Astros receive mixed reviews as expert MLB Draft grades begin to drop

When the Houston Astros hired Dana Brown to run their front office, a big reason why they chose him was because of his track record of strong draft picks while running the Braves' scouting department. With the Astros seemingly in contention every year and possessing such a strong core, keeping the talent pipeline coming is of paramount importance, and Brown seemed like the perfect person for the job.

Unfortunately, the Astros' position in the 2024 draft was pretty rough, and some of that rough sledding is because of Brown's decisions. They were down a draft pick and had the league's smallest bonus pool because Brown decided to sign Josh Hader last offseason, which meant Houston would have limited opportunities to add talent from the draft, and few resources to go over slot for any picks, even if they wanted to go that route.

Well, the dust is settling from the draft, and the various draft experts across the internet are giving the Astros some decidedly mixed reviews regarding whether or not they accomplished what they needed to this year.

MLB Draft experts like the Walker Janek pick, but Astros draft class overall isn't as well liked

By most accounts, Houston has gotten top marks for picking Walker Janek in the first round and, for some, that is really the only pick that matters when evaluating a draft class. Well-rounded catchers with real college experience are tough to come by, and it sure sounds like the industry loves Janek as a future cornerstone for the Astros. If you can get a guy like that at the bottom of the first round, that is a win by any measure.

However, others have been less bullish on the Astros' draft as a whole, with many building in a bit of a penalty for just not having enough picks in the first place. Third-round pick Ryan Forcucci had injury issues in college, and the only real long-term prospect they picked was prep outfielder Ethan Wagner in the 17th round. It is expected that the Astros will be able to sign Wagner away from his Tennessee commitment, but that isn't a certainty until there is ink on paper, and that is still just one pick amongst a lot of college players with limited upside.

Brown does deserve at least some time to see if this draft class pans out the way the team hopes it will. While draft experts may be offering their two cents in good faith, they are also relying on incomplete information, and if anyone can make some questionable picks look like genius moves down the line, it's Brown.

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