Cheers, the Astros sign their first-round pick Seth Beer

The Houston Astros are working to sign their picks from the 2018 MLB Draft.

While the Astros could hope that most of the draft picks will sign, some will choose to go to college to build up their draft stock. We have seen some of their draft picks start to sign, including the biggest of all. They signed their first-round pick, Clemson outfielder, Seth Beer, to a below-slot value deal.

A little about Beer.

Beer is a potential impact bat who could be limited to first base or designated hitter. Jim Callis said that Beer, “might have best three-year run of college production of anyone in this draft.” According to Callis, Beer signed for $2.25 million, which was below the slot value of $2,399,400. Thay may not seem like much of a difference, that extra money could be used to sign a high school player.

According to Brian McTaggart, “Beer hit .301 with 22 homers, 54 RBIs” as a junior at Clemson. He also only struck out 36 times with 54 walks. As Callis mentioned, Beer has a good eye at the plate, which could translate well in the MLB. Look at how much better a hitter Alex Bregman is becoming with his patience and knowledge of the strike zone.

After focusing their last two drafts on pitchers in the first round, so many thought they would go with a bat. With the hitting prospects, they had near big league ready. I thought they would go with a high upside high school bat. The Astros had the 28th overall pick, but you can still easily find a top player to develop with that pick.

Now that Beer is part of the Astros organization, I would like to see how he develops. Will he be able to adjust to wooden bats versus the metal bats used in college? Will he be able to play a position in the future, or will he be limited to the DH? These are all great storylines as he begins his quest for Houston tomorrow with the Tri-City Valley Cats in the New York Penn League. Did the Astros make the right selection with this pick, only time will tell?

Were there any other players they could have drafted that made more sense?

As we look at the Astros draft, we have to keep in mind that the Astros have realigned their scouting department. They don’t have as many people going out to scout, but instead, rely on analytics to make decisions. On this week’s Talking Stros, former scout Jeremy Booth came on the show upset. He felt like the Astros could have made a better selection than Beer with the 28th overall pick.

Let’s take a look at a couple of the high school bats who were available when they were on the clock.

Catcher – Noah Naylor (drafted 29th, ranked 27th)

Outfielder – Nick Schnell (drafted 32nd, ranked 38th)

Notable college pitchers were available at 28.

Shane McClanahan (South Florida, drafted 31st, ranked 14th)

Jackson Kowar (Florida, drafted 33rd, ranked 15th)

It is nothing against Beer as a person, but Booth felt like they could have selected a more impactful player. His primary focus was on Naylor because he would have been the Astros long-term answer at the catching position in a few years. Booth liked Beer but said that he could have been there in the second round of the draft. He even mentioned that 15 teams said Beer would have lasted to the second round to Houston’s pick.