The Astros select...
Brady Aiken, 6'4" 205lb LHP out of Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, California. He's 17 years old, one of the youngest draft-eligible prospects this year, and won't be 18 until the fall. His fastball hovers in the 92-94mph range (hitting 97mph) with a plus curve and the beginnings of a solid changeup.
MLB.com:
(Aiken) already has a complete repertoire of pitches, and the command needed to locate each one. On top of that, he has the smarts to work through a lineup multiple times and the resolve to make sure he isn't satisfied with marginal successes.
Aiken's HS coach Gary Remiker:
Brady has a very unique combination of amazing talent that gets demonstrated every time he pitches and a great head on his shoulders.
Minor League Ball:
Comparisons to Cliff Lee and Clayton Kershaw will be heard. These are not foolish but would be the high end of his potential.
In 59.2IP for Cathedral Catholic, he allowed 27H/9ER, 111K:15BB for a 1.06 ERA/0.70 WHIP (if those things mean anything in high school).
Last summer Aiken pitched for Team USA's Under-18 World Cup team in Taiwan, in which he struck out ten batters and allowed just one run to win the Gold Medal. Aiken is the first high school lefty pitcher to be selected with the #1 overall pick since Brien Taylor in 1991.
Aiken:
Since the beginning of the year, my goal was to be the best player in the country.
Aiken is represented by Casey Close, who negotiated Masahiro Tanaka's contract with the Yankees.
Luhnow:
It's an opportunity, and we want to get it right. We believe we did.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
