Astros make puzzling and risky decision regarding one of their late-round draft picks

Most of the negotiating that the Houston Astros needed to do with their 2024 draft picks was already done during the draft right before the picks were made. The vast majority of those conversations centered around money, with the Astros trying to make the most of their minuscule bonus pool and lining up dollar amounts with the players they liked.

However, one of their picks from Day 3 of the draft, Oregon outfielder Bryce Boettcher, had a different sort of request. Boettcher is still slated to join the Astros organization, but he apparently still wants to play football for the Ducks this fall and the Astros are going to let him.

Astros are taking a calculated risk with draft pick Bryce Boettcher

This is a highly unusual situation to say the least. While picking players that play multiple sports has become commonplace as teams continue to value athleticism and tools more highly, they generally STOP playing the other sport once they sign on the dotted line. However, Boettcher really wanted to make one more run as a linebacker for the Ducks, and Houston wanted to bring him aboard enough to make that concession.

This situation isn't completely unprecedented. The Athletics famously picked Kyler Murray ninth overall in the 2018 draft and then allowed him to play quarterback for Oklahoma that fall. Murray then showed out with the Sooners after spurning Oakland to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Boettcher's situation is a bit less extreme than that. He is only a 13th-round pick who put up fairly decent (but not crazy) numbers at Oregon, so the downside of letting him play football is significantly less worrisome than what happened with Murray. The biggest issue, realistically, is that football is a brutal sport and Boettcher could get injured, but the Astros value his tools and raw power enough to take the chance.

Assuming all goes well, he will be ready to start his baseball career in 2025 and that is when we will know if he was worth the wait.

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