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Astros Draft: Looking at the positions of need for early picks
By Eric Huysman
Middle Infielders
By: Eric Huysman
Next: Tony Kemp
Backup: Nick Tanielu
Backup: Reid Brignac
Depth: Anibal Sierra (MLB Pipeline, 17)
Future: Miguelangel Sierra (MLB Pipeline, 10)
Deep Future: Freudis Nova (MLB Pipeline, 15)
Future: Jonathan Arauz (MLB Pipeline, 18)
I paired the two middle infielders together because there are not too many true second basemen in the system. After all, we have Jose Altuve playing second base. On the other side, the shortstop position has plenty to offer. A shortstop can easily be moved from second to third base because they are typically the most athletic on the team.
As we saw in the 2015 draft, the Astros drafted Alex Bregman and he rose through the system quickly. Arauz was part of the Ken Giles trade as a throw in. Luhnow has done a good identifying young talent in the lower level of other teams. Arauz did come with some baggage this season as he was suspended for 50 games.
The prospects.
Arauz could be the future star here, but Sierra could be the overall better player. There are not too many standouts in this category, so I could see them drafting a middle infielder early in the draft. They have a backup second baseman in Kemp and shortstop in Brignac. There is plenty of depth in the lower levels of the Astros minor leagues in the middle infield.
They could go after a college middle infielder with one of the draft picks, but there is no rush with Correa and Altuve settled in.
Need: High, level 1