Astros get killed; Down on the Farm

Astros got knocked around. Diamondbacks 12-2. Wigginton got 3 hits, including a home run. Lance got an RBI double. Everyone else sucked donkey dong.

Chase Davidson has until tonight to sign. He was the Astros' 3rd round pick, and is the only pick in the Astros' first 16 to be unsigned. Rumor is that he will probably go to college.

It's tough to find statistics on high school prospects, especially beyond basic BA/OBP/SLG lines. But he posted a .500+ OBP his senior year, according to his high school website. They don't give any numbers to indicate whether or not that came from just monstrous hitting or from walking. I'd be more hopeful, of course, if his numbers indicated having a good eye, rather than simply knocking the hell out of the ball. Taking high school position players isn't as bad as taking a high school pitcher. At least there's some indication in high school of where a hitter might end up. But if a guy doesn't demonstrate a good eye in high school, it's doubtful he'll discover one in college or the minor leagues.


Lisa Gray over at the Astros Dugout has a pretty good list of Astros picks and where they are right now. Jason Castro has been unspectacular in his season thus far, posting a .278/.387/.354 line, and only getting 6 doubles and no home runs in his debut. What's at least hopeful is his 14 BB in 23 games (at least one was IBB; he was intentionally walked in his first PA). He can add power later; he probably can't add discipline.

A few players have been promoted already. Jacob Priday (who didn't post anything special in the ValleyCats, but drew 5 walks in his short time there) was promoted to Lexington after only 8 games. He's hit .256/.362/.333 in his first 13 games there. He's drawn 4 walks since starting. That's encouraging. He also strikes out a lot, which isn't. But there are far worse things than striking out. He also plays DH in Lexington, so maybe he'll be another Adam Dunn clone (one can only hope).

This one's really good: Phil Disher, whom we drafted as a catcher from the USC Gamecocks, is still in Low A after 53 games. In that time, he's drawn 21 walks and hit 12 doubles, 2 triples , and 11 dingers . He's posting a .304/.375/.541 line. Those triples might be why the Astros moved him to first base, not wanting him to lose speed. He's stolen one base, which is meaningless when you're a slugger, but speed on the basepaths is a plus. One of the many things that separates Lance from Bags is that Bagwell rarely got thrown out stretching a single into a double or a double into a triple. Lance, on the other hand, is a fat bastard. Hopefully the Astros will promote him soon.


The last dude on the farm I want to talk about is Brian Bogusevic: Ankiel'd former pitcher and fellow Tulane alum (kind of; I think he left before he graduated). Bogusevic was pretty awful as a pitcher, posting a career ERA of 5.50 in four seasons. This year the Astros gave up on his pitching career and took advantage of his batting skills. They moved him down to Salem, where he played 8 games before being called back up to Corpus Christi, this time as an OF. In 28 games, he's gone .377/.463/.638. He's also got a BB% of 13.75%, which is none too shabby. I wouldn't be surprised to see him called up in September.

From what I remember of the two or three Hooks games I've seen, he also plays CF. So if Bourn doesn't work out (and I'm increasingly worried that a combination of organizational incompetence and coaching will mean he won't), we might not have to play Spaz in center.

Alright, one more dude. Our friend JR Towles. JR sucks. I used to think that he was just overwhelmed by MLB pitching, but I think it goes much deeper than that. He's hitting well in AAA, going .275/.338/.517 in 36 games. But he's only walked 7 times in those games. That's the problem. Posting a BB% of 5 during AAA doesn't bode well for one's major league career. And his reactions to failure at the major league level seemed to indicate he was frustrated with it - ballplayers, particularly rookies, have to be able to take failure in stride. The good news is that Q has become the regular catcher. He isn't any good, offensively, but he has a 1990s-Ausmus-like arm.

So there is reason for hope. This draft class seems to be doing alright in their first few weeks/months in pro ball. Only time will tell if they work out, but hopefully these kids can get good quick. The Good Guys need them.

Edit:

Apparently Davidson has decided to not sign. Whatever.

Much more interestingly, Oakland signed their 7th round pick (Brett Hunter) to a seven-figure deal. Beane must have seen something really good for that to happen. Wow.