This is it, ladies and gentlemen. The draft is the time when great teams refurbish their farm systems, and re-tool for the future. Keep track of the names selected tonight, because (hopefully) some of them will be future Astros. Look at the Astros right now, and think about how many of them were once draft picks just trying to make their way through the system: Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence, Roy Oswalt, Chris Sampson, JR Towles. Last season's top pick Jason Castro has risen through Rookie Ball, the Hawaiian Winter League, Low A and High A Ball to AA Corpus Christi. This all in less than a year's time.
This season, teams have four minutes between selections. With the draft starting at 5 pm CDT, and the Astros first picking in the 21st slot, expect the Commissioner to read our choice around 6:45 PM. So come for news on the pick, and stick around for the game thread. Unfortunately, DQ is on a road trip this week and won't be here to add his perspective. I will do my best to be online around draft time, but if not, there should be someone here to weigh in on our selection. If I can't be here while the pick is being made, I will be on tonight to post as much analysis as I can must for our first round selection.
AstroAndy has really done a bang up job with his draft analysis, and here is his latest post. The MLB Draft is full of surprises so this should be a fun couple of days. TCB will do our best to give this event the attention it deserves, and we hope a lot of y'all will come by tonight and participate in the discussion, debate and excitement.
First Day Selections for the Houston Astros:
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 21 | Jiovanni Mier | SS | Bonita HS (CA) |
| 2 | 69 | Tanner Bushue | RHP | South Central HS (IL) |
| 3 | 100 | Telvin Nash | LF | Griffin HS (GA) |
| Supp. 3 | 111 | Johnathan Meyer | 3B | Simi Valley HS (CA) |
2008 First Round Selection, Jason Castro