Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

This one looked to be a mismatch on paper and Astros fans were hoping for a rainout. The Astros offense has struggled against lefties and has been pitiful against everyone lately. That didn’t bode well with Cliff Lee on the mound for the Phils. Plus, Houston fans weren’t sure who would be on the mound for the Astros.

Jordan Lyles was called up to make the start and did an outstanding job. In six innings of work Lyles allowed three runs, but only one of them was earned. Lyles gave up six hits and a walk while striking out four. Lyles has pitched well in both of his starts for the Astros this season and has been superb at AAA Oklahoma City. Perhaps he will stay in the rotation this time around.

There were a few bright spots in the loss. Carlos Lee stayed hot with a couple of hits in the game. J.D. Martinez  also had a pair of hits to break out of a 1 for 32 slump. Brandon Lyon pitched two scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to 1.88 for the year. Fernando Abad didn’t allow a homer. In fact, he got two hitters out without giving up a run. The Astros came back from a 3-0 deficit, including two runs in the ninth to tie the game.

David Carpenter was optioned to AAA to open up a roster spot for Lyles. The Astros head home now for an eight-game homestand that starts with two against the Brewers. Bud Norris faces Randy Wolf in tomorrow’s opener.

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Mark Appel is arguably the top collegiate pitcher and if selected, would be the third collegiate pitcher selected in the past four years, joining Washington’s Stephen Strasburg and Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole.  His fastball can hit 97 mph and he has prototypical size and a couple of promising breaking pitches to go along with his power stuff.

Mike Zunino is an offensive powerhouse and earned SEC Player of the Year honors after a 2011 season in which he hit .371 with 19 homers and 67 RBIs. He is a great hitter with excellent power and is pretty good defensively too. Finally there is Byron Buxton. As a Junior in High School last year, Buxton hit .597 with 10 homers and 42 RBI while stealing ten bases.

In Keith Law’s mock draft, he has the Astros selecting Appel and gives this thought:

“The Astros’ decision is still apparently up in the air, but the general feeling is that they’ll take the college arm over the higher-upside, higher-risk outfielder, Byron Buxton … or that they’ll take the best player who’ll cut a deal below the $7.2 million slot figure and transfer the money to later picks.”

Those who like to bash the team and cite cheapness as their primary reason will read that last sentence and throw their hands in the air. The fact is, this is the first draft under the new CBA. No longer can teams throws crazy money at players selected in later rounds. The Astros will have the most amount of money to spend since they were the worst team in baseball in 2011. If they can get a great talent such as Appel to sign for less than the projected $7.2 mil and save that money for their compensatory first round selection, they could select a player that most believe wouldn’t sign (Lucas Giolito, Trey Williams, Nick Williams) by offering more money. (I’m not saying any of those three will be available but just for an example.)

Jim Callis of Baseball America also did a mock draft a few days ago and he too has the Astros selecting Mark Appel. He writes:

1. ASTROS: Houston is focusing on Buxton, Zunino and the three best college pitchers (Stanford’s Mark Appel, Louisiana State’s Kevin Gausman and San Francisco’s Kyle Zimmer). Scouting director Bobby Heck has taken an up-the-middle position player with his top pick in each of his four drafts, and he and his staff are believed to favor Buxton, a five-tool center fielder. Rumors persist that the Astros’ higher-ups—new owner Jim Crane and new general manager Jeff Luhnow—prefer an arm who could help soon and fit at the front of their rotation.
Projected Pick: MARK APPEL.

I am a huge Mark Appel fan. I have been following him since last season and if I were running the Astros, I would select Mark Appel with Mike Zunino being a close second. I recently tweeted Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and asked him where Mark Appel would slot into last year’s draft in regards to SP’s had he chose to enter the draft. He replied that he would have been just a hair behind Gerrit Cole who went first overall to Pittsburgh. Mark Appel has drawn comparisons to Justin Verlander and could be a guy that could anchor the rotation for a decade.

Appel, Zunino or Buxton would all be terrific choices for the hometown nine. My only knock on Buxton is that he is a very raw, very toolsy, high school player. I won’t knock the pick if they select him but a lot can happen between high school and the pro’s. If we were picking later, even the second or third pick, I’d love to get Buxton, but to me, I’d rather not take such a question mark with the top overall pick. Sure Appel or Zunino could flame out as well, but I’ll take my chances with Mark Appel or Mike Zunino who have done it at high school and college and figure to get to the big leagues quicker.

My projected pick for the Astros: Mark Appel  SP, Stanford

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Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins (Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE)

CTH: The Phillies have gotten off to a rough start. Three of their superstars have been out with injuries, are the fans worried at all?

Ethan: Fans are in panic mode. Everyone hopes the return of Utley and Howard will help jump start a stagnant lineup, but there is still no word when that will be. They just got Cliff Lee back from a short stint on the DL, but he can’t stop the bleeding himself. With all the uncertainty surrounding the injuries to their big guns, there is very little optimism about their return.

CTH: Chase Utley has been injured a lot these past few seasons. Is there any concern he may never be the player he once was or is everyone still confident he’ll be back at 100%?

Ethan: It is becoming apparent that Utley will never be the same player he once was. His return last season helped jump start the offense, but he was not at full strength. He has already admitted that he won’t be 100% when he comes back. Until he goes under the knife, his knees will continue to be an issue, and there is no guarantee that surgery will fix the problem. It’s sad to see a player with his skill set derailed by injuries, but the Chase Utley of 2008 is long gone.

CTH: The Phillies have been close the last few years to being champions again but have come up short. Have they reached the point where its title or bust and is Charlie Manuel in danger of they fail again?

Ethan: It has been title or bust ever since they won in 2008. Falling a step shorter each of the past 3 seasons hasn’t done anything to temper expectations in Philadelphia. Injuries will never be a solid excuse with this city, and if they fail to make the playoffs fans will need a scapegoat. It may not be fair to pin the team’s early struggles on Manuel, but his seat is getting hotter with each loss.

Thanks for the scoop Ethan, now let’s get ready to rumble. Joe Blanton (3-3, 3.24 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) will be on the mound tonight for the Phils and Lucas Harrell (2-2, 4.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) pitches for Houston. Here’s the rest of tonight’s starting lineups.

Tomorrow night the Phillies send Cliff Lee (0-1, 2.17 ERA, 0.76 WHIP) to the mound and the Astros will call up a pitcher from AAA, most likely Jordan Lyles, to make the start. Lee went on the disabled list with a strained left oblique after only three April starts. Lee has made one start since returning and showed no ill-effects.

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