First Round Astro Draft Analysis

Well the Astros just completed their picks for the first round of the 2010 first year player draft, and you have to be pretty content with what Ol’ Philly Wadey has done thus far.

1st Round – Pick 8 – Delino DeShields Jr. (Woodward Academy, GA) – OF

It seems pretty clear that DeShields is being drafted with the intent of being moved over to second base in a farm system that is in desperate need of a 2 bagger.  He is a speedy little booger, showing so with  his 29 steals and ability to get on base with his .419 batting average. He also recorded less than a  6.3 in a 60 yard dash which is impressive to me since I doubt my own ability to finish one in one wind. One thing that we must be hoping for out of this as well is a disciplined hitter that can get the pitch count up since that is a true weakness of this team and a quality that is under appreciated from a one or two spot. If he gets up quickly, he has a chance to be someone that could be a speedy resource outside of Bourn to give this team some much more needed small ball run production possibility. Assuming this prospect forgoes college at LSU, he will be a name we hear in 2 to 3 years.

1st Round – 19th pick – Mike Foltynewicz – Minooka Community HS (IL) – RHP

Foltynewicz brings two things to the table: a mean fastball/change up combo and a name longer than a Dicken’s novel. His fastball can reach the mid 90s which is mighty impressive coming out of high school with the possibility of getting higher after some major league coaching. Unless he develops a third pitch, he has the great possibility of becoming a power righty and late inning relief man for the ‘Stros. This is a nice addition to see since we have a older relief staff outside of Lopez and the boys in the minors. Instead of attacking corner positions, it looks as though Wade wants to take best available and really load up the arms in the farm.

The Astros were given two picks for class A free agent Jose Valverde who was signed with the Tigers. Now for my “The More You Know” segment:

A class A free agent is someone who ranks in the top 20 percent of players at his position. This is based off of a complex scoring system. The team from which the class A player is leaving gets the first draft pick from the team with whom the free agent signs (the Tigers in this case). In addition, the team from which the free agent leaves gets a pick in the “sandwich” round which is inbetween the first and second round. Since Valverde was the top free agent signing based on scoring, the Astros received the first of the sandwich round picks. The more you know.

1st Round (Comp) – 33rd pick – Michael Kvasnicka – Minnesota – OF/C

The third team all Big 10 C/OF had an impressive junior season for the Gophers of Gold this year, but this pick comes as a shock to me. The Astros have a moderately deep OF in terms of comparison to other positions in the organization, but the fact that this young player can maneuver to the catcher position must have helped pulled the trigger along with his impressive 2010 post season. This is someone that the scouts must see something in because though MK but up decent numbers in 2010, he looks like someone that may have slipped a little further in the draft.

All in all, this first round looks promising for the “Stros, and I think we will hear DeShields and Foltynewicz’s names in the next two to three years. Holes were filled in important positions, but hey, we still have 49 fun filled rounds to go.