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Mocking the Mock Draft
With the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft less than a week away, I thought it would be a good time to see who the draft experts had the Astros taking with their first round pick next weekend. The Astros will be picking 11th this year and even though they struggled in the draft in years past, they have made solid selections the last two years who look like they have a promising career ahead of them. The Astros have a lot of holes to fill in their farm system and many believe this is one of the deeper drafts so hopefully the scouting department can knock it out of the park this year. Take a look after the jump at who some of the mock drafts on the web have being selected by the Astros.
Houston Astros Select: RHP Taylor Jungmann, University of Texas
Houston Astros Select: RHP Taylor Guerreri, North Augusta High School (SC)
Houston Astros Select: Pitcher Dylan Bundy, Owasso High School (OK)
What they say: Houston needs an ace. Wandy Rodriguez can be the Astros pitcher for now, but I do not believe Rodriguez provides a long term answer that the Astros need at pitcher. Dylan Bundy’s value as a pitcher is too good to pass up on if he falls to #11 with this pick. Dylan Bundy should be a top 5 pick, but it would not shock me if he fell to #11 because this is a really strong pitching class.
Houston Astros Select: RHP Archie Bradley, Broken Arrow High School (OK)
What they say: Like Starling, Archie Bradley is a star in both the gridiron and the diamond providing him leverage not afforded to his peers, but MLB teams will have the luxury of spreading his bonus over multiple years to buy him away from his college commitment.
Houston Astros Select: SP Alex Meyer, Kentucky
What they say: Meyer reminds me of Alex White, a pitcher who took a few years to put things together, but now looks like an outstanding prospect. The Astros need a frontline pitcher badly, and Meyer has the tools and imposing presence to be just that.
It should be an interesting draft as each mock draft had the Astros taking a different player but the consensus seems to be the Astros need pitching. I am hoping the Astros select Taylor Jungmann out of Texas as he had a lot of success pitching for Texas, has some great stuff and would be a great PR move drafting a local product.