With their 10th Round pick (301st overall) the Astros selected 6'3" 195lbs RHP Kyle Serrano, a junior out of the University of Tennessee.
Kyle Serrano, the son of Dave Serrano - who resigned as the head coach of Tennessee in the last week of the season - had Tommy John Surgery after sustaining an elbow injury in his first start of the 2016 season. As a result, Serrano appeared in 9.2IP (nine games) for the 2017 Volunteers with a 3.72 ERA in 2017, with his season cut short in April because of "unspecified health reasons." He was originally drafted by the Rockies in the 29th Round in 2013.
When he left the program on April 21, UT's Twitter account said:
We ask for the respect of privacy for Kyle, his family and the team at this time.
He's the first Tennessee draftee for the Astros since Tyler Duffy in the 2011 draft (20th Round).
On Cape Cod in 2015, Serrano struck out 38 batters (eight walks) with a 3.68 ERA in 36.2IP.
Coming into 2017, Serrano was #93 on Baseball America's Top 100 draft prospects list.
The slot for the 301st overall pick is $133,500.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
