83.2 58 31 28 25 99 .199 2010 2.16 39 0 0 8 2 3 75.0 41 18 18 20 96 .160 2009 (Freshman): Had a stellar debut season, earning First Team Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA and Rivals.com as well as Second Team honors from Baseball America...named First Team All-Pac-10...pitched in 32 games, third most appearances in the Pac-10...finished the year 9-5 with five saves and 99 strike outs. The nine wins is tied for seventh most by a freshman in school history. His 99 strike outs is the most ever by a Sun Devil pitcher in their freshman year and his five saves is tied for fifth most ever by an ASU freshman hurler...opponents his just .199 against him, third lowest in the Pac-10...tied for the Pac-10 lead with five pick-offs...his only career start came at Washington on April 5, where he picked up the complete game victory. 2010 (Sophomore): Turned in another dominating season, earning First Team All-Pac-10 honors as well as All-West Region honors from the ABCA...finished the year 8-2 with three saves and 13 holds...fanned 96 batters while walking only 20 in 75.0 innings...opponents hit a measly .160 against him in his 39 appearances, all out of the bullpen...the 39 appearances tied a school record...his 2.16 ERA was second on the pitching staff...earned the win in Game One of the Tempe Super Regional thanks to to five innings out of the bullpen of stellar pitching, allowing only two base runners while striking out seven. This season, he went 7-2 with a 4.41 ERA in 29 appearances (2 starts). He pitched 49 innings, allowing 54 hits (3 homers), 25 runs (24 earned), walked 11, and struck out 59. He allowed opposing batters to hit .276 this season.
Welcome to Day 3, everyone. Astros start off with pick 940 in round 31. Jared McKinney, a RF from Arkansas, is the first pick of the day. I won't be on much today as I have some errands to run.
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1060: Delving into the Houston HS scene again, as Chris Morales, a RHP from Clear Creek is taken. No college commitment info available.
1120: Another Aggie, with Steve Martin, a RHP. MLB's DraftTracker seems to be unmanned at the moment, so it's stuck at the first 2 picks of the 36th round.
Brad Arnsberg's son Kyle, a catcher, was selected by the Cardinals in the 40th round, 1220th overall.
