Astros promote Kevin Goldstein to Director of Pro Scouting

Earlier today the Astros announced the promotion of Kevin Goldstein to Director of Pro Scouting. The former Baseball Prospectus writer and Podcaster joined the Astros in September of 2012 as the team’s Pro Scouting Coordinator.

According to MLB.com’s Paul Casella, Goldstein’s new role will have him overseeing the scouting of all professional players — including those in the majors, minors, independent, and foreign leagues.

"Goldstein oversees all of the club’s professional scouting, including comprehensive scouting of Major League and Minor League players for all 30 big league teams, as well as independent league and professional foreign teams."

Goldstein started out writing a small minor league newsletter and credits a mention by Peter Gammons as being responsible for launching his career. Soon he was ranking prospects for Baseball America. In addition to writing and podcasting, Goldstein became a regular contributor on ESPN and MLB Network Radio — specializing in player evaluation. His hiring and subsequent promotion by the Astros gives inspiration to a countless number of “stat geeks” across the continent.

Under Jeff Luhnow the Astros have become one of the most aggressive and creative franchises when it comes to hiring and promoting those who collect and analyze data. If the team of Goldstein, Mejdal, and Fast proves to be successful it could shape the way MLB clubs construct their front offices in the future.

It is also refreshing to see a person that is easy to relate to in such a role. Goldstein is extremely personable and accessible on twitter. He seems like a regular guy — with an incredible amount of talent when it comes to player evaluation… and cooking.