Climbing Tal's Hill
Fansided

Astros Draft: Six Players Who Could be Picked with 17th Pick

By Eric Huysman

Jun 20, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Virginia Cavaliers catcher Matt Thaiss (21) looks at his first inning home run in the first inning against the Florida Gators in the 2015 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 20, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Virginia Cavaliers catcher Matt Thaiss (21) looks at his first inning home run in the first inning against the Florida Gators in the 2015 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 7
Next

Who Will The Houston Astros Pick in the First Round?

Jun 3, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; General action between the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros in the fifth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 3, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; General action between the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros in the fifth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

The Houston Astros are no longer in the driver’s seat of the MLB Draft after years of drafting with the first or second pick. The Astros controlled who was picked first for three years and last year decided who was picked second and fifth, but this year, the Astros will draft with the 17th overall pick. Last year, CTH was able to do full profiles of the top 10 or so draft prospects.

More from Astros Draft

This year, it is hard even to predict who will be there with the 17th pick. If you were able to talk to Jeff Luhnow today, he would probably tell you that he will pick the best player available like they did last year with Alex Bregman in 2015. Get them in the system and make position adjustments as needed later when they are closer to the big leagues.

The one glaring need that the Astros have in their system is the lack of catching depth after the trade last year of Jacob Nottingham. The Astros have not drafted a catcher with a first round pick since Jason Castro with the tenth overall pick in the 2008 draft. As we near the possible end of Castro with the Astros, he should re-sign with them, and he has been an average catcher in his career. So an early round catcher would help the future.

The Astros can never have enough arms or bats in the Astros farm system, so anyone drafted should help replenish the farm system that has been weakened by recent trades. The Astros might also look into signability, most notably the earlier picks, to try to offer other players later in the draft above slot value as I wrote here.

Who are the six players that I think the Astros will draft with the 17th overall pick?

Next: Not Likely to be There

Home/Astros Draft