The Houston Astros have the 11th overall draft pick in the upcoming amateur draft. This is widely regarded as a deep draft, though many questions, including health questions and signability questions surround many top prospects.
We will cover Houston's most likely options later this week. Today we are going to take a short look at Houston's first round selections dating to 2004 - this review will make it clear why Houston's selection this weekend is critically important for the franchise.
2010: Delino DeShields, Jr. (8th overall), and Mike Foltynewicz (19th). The Astros overdrafted DeShields, a tw0-sport star at Norcross GA high school, and then added a high school pitcher, Foltynewicz later in the first round. DeShields hit .289/.356/.433 with 5 steals in 18 games in Rookie Ball after signing last year, and this year at Low A Lexington, DeShields is hitting a disappointing .231/.311/.376 with 8 steals in 16 tries. In his defense, DeShields is a young first year players - he does not turn 19 until mid-August. Foltynewicz has neither flourished nor flopped in his first 22 professional starts - he has a 4.44 ERA over 99.1 innings with 101 hits allowed, 34 walks issued and 71 batters fanned. He seems quite hittable and projects at best to a 5th starter.
Houston also added Mike Kvasnicka, a catcher from the University of Minnesota, with a supplemental selection. Kvasnicka, 22, is hitting .293-1-25-1 at Low A Lexington.
Houston passed on: Last year's draft was not considered particularly strong or deep on the whole, but did include many promising college pitching prospects, including Florida Gulf Coast's Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox, taken 13th), Ohio State's Alex Wimmers (Minnesota, 21st), LSU's Anthony Ranaudo (Boston, 39th) and The Citadel's Asher Wojciechowski (Toronto, 41st), among others.
The Final Word: Delino DeShields, Jr.'s middle name is "Diiab."
2009: In 2009, Houston selected high school shortstop Jiovanni Mier from Pomona, California. Scouts considered the lanky, athletic Mier to be a good-field, no-hit prospect, and last year he lived up that billing, hitting .235/.323/.314 at Low A Lexington. Mier is repeating in Lexington this year with better results - so far through 44 games, Mier his hitting .265/.377/.422, and he has already hit 5 home runs, after mustering just 2 all of last year. His range and arm are for real, however, and he certainly projects as a big league shortstop, if he can hit. It he has to play full seasons or more at every stop, Houston fans can expect a long, long wait.
Houston passed on: Hindsight is 20/20 so Houston gets a pass for passing on Mike Trout, the 19-year old New Jersey high school outfielder taken 4 picks later by the Angels, and who has already advanced to AA Arkansas where he is hitting a robust .308. Houston also passed on a big college bat, Sacramento State's Tim Wheeler, who was taken 32nd by Colorado and his hitting .330-14-45, in 48 games at AA Tulsa. San Francisco's fifth round pick, Brandon Belt, was the Opening Day first baseman for the defending World Series champions.
The Final Word: The Astros signed Mier away from a commitment to play baseball at Southern Cal.
2008: Houston selected Stanford catcher Jason Castro with the 10th overall selection in 2008. Castro failed to hold the job with Houston last year, hitting .205/.286/.287, in 67 games. Castro will miss the 2011 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, injured in Houston's second spring training game this year.
Houston also drafted Hartsfield SC, right-hander Jordan Lyles with a first round supplemental pick. Lyles is expected to make his Major League debut at Wrigley Field this Tuesday against the Cubs.
Houston passed on: The very next selection, first sacker Justin Smoak, is hitting .269-6-26 for Seattle. The 13th overall selection, Brett Wallace, plays first base for Houston, his fourth organization. The 16th overall selection, Canadian high schooler Brett Lawrie, may ultimately be the best player in the draft - the 21-year old second baseman, who has improved at each stop, is hitting .349/.406/.651 with 12 home runs at AAA Las Vegas. Finally, the 18th overall pick, Ike Davis, is hitting .302/.383/.543 for the New York Mets.
The Final Word: Jason Castro, a left-handed batter, hit just 3-43 (.077) against southpaws in 2010.
2007: The Astros lost their first and second rounds picks as compensation for free agents Carlos Lee and Woody Williams, respectively. The team's third round and fourth round picks, Derek Dietrich, a Ohio high school middle infielder, and Brett Eibner, a pitcher from The Woodlands, did not sign. The team's fifth round pick, Collin Delome, an outfielder from Lamar, is hitting .224 as Oklahoma City's fourth outfielder.
2006: The Houston Astros selected high school catcher Maxwell Sapp with the 23rd overall pick in 2006, a surprising overdraft. Sapp hit .224/.310/.312 in 210 Minor Leagues games through the 2008 season and never advanced beyond Low A baseball. Unfortunately, Sapp contracted meningitis the following off-season and suffered a series of seizures in Spring 2009. Sapp tried to recover from this life-threatening illness and return to baseball. He succeeded the former, but not the latter. Houston released Sapp in late April of last year, and in June, Sapp finally left the hospital. There is no reason to think that Sapp will ever play baseball professionally again.
Houston passed on: Boston's Daniel Bard, and Florida's 2009 Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan were selected after Houston drafted Sapp.
The Final Word: Seventeen of the first 21 picks in the 2006 draft have played Major League baseball as of this weekend.
2005: Houston selected Tulane pitcher/outfielder Bryan Bogusevic with the 24th overall pick in 2005. Bogusevic washed out as a pitcher after going 3-7, 5.91 in 23 for Corpus Christi in 2007-08, so the enterprising Green Wave reinvented himself as a outfielder, and last September, Bogusevic finally arrived in Houston. So far, Bogusevic has hit .200 (11-55) in limited Major League action, and there are lingering doubts he can stick as a fourth outfielder.
Houston passed on: Minnesota made Matt Garza, now with the Cubs, their first round pick, 25th overall, immediately after Houston selected Bogusevic. St. Louis drafted Colby Rasmus 28th overall and Nolan Riemold, Chase Headley and Yunel Escobar were all selected in the second round.
The Final Word: Houston drafted Bogusevic's Tulane teammate, Tommy Manzella, in the 2005 draft's third round.
2004: Houston did not have a first round pick in 2004 - their first selection came 64th overall when they selected Hunter Pence from UT-Arlington. Pence's 98 career home runs to date ranks second most among player taken in the 2004 draft.
Houston passed on: Not only did Houston take Pence in the second round, they drafted Ben Zobrist from Dallas Baptist University in the 6th round. Unfortunately, Houston traded Zobrist to Tampa for Aubrey Huff in 2006.
The Final Word: Who has the most career home runs from the 2004 draft you ask? None other than Mark Reynolds, who was drafted in the 16th round by Arizona out of the University of Virginia.
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