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The Recent Draft

John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports


The Astros 2019 Draft

The deadline for draft picks to sign has passed so the draft is complete and it is possible to make an initial assessment. What a difference from last years draft. Full advantage of every pick was taken. High selections went to high skill positions. Bonus money was maneuvered to take full advantage of every dollar available. At the end I felt as if I had seen a draft in which Jeff Luhnow had left his fingerprints on the every bit of strategy and on almost every selection. We won't know the results for years but there is good reason for high expectations.

Round by Round

This is the sheet I use make notes on during the draft. The first year I did this the sheet was completely filled out by the weekend after the draft. Every year it takes me longer to find enough information to complete the thing. This year I "finished" on July 15th and still don't have meaningful notes on several draftees. Grades are not entirely about the players but also represent my opinion of the teams use of the picks they have available. I find myself refining and referring back to this sheet throughout the season and am always glad I have it available. If you have something to add or find something you disagree with please put it in the comments, I could use the help.

Name

Class

Position

Impressions & Notes

1

Korey Lee

JR

Catcher

Excellent plate discipline w/ a plus arm and some power, needs time w/ professional pitching.

A-

2

Grae Kessinger

JR

SS

5 good tools w/ potential for plus hit, glove, & power should stick at SS.

B

3

Jordan Brewer

JR

RF

Solid contact hitter w/ plus arm & speed but average power & defence.

C

4

Colin Barber

HS

OF

Plus speed, quick bat starts in center but could play in RF, good raw talent & athleticism

B+

5

Hunter Brown

JR

RHSP

4 pitch starter / late reliever w/ plus slider, good 2&4 seam FB, average change.

B

6

Mat Barefoot

SR

CF

Excellent season hitting in the cape lacks size, power, & speed.

C

7

Blair Henley

JR

RHSP

Texas Sat night starter, grinder w/ a Fringey FB and change & a plus plus spinning curve.

C

8

Luis Guerrero

JC

CF

Injured this past season, high potential little experience, plus arm and speed w/ potent bat.

C+

9

Peyton Battenfield

JR

RHRP

Oklahoma State closer holds up in high leverage situations may develop as a starter.

C

10

CJ Stubbs

SR

Catcher

Garrets brother a RHP who caught full time last year at USC raw talent for a college player.

C

11

Ryan Gusto

JC

RHSP

Conference pitcher of the year, high strike out rate young polished, difficult sign.

B-

12

Garrett Gayle

JR

RHRP

Rice reliever from Cypress Woods where he pitched and played 3rd base.

C-

13

Kevin Holcomb

JC

RHSP

Very advanced for his age probably drafted as an alternative to Gusto if he does not sign.

C+

14

Derek West

SR

RHP

Big strong athletic, 94 mph FB, good spin on his curve, change is his out pitch, fast mover.

C

15

Cole McDonald

SR

RHP

Iowa's Friday night starter steady workmanlike pitcher. Thats all I got.

C-

16

Dexter Jordan

JC

2nd Base

Power hitting infielder has work to do on defense.

C-

17

Daniel Cody

SR

RHSP

Set school strikeout record in his final season in a division III program in Ohio.

C

18

Justin Campbell

HS

RHP

Did not sign.

NS

19

Tyler Krabbe

SR

Catcher

Better than average organizational catcher with a chance at a little more.

C-

20

Alex Palmer

JR

RHP

Texas kid with high strikeout numbers will get a look as a starter, probably pitches in relief.

C

21

Davis Vainer

SR

RHP

Did not sign.

NS

22

Shea Barry

JR

RHRP

UC Santa Barbra reliever struggled this year 10.9 K/9 but 4.1 BB/9 , ERA near 7.0

C-

23

Zach Biermann

SR

1st Base

Division 1 top 30 third baseman gets on base at a good rate, good athleticism for 1st base.

C

24

Preston Pavlica

SR

CF

Good speed and power .552 slugging % & tied a school record w/ 22 steals.

C

25

E.P. Reese

JR

CF

Organizational OF with an opportunity to develop into more.

C-

26

Chandler Casey

SR

RHRP

Inning eating grinder, piggy back rotation guy will spend some time as a Milb starter.

C

27

Kevin Dickey

JC

LHSP

First LHP taken. Texan, good JUCO numbers not predictive but good nonetheless.

C

28

Bryan Arias

SR

2nd Base

UT San Antonio middle infielder, just couldn't find much info on him at all

C

29

Whit Drennan

SR

LHRP

High strike out rate lefty starter is probably a Milb reliever.

C-

30

Michael Horrell

SR

RHRP

Had an unexpectedly good senior season hopefully not a fluke.

C-

31

Peyton Plumlee

SR

RHSP

Missed his JR season due to a failed drug test, good success before and after. High risk.

C-

32

Oscar Carvajal

JR

RHP

Did not sign.

NS

33

Bryan Martinez

JC

LHSP

Young LHP from Broken Arrow, successful JC career w/ good fundamentals to build on.

C+

34

A.J. Lee

SR

SS

Middle infielder with a chance to play a utility role, probably does not stick at SS.

C

35

James Nix

JC

RF

High upside bat hits for average & power 25% BB / 7% K, 5 tool potential difficult sign.

B

36

C Murphy

HS

RHP

Did not sign.

NS

37

Max Dias

HS

3rd Base

Did not sign.

NS

38

J.C. Correa

JR

SS

Did not sign.

NS

39

Brock Rudy

HS

Catcher

Did not sign.

NS

40

Dillon Plew

JR

1st Base

Did not sign.

NS

My favorite 2019 picks

  1. Beginning with the first pick. Catcher Korey Lee looks like he has a very good chance to contribute at a highly skilled position and to do so relatively quickly.
  2. High school outfielder Colin Barber was a steal in the McCullers mold. He was signed with money that was not there when this draft began.
  3. Second pick Grae Kessinger starts with a high floor and could develop into a starting middle infielder.
  4. Hunter Brown this years fifth round pick appears to be a legit rotation candidate.
  5. James Nix is a bonus signing from the 35th round who will surprise a lot of people.
  6. Ryan Gusto, the 11th round pick looks too good to call a sleeper. I was forced to end my tradition of taking the 11th pick as my sleeper and look elsewhere.
  7. Eighth round selection Luis Guerrero has lots of upside but has not played much this year at all, otherwise he probably would have gone much higher.
  8. At pick # 13 Kevin Holcomb is the pitcher I usually expect to see in the 11th round.
  9. Bryan Martinez was another very late pick in the 33rd round and is a young and promising LHSP. It has been tough to choose between him and Nix for this years sleeper pick so for now I will follow both.
  10. There was even a feel good pick with Gerrit Stubbs brother CJ taken in the 10th round.

Recently I posted "The Upcoming Draft" the responses where wide and varied. Once the draft started I stopped paying attention so I could concentrate on it. Those responses deserve a follow up but this is not that. There is so much going on now I thought it best to set that aside for later.