TCB Top 30 Prospect Week: Checking in on the 2014 draft

Looking back at the 2014 draft is a frustrating exercise. So much of the talk surrounding that lottery focused on the ugliness with Brady Aiken, Mac Marshall and Jacob Nix.

Yet, it appears that general manager Jeff Luhnow, director of amateur scouting Mike Elias and the rest of Houston's scouting apparatus had a very strong draft, even without the aforementioned pitchers.

Let's take a quick look at where those draftees ended up  on our Top 30 list and what kind of (brief) season they had.

No. 6 - A.J. Reed, First Baseman

Reed was the highest-drafted player on the list at No. 6. The former Kentucky pitcher and first baseman was drafted in the second round at No. 42 overall.

His grade, a B-, was equaled by our next draftee, but adds a ton of value to the system. Already, Reed is ranked as one of the best first base prospects in the game, thanks to his prodigious power.

Reed made it to Low-A Quad Cities last season, splitting time with short-season Tri-City. In 285 plate appearances, Reed hit .289/.375/.522 with 12 home runs, 20 doubles and one triple, striking out 54 times with 30 walks. Reed played all of his minor league games at first base after spending his college career partly on the mound.

The masher won the Golden Spikes award last season, given to the nation's top college baseball player.

No. 7 - Derek Fisher, Outfielder

Houston's supplemental first round pick, No. 37 overall, was the highest-drafted player to sign with the Astros. Fisher finished at No. 7 and graded out as a B- prospect. He's one of four outfielders in Houston's top 10.

Last season, Fisher played one game with the Gulf Coast League Astros and spent 41 games with Tri-City. In those games, he hit two home runs, three triples and four doubles with a .303/.378/.408 line and 17 steals in 21 attempts.

No. 16 - J.D. Davis, Third baseman?

Houston's third-round pick, No. 75 overall, clocked in with a grade of C+ on this list. The former third baseman at Cal State-Fullerton has some question marks on his defensive ability, which could have dropped his ratings a bit.

Davis split time between Tri-City and Quad Cities last season, playing 73 total games with a .293/.371/.508 line with 13 home runs, 16 doubles, one triple with five steals, 66 strikeouts and 28 walks in 302 plate appearances.

No. 17 - Daniel Mengden, Right-hander

So far, the draft rankings have followed the draft results, as Mengdeng was drafted in the fourth round at No. 106 overall. He got a C+ grade, despite injury concerns plagued his final season at Texas A&M.

Mengden threw in six games last season, including two for Tri-City. In 11 innings, Mengden had a 3.27 ERA with 17 strikeouts and one walk.

No. 33 - Derick Velazquez, Right-hander

Houston's seventh-round pick out of Fresno State, Velazquez threw 23 innings for Tri-City with a 1.57 ERA and 24 strikeouts with two walks. He had a C grade from us and just missed the Top 30. Velazquez also recently had Tommy John surgery and will miss most of the 2015 season.

No. 43 - Ryan Bottger, Left fielder

Drafted in the 12th round out of the University of Texas-Arlington, Bottger made it to Quad Cities last season. He's one of a bevvy of C-level prospects out of this draft.

In 246 plate appearances, Bottger hit .266/.333/.372 with five home runs and eight doubles with eight steals in 13 attempts. He also struck out 38 times and walked 18 times in 61 games.

No. 52 - Jamie Ritchie, Catcher

Houston's 13th round pick out of Belmont got a grade of C on this list. Ritchie spent all his time with Tri-City last season. In 179 plate appearances, the 21-year-old hit .331/.455/.465 with one home run, two triples and 12 doubles while stealing five of six bases. He also had more walks (29) than strikeouts (26).

No. 66 - Brock Dykxhoorn, Right-hander

Taking the title for most confusing name to spell in Houston's system, the Astros drafted Dykxhoorn in the sixth round out of Central Arizona College. In 12 games for Greeneville, Dykxhoorn had a 4.31 ERA and 36 strikeouts with eight walks, earning him a grade of C-.

No 68 - Bobby Boyd, Center fielder

Houston's eighth round pick out of West Virginia had a grade of C-. He played in 62 games between Tri-City and Quad Cities, totaling 266 plate appearances. Boyd hit .297/.368/.332 with six doubles and one triple while stealing 19 bases in 25 attempts.

No. 75 - Brian Radziewski, Left-hander

Another C- guy, Radziewski joins Wojo as a long name that's surprisingly easy to spell. The lefty was drafted in the ninth round out of the University of Miami and threw in 15 games for Tri-City. Radziewski had a 3.04 ERA in 26 innings with 29 strikeouts and 13 walks.

No. 75 - Dean Deetz, Right-hander

Yet another C- guy. Deetz was drafted in the 11th round out of Northeast Oklahoma A&M College and played in 13 games for Greeneville. He threw 25 innings with a 8.88 ERA and 24 strikeouts with 19 walks.

No. 80 - Nick Tanielu, Second baseman

Another C- guy, Tanielu was drafted in the 14th round out of Washington State. In 62 games for Tri-City, Tanielu hit .300/.353/.425 with three home runs, two triples, 16 doubles and 48 strikeouts with 16 walks.

No. 107 - Alex Hernandez, Second baseman

Another C- guy, Hernandez was the lowest-drafted 2014 player to make this year's list. The Astros took the University of Miami product in the 40th round and he hit .210/.337/.278 in 56 games for Tri-City. Hernandez had two home runs, five doubles and 33 strikeouts with 27 walks.

No. 107 - Jay Gause, Right-hander

Another C- guy, Gause was drafted in the 10th round out of Faulkner University. He is one of 11 players drafted out of Faulkner since 1987. Gause pitched in nine games, throwing 13 innings with a 9.45 ERA and 13 strikeouts with nine walks.

No. 107 - Zach Davis - Left-hander

Another C- guy, Davis was drafted in the 25th round out of Central Missouri. Davis appeared in 15 games last season, pitching 20 innings with a 4.05 ERA and 26 strikeouts with six walks.