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The Astros have reached an agreement with second round pick Andrew Thurman, according to Astros.com’s Brian McTaggart. Dollar figures for the right-hander out of UC-Irvine were not disclosed. Houston has already signed several of their top picks and hope to get a deal done soon with #1 selection Mark Appel.
Thurman will be in Houston for a physical on Sunday and his signing should be made official on Monday. Thurman joins former Vanderbilt infielders Conrad Gregor (4th round) and Tony Kemp (5th round) as high round picks that have recently agreed to terms with the Astros. Sixth round pick Jacob Nottingham was also inked today and the number of 2013 draftees signed by the Astros now stands at 17.
The majority of the players picked and signed by the Astros are college products and will be starting their professional careers with the Tri-City ValleyCats. The Astros short-season entry in the New York Penn League begins play on Monday, hosting the Vermont Lake Monsters (Oakland A’s) at 7:00 Eastern.
Top draft pick Mark Appel is set to graduate from Stanford on Sunday and the Astros hope to have him signed soon. An article by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports says the Astros are closing in on a deal with Appel. Houston G.M. Jeff Luhnow said the team is hopeful to “move quickly” but that there is “no timetable”. Luhnow went on to say that he is “very confident” that Appel will be wearing an Astros uniform.
Mark Appel (Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports)