Glad to see the astros will continue to ignore the critics and do what they think is best to build a winner.

(07-19-2014 12:53 AM)At Ease Wrote:  Glad to see the astros will continue to ignore the critics and do what they think is best to build a winner.

That's working out really well. 202-381 over the past 3+ seasons; two straight wasted drafts; an excellent chance at another last-place finish (in spite of the Rangers' tanking)...

The entire organization, from the owner on down, is grossly incompetent. Just because some players do well in the minor leagues does not mean that success in the majors will ensue. Singleton is a prime example.

(07-19-2014 08:21 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(07-19-2014 12:53 AM)At Ease Wrote:  Glad to see the astros will continue to ignore the critics and do what they think is best to build a winner.

That's working out really well. 202-381 over the past 3+ seasons; two straight wasted drafts; an excellent chance at another last-place finish (in spite of the Rangers' tanking)...

The entire organization, from the owner on down, is grossly incompetent. Just because some players do well in the minor leagues does not mean that success in the majors will ensue. Singleton is a prime example.

Singleton has less than 200 PAs at the MLB level. I think it is a bit early to make that kind of declaration.

Also, there are more picks than just 1-1 in a draft. Yes, it makes it more difficult when the top pick isn't performing/signed. The 2014 draft class has barely started their journey. The 2013 class has the Vandy duo of Gregor and Kemp ripping it up and it is still too early to give up on Appel. The stuff is still there for him.

(07-19-2014 08:21 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(07-19-2014 12:53 AM)At Ease Wrote:  Glad to see the astros will continue to ignore the critics and do what they think is best to build a winner.

That's working out really well. 202-381 over the past 3+ seasons; two straight wasted drafts; an excellent chance at another last-place finish (in spite of the Rangers' tanking)...

The entire organization, from the owner on down, is grossly incompetent. Just because some players do well in the minor leagues does not mean that success in the majors will ensue. Singleton is a prime example.

Reasonably, with the lack of major league talent and the state of the minors due to the ineptitude in the late McLane years, theast 3 seasons were always going to be ugly. It's not like Luhnow dismantled a winner, and it's not like building one from scratch is an overnight process.

These two drafts are disappointing so far, but 1) Appel and Aiken were 1-1 on a lot of draft boards, 2) the problems with Aiken were impossible to foresee by my understanding, and 3) the Astros will be compensated for this lost pick next June. A fortunate selection with that compensation pick could even produce ML ready talent while Aiken and Nix are still in A ball. That said I would not have taken Appel, who I felt had a fastball too many college hitters could square up, nor an unproven commodity like Aiken.

There are a surprisingly large number of top 15 round players way were drafted but unsigned.

The Astros better hope Nix doesn't file a grievance. If he somehow wins and an arbitrator forces the Astros to honor a verbal agreement, the Astros would be out 2 1st round picks including next year's 2nd overall.

(07-18-2014 11:54 AM)grol Wrote:  

Quote:Kendall Rogers ‏@KendallRogersPG

Also, told @RiceOwlsBSB RHP Matt Ditman, a @Cardinals 15th-rdr, has given all indications he will head back to #Rice for 2015. #mlbdraft

This is the real story. Great that Ditman is back for another year to round out what will certainly be a top flight pitching staff. Hopefully Duplantier can continue his summer performance into next spring and that we can find some clutch hitters.

(07-19-2014 06:31 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(07-18-2014 11:54 AM)grol Wrote:  

Quote:Kendall Rogers ‏@KendallRogersPG

Also, told @RiceOwlsBSB RHP Matt Ditman, a @Cardinals 15th-rdr, has given all indications he will head back to #Rice for 2015. #mlbdraft

This is the real story. Great that Ditman is back for another year to round out what will certainly be a top flight pitching staff. Hopefully Duplantier can continue his summer performance into next spring and that we can find some clutch hitters.

McCarthy and Rutter are also having VERY strong Summers in the California College League...and Connor Teykl, who had struggled early, is finally heating up at bat, with his AVG up to .298, with 6 doubles and a triple.

(07-19-2014 07:35 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  McCarthy and Rutter are also having VERY strong Summers in the California College League...and Connor Teykl, who had struggled early, is finally heating up at bat, with his AVG up to .298, with 6 doubles and a triple.

I see that Rice signees Tristan Gray (SS/Elkins H.S.) and Michael Rodgers (RHP/St. Thomas) are also playing the the California Collegiate League this summer: for the U-18 Pacific Union Financial Capitalists team, based in San Francisco Bay Area and sponsored by Evan Stone, CEO of Pacific Union Financial.

On Friday, Tristan got two of the six hits the Capitalists got off Duplantier et al in the Foresters' 3-0 win.

And I'm sure Walt will love this: Might the Foresters have the most-home-baked schedule of any summer league team? Only 7 of their 44 scheduled games (not counting the conference tournament) are not being played at their home UC-Santa Barbara field.

(07-19-2014 01:38 PM)Mademen Wrote:  The Astros better hope Nix doesn't file a grievance. If he somehow wins and an arbitrator forces the Astros to honor a verbal agreement, the Astros would be out 2 1st round picks including next year's 2nd overall.

This is the interesting side of the story for me as well. Here is a guy that gets hosed through no fault of his own because of the changes in the rules. MLPA will definitely look to have changes made and I think MLB too would want to clean up this "gotcha".

In another post I said that MLB needs to go to something like the NFL combine in terms of medical information being made available to clubs prior to the draft. Given the amount of money that MLB spends operating their farm clubs and scouting we will never see a workout kind of combine (and I don't think we need to) but some sort of additional info available to all would be helpful.

The Astros are going to take most of the criticism in this drama but blame also has to go to Aiken's adviser for allowing the Astros to pick the MD's to do the exams. He should have sent Aiken to Andrews, Hughston Clinic, Kerlin-Jobe, or others as part of his negotiating package (just as a matter of record) so that if something negative came out in the team's physical it could be rebutted (if as in this case there is a difference of medical opinion). That should be standard of practice for advisers in my mind since any little negative medical indication can mean huge dollars so why not know all you can about your "soon to be" client?

(07-19-2014 06:31 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(07-18-2014 11:54 AM)grol Wrote:  

Quote:Kendall Rogers ‏@KendallRogersPG

Also, told @RiceOwlsBSB RHP Matt Ditman, a @Cardinals 15th-rdr, has given all indications he will head back to #Rice for 2015. #mlbdraft

This is the real story. Great that Ditman is back for another year to round out what will certainly be a top flight pitching staff. Hopefully Duplantier can continue his summer performance into next spring and that we can find some clutch hitters.

Kendall posted a story today on the winners and losers of the draft...

http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View...icle=10356

...and though we were not listed in either category (UT and Stanford were perceived winners, while USM one of the biggest losers), he did give a shoutout to Matty Ditman as one of the key returnees (though strange that Reeves, Fox, Stephens and T.Teykl were not also mentioned as a key draft-eligible returnee)...

Quote:Matt Ditman, rhp, Rice: The Owls will have one of the nation's elite pitching staffs and starting rotations in 2015 with the return of Blake Fox, Kevin McCanna, Jon Duplantier, and others, and the return of Ditman out of the bullpen is massive. Ditman made 26 appearances (two starts) last season and had a 1.83 ERA in 68 2/3 innings, along with 77 strikeouts and 12 walks.

(07-19-2014 08:43 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  

(07-19-2014 01:38 PM)Mademen Wrote:  The Astros better hope Nix doesn't file a grievance. If he somehow wins and an arbitrator forces the Astros to honor a verbal agreement, the Astros would be out 2 1st round picks including next year's 2nd overall.

This is the interesting side of the story for me as well. Here is a guy that gets hosed through no fault of his own because of the changes in the rules. MLPA will definitely look to have changes made and I think MLB too would want to clean up this "gotcha".

In another post I said that MLB needs to go to something like the NFL combine in terms of medical information being made available to clubs prior to the draft. Given the amount of money that MLB spends operating their farm clubs and scouting we will never see a workout kind of combine (and I don't think we need to) but some sort of additional info available to all would be helpful.

The Astros are going to take most of the criticism in this drama but blame also has to go to Aiken's adviser for allowing the Astros to pick the MD's to do the exams. He should have sent Aiken to Andrews, Hughston Clinic, Kerlin-Jobe, or others as part of his negotiating package (just as a matter of record) so that if something negative came out in the team's physical it could be rebutted (if as in this case there is a difference of medical opinion). That should be standard of practice for advisers in my mind since any little negative medical indication can mean huge dollars so why not know all you can about your "soon to be" client?

Interesting recount of the Astros draft situation, including final pre-draft deliberations, by Ben Reiter at SI.com.

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/07/23/houston...side-story

Pretty much matches my limited read on the situation and how I might have expected their decision making to go.

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt said Blake Fox was one of its "Top 12 Returnees"

Quote:TOP 12 RETURNEES

For college teams, the signing deadline isn’t only about holding onto recruits. Some teams can also win big by getting drafted juniors or eligible sophomores back for another year. Of the BA 500 players from the college ranks who will return to school for another year, here are the 12 most important:

1. UCLA RHP David Berg (413)
2. Texas RHP Parker French (434)
3. Miami LHP Andrew Suarez (75)
4. Loyola Marymount RHP Colin Welmon (174)
5. Rice LHP Blake Fox (472)
6. Nevada 3B/1B Austin Byler (123)
7. North Carolina RHP Benton Moss (365)
8. Oregon C Shaun Chase (356)
9. Liberty OF/RHP Ashton Perritt (204)
10. Oregon OF Scott Heineman (429)
11. Loyola Marymount RHP Trevor Megill (384)
12. Oral Roberts RHP Guillermo Trujillo (273)