Luhnow hopes to replicate his 2012 draft success
BALTIMORE — The 2012 draft could end up a deciding force in this Astros season, with Carlos Correa due up shortly and Lance McCullers Jr. and Preston Tucker already here. Rio Ruiz, another high pick, was part of the trade for Evan Gattis.
The talent in that draft class was better than this year’s. But this year is better than 2013, a year whose fruits haven’t been nearly as encouraging with Mark Appel struggling.
Part of what made the ’12 draft special beyond the pool of talent was the Astros’ ability to spread out the money allotted to them in their signing-bonus pool. They saw Correa as the best player in the draft when most others didn’t, and they were able to get him at a discount with the very first pick, which had a trickle-down effect that allowed them to net a big name in McCullers later.
What approach the Astros will take in this year’s draft, with the second and fifth overall picks and an allotment of $17,289,200 — $3.3 million more than any other team and more than double the allotment of 25 teams — likely won’t be known until draft day.
The class appears to have little separation at the top.
Said general manager Jeff Luhnow: “There are certainly some guys that have impressed or performed recently that have moved into first-round consideration — maybe not (numbers) two or five. I don’t think the top of the draft is by any stretch sorted out. Pick 10 names and (you can list them) in all kinds of different orders. We don’t have necessarily an organizational point of view yet until we get together and talk it through. I have my own point of view.”
The Astros are said to still be considering, in no order, Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt shortstop), Brendan Rodgers (high school shortstop from Florida), Dillon Tate (UC Santa Barbara righthander), Kyle Tucker (high school outfielder from Florida and younger brother of Preston Tucker), Daz Cameron (high school outfielder from Georgia and son of Mike Cameron), Alex Bregman (LSU shortstop), Carson Fulmer (Vanderbilt righthander), Tyler Jay (University of Illinois lefty), Ian Happ (University of Cincinnati outfielder and second baseman) and Ian Benintendi (University of Arkansas outfielder) for their first two choices.
“I think (the strategy) comes after we order the players,” Luhnow said. “Because some strategies are irrelevant if your players aren’t in the order that would facilitate that. So is it possible to do something like we did in 2012? I suppose it is, but it has to work a certain way with the preference lists — how we like the players and where they see themselves going and all that sort of stuff. We haven’t really gone through that at this point. The strategy’s to get two impact players that can help us win here for a long time. If we don’t accomplish that, it won’t be a successful draft, in my opinion.”
The Astros aren’t going to land a player they will feel as highly about on draft day as they did last year when, with the first overall pick, they took Brady Aiken, who didn’t sign in a messy debacle related to the condition of his arm. The No. 2 overall pick is the team’s compensation for Aiken’s going unsigned.
It would be difficult to imagine the Astros taking two high school players. They’ll likely end up with at least one college player, possibly one of the shortstops.
College pitchers are more volatile at the top of the draft than college hitters, and the Astros are conscious of that in the wake of Appel’s slow development.
The Astros are holding their annual pre-draft workouts now. There was one in Atlanta and two in Florida this week, with another in California this weekend and one in Houston next week.
Purpura returns to organization
Tim Purpura, a former general manager of the Astros, has rejoined the organization in a part-time major league scouting position. He’ll be based in Arlington.
Purpura joined the Astros in 1994 as assistant farm director and became GM after the 2004 season. The Astros reached their only World Series in 2005. He was replaced as GM by Ed Wade late in the 2007 season.
After leaving the Astros, Purpura was an executive vice president for Minor League Baseball for four years, then joined the Rangers in 2011 as senior director of player development. He left the Rangers after the 2014 season and has been a consultant and adjunct instructor in sports management at SMU.
Fans can donate to food drive
After this week’s devastating floods, the Astros Foundation is hosting a food drive at Minute Maid Park during a seven-game homestand that starts Friday against the White Sox.
Fans can bring canned goods or other nonperishable food items with them to games. Collections will be held at the entrance gates starting two hours prior to first pitch and running through the first inning.
The Astros will also host a raffle. Prizes will include autographed memorabilia. Raffle tickets will be available for $5 each or five tickets for $20 at collection points.
Grab bags will also be available on Friday and Saturday for a $25 donation at the Astros Community Clubhouse located near section 108/109 on the main concourse.
All proceeds benefit the Houston Food Bank. Monetary donations will also be accepted.