Martes to stay inactive for several weeks
The Astros have shut down righthanded pitcher Francis
Martes and do not expect him to return to competition until late July or early August, general manager Jeff Luhnow said Wednesday.
Martes is combating a right elbow injury, Luhnow said, and the organization does not expect him to even begin throwing until “early July.”
“I don’t know what exactly his timetable is, but right now we’re not anticipating him to be on a mound in a game until the second half, maybe late second half (of the season),” Luhnow said. “We don’t really know what the issue is. There’s nothing that requires surgery right now, but he does need to feel good and feel 100 percent, but he hasn’t.”
A member of the Astros’ 40-man roster, Martes has not pitched since April 29, when he walked eight batters in 41⁄3 innings.
In four starts with Class AAA Fresno spanning 182⁄3 innings, Martes has a 6.75 ERA and 16 strikeouts.
Two top-10 picks remain unsigned
After officially announcing the signing of R.J. Freure and
Scott Schreiber on Tuesday, the Astros have only two unsigned players from among their first 10 draft picks.
Freure, a sixth-round selection from Pittsburgh, was a draft-eligible sophomore who, according to mlb.com, signed for $348,800 — more than $100,000 above his slot value.
Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias said during the draft that Freure possessed two plus pitches — a fastball and curveball — that allowed him to strike out 14.57 batters per nine innings. He struck out 95 batters in 582⁄3 innings this season.
Schreiber, a senior outfielder from Nebraska, signed for only $10,000, according to mlb.com.
According to figures reported there for the other six signees, the Astros have $1,677,600 left of their bonus pool to spend on the two unsigned picks — second-rounder Jayson Schroeder and fourth-rounder Alex McKenna.
An imposing 6-2 righthander whose high school coach likened him to a “Division I football player,” Schroeder was the only high school player the Astros drafted in the first 30 rounds. Slot value for his selection at No. 67 is $965,300. McKenna’s selection at No. 97 has a $410,400 value.
The Astros’ $5,492,900 bonus pool for the first 10 rounds was the second smallest in baseball.
Teams are allowed to exceed the pool but do face a penalty, and if any pick from the first 10 rounds goes unsigned, that pick’s slot value is subtracted from their bonus pool. Twentyone of the 30 teams exceeded their pools last year.