While most Astros fans were not anticipating seeing their teams name in the headlines during this year’s annual Winter Meetings, they will wake up this morning to find that Cardinals vice president of player procurement Jeff Luhnow has been named the new General Manager.
In addition to this Astros fans will have the rule 5 draft to follow this morning. If you missed Timmy’s article earlier this week profiling potential draftees be sure to check it out. In Mctaggart’s Winter Meeting recap he talks briefly about the rule 5 draft and stated that the Astros are expected to be active in the draft. Two of the names he mentioned in the article are Brad Meyers of the Nationals and Jordan Danks of the White Sox which have been mentioned frequently so far in this year’s rule 5 discussions. He also mentions two other potential draftees in Ryan Flaherty and Terry Doyle that I wanted to briefly discuss here before the draft just in case one of them is picked by the Astros.
Terry Doyle
Doyle was drafted in the 37th round of the 2008 draft by the White Sox and has spent the last three years as a starter in their organization. After pitching 24 innings as a reliever in 2008 in rookie ball, Doyle returned to rookie ball in 2009 as a starter and logged 57.1 innings. In 2010 his innings total jumped to 168.1 between A and A+ ball, and rose again in 2010 to 173 between the A+ and AA levels. The highest level Doyle has reached so far has been AA where he was solid with a 3.24 ERA, 6.57 K/9, and a 1.98 BB/9 in his 100 innings pitched at the level. Doyle possesses a full repertoire featuring a low 90’s fastball while also mixing in a slider, curveball, and changeup. Doyle’s stock has rose this offseason as he had a very impressive stint in the AFL this fall going 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 5 walks in 27.1 innings. Below are a few links on Terry Doyle.
http://soxbronzetitan.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/mlb-coms-terry-doyle-scouting-report/
Ryan Flaherty
Utility infielder Ryan Flaherty’s name has been mentioned more often as a candidate for this year’s draft. Offensively Flaherty has been solid in the minors with a career .278/.346/.462 slash line. In 2011 Flaherty hit a combined .280/.347/.478 with 50 walks, 99 strikeouts, and 19 homeruns. The downside to Flaherty’s game seems to be his defense as he started his career as a shortstop, but has since been moved off the position to second base, and has also seen time at third base and the corner outfield spots. Given his 6-foot-5 220 pound frame, many think that Flaherty projects best as a third baseman. Below are a few links on Ryan Flaherty.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/draft_report/y2008/index.jsp?mc=flaherty
http://projectprospect.com/article/2011/08/10/brett-jackson-and-ryan-flaherty-game-report
In Jonathan Mayo’s rule 5 draft preview Mayo states that rumors from the Winter Meetings were that the Astros were looking at taking more than one player, and could start with a pitcher with the No. 1 pick. If they choose to go with a starter then Brad Meyers, Terry Doyle, or a Nick Barnese all seem like viable candidates to stick on a major league roster all year.
Feel free to discuss the Astros rule 5 pick. Good luck Astros!
EDIT from clack: Astros select Mets' Rhinel Cruz with the first pick and pass on subsequent 2d round.