(Captip to TCB for the link):
FanGraphs' Marc Hulet takes on the last four Astro drafts. Nuggets, you say?
2009
On Mier:
He stole 10 bases but was caught five times, so he needs to improve his base running. The 13.5% walk rate was also very impressive for a teenager hitter, but the strikeout rate of 23.4% was a little high. Even so, the organization will certainly take a wOBA of .385 from Mier.
On Bushue:
With a ground-ball rate of 37.3%, the right-hander will want to try and keep the ball out of the air a little more, especially if he’s going to play in Minute Maid Park.
On Nash:
The outfielder swung-and-missed too much, with a strikeout rate of 31.7%. He showed a lot of raw power as an amateur but his ISO rate of .106 suggests he has a long way to go to tap into that home-run ability.
2008:
The club had a nice draft haul in ‘08 (See what can be done when you don’t punt your draft picks!) and six members of the Top 10 prospect list can be found in this draft: Castro, Lyles, Austin, Seaton, Steele, and Dydalewicz.
2007:
Ugh. This was a nasty, nasty draft. It actually makes the Blue Jays’ ‘09 draft look good. Dietrich snubbed Houston for Georgia Tech and he hit .311/.426/.511 in 225 at-bats as a sophomore in ‘09. The ultra-athletic Collin DeLome (5th round) just squeaked into the Top 10 list, based on his power/speed/defensive potential.
2006
On Chris Johnson:
The 25-year-old Johnson projects to be a solid utility or platoon player for Houston after hitting .281/.3232/.461 in triple-A.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
