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Thursday appeared to be a day in which everyone updated or released a new mock draft.
First up, Jonathan Mayo updated his draft and has the Astros picking Jonathan Gray:
The Astros are down to five candidates: two college pitchers (Gray and Mark Appel), two college hitters (Kris Bryant and Colin Moran) and one high schooler (Clint Frazier or Austin Meadows). There are whispers regarding Bryant and Moran, but Gray is still the pick.
We then found that Keith Law had updated his mock draft and has the Astros taking Colin Moran. I'm not going to pull any quotes because it's ESPN Insider material that requires a subscription, however, I will give you two tidbits from the article. Law says the Moran pick is based on buzz within the baseball industry that sees the Astros selecting Moran to save money. He also said the Astros are likely not going to make a decision on the first selection in the draft until Thursday, the day of the draft.
Breath. In....and out.
Later we found that Dave Perkins had posted his mock draft to Sports Illustrated and has the Astros selecting Kris Bryant:
Indications are that the Astros are now leaning toward Bryant, who hit 31 home runs for San Diego this year, which ties for the 16th-highest total in college baseball history. If Bryant goes off in this weekend's regional, which is expected to be attended by some of the top members of Houston's organization, he will make the Astros' decision for them. That floundering franchise simply can't afford to pass up any player who might become a once-in-a-generation talent and of the three top candidates, only Bryant fits that description.
If you want to keep up with the latest mock drafts, I suggest you bookmark DC Pro Sports Report's 2013 MLB Mock Draft Database. Currently, a majority of mock drafts have the Astros selecting Gray.
Speaking of Gray, in the evening, we spotted a report from Brian McTaggart that the Astros recently met with the Oklahoma pitcher.
Gray and Colin Moran seem to be the two most talked about potential number one selections, which, according to several mock drafts, means Mark Appel would be a "surprise" pick.