Wow, shock the world, Jeff Luhnow and Company. All the secrecy and the rumors turned out a surprise, as Houston tabbed the shortstop out of Puerto Rico with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft.
Correa is one of the youngest player in this draft at 17 and has plenty of time to develop. He's got skills across the board, with a very good bat and solid tools at shortstop. He's a bigger prospect at 6-foot-4 and 170 pounds, which is why some people project him to slide over to third base eventually.
Of course, the same thing was said about Cal Ripken, and he worked out just fine at short, so tall shortstops can stick there.
Correa is a bold pick, but he could be the player who makes the biggest impact in this draft class and could play in Houston for a number of years.
Here's our profile on Correa from Saturday and the money quote from that profile:
Correa is getting a lot of comparisons to uber-prospect Manny Machado for his frame, hitting ability, and power potential. Machado is currently ranked #14 by Baseball America, so I'd like to add that to the system. Ultimately, his ceiling depends on sticking at SS while his power developing into a .280 hitter with 20 HR's. But, even if his growth pushes him to 3B, and his bat develops, he's still a great player because he'll be a plus-plus defender there.
What do you think? Happy with the pick? Sad Appel won't be in Houston?