Kemp exceeded expectations both in terms of his major league play, and the time it took him to reach the show. “He just says he wants to get it looked at. Houston Astros 2012 Draft: Where Are They Now? As the Astros prepared to take a step forward as a team, Thurman became one of the first prospects that Jeff Luhnow shipped out of town as part of the Evan Gattis trade. Follow @brianmctaggart on Twitter. Pick Grade: C While the Astros whiffed, they made the down the middle selection based on the information available at the time, and most of the other options considered seriously have also had limited-to-no success. He pitched in the Dodgers system briefly in 2017 and has been out of the game since. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics clinched their first American League West title since 2013 on Monday, with an assist from the rival Houston Astros. We at Crawfish Boxes will be reviewing these classes in the coming days, giving the Astros updated grades. Astros @ Twins. That’s not an excuse in any way, shape or form, but it was a big learning process for me. Astros Crawfish Boil: September 30th, 2020, Start your morning with some of the best Astros links around, Wild Card Series Game 1, September 29, 2020, 1:08 CDT.

Taylor, a rookie, had a 2.12 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 11 walks in 17 innings before going on the IL on Sept. 6 with left elbow soreness. Here is a look at how Houston did in 2013. This week I am moving on to the 2013 draft. He completely failed to live up to his billing, but the Astros moved on quickly enough to get some value out of the selection. HOUSTON – The Astros placed veteran right-hander Brad Peacock back on the injured list Friday and activated left-hander Blake Taylor prior to the game against the D-backs at Minute Maid Park. Bryant blew away projections early in his pro career, and Appel’s failures had much more to do with his own love of the game than it did a flaw in his profile.

Pick Grade- A- It doesn’t get much better than this in round five. An A grade pick in round eight.

Baker said ace Justin Verlander was scheduled to throw another simulated game Monday while the Astros are on the road. Two of those risers were Rockies starter Jon Gray and former MVP Kris Bryant, who had a lot of support from Astros fans as potential selections. Acquired by the Astros from the A’s on Feb. 4, 2013, along with Chris Carter and Max Stassi in a deal that sent Jed Lowrie to Oakland, Peacock has appeared in 178 games (81 starts) for the Astros, including a strong season in ’17, when he went 10-2 with a 3.22 ERA as a starter and 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA as a reliever. Since then, his contact ability has fallen apart, and he appears destined to be best known for his part in those trades rather than his own playing accomplishments. This represented the first real surprise of the draft for Houston, as they plucked Emanuel well ahead of his projected range. The Astros went back to the Vandy well with this selection, popping undersized speedster Tony Kemp, a draft twitter darling. With six drafts under their belts, we’ve had enough time to determine just how good the early classes of the Luhnow era were. I’m just hoping they find out what it is so we can get this thing right.”. If you’re reading this piece, I’m confident that you are familiar with the story of what happened at the top of this draft. While his baserunning at the big league level has been something of a disappointment considering his straight-line speed, Kemp is a legitimate big league hitter and has even developed a modicum of power.

He had drawn comparisons to hitters like Nick Swisher and looked like one of the safest prospects in the class. It was a failure overall. Tucker, Urquidy, Javier lead way to improbable Wild Card sweep. While the latter two had strong years and became top 10 picks, some unexpected risers pushed them down boards a bit by the time it came time for the Astros to make their selection. With scholarship interest from football programs, Nottingham was seen as a tough sign, but the Astros were able to get a deal done ahead of the signing deadline. Now in Tigers organization as fringe prospect. “He’s a big part of this club,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Taylor. To date, this is comfortably Luhnow’s weakest draft, and regardless it can’t be seen as a total failure. Baker admitted Peacock -- the longest-tenured member of the pitching staff -- likely won’t figure into the Astros’ postseason plans, and that also could spell an end to his time in Houston.

How do their past classes hold up in hindsight? While Kemp continued to show no power, he became a fan favorite with his loud statistical performance on the farm. Pick Grade: C- Gregor was something of a “fake value” in the fourth round in hindsight. Gregor faltered in 2013, however, with his modest power evaporating and his hit tool taking a step back. Plus big Correa homer sends Stros to the next round. Astros Future, Where Are They Now? The current Astros roster is peppered with home-grown talent acquired under Jeff Luhnow, including Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and Lance McCullers Jr., among others, earning their front office a reputation for shrewd drafting ability.

As good as Gray was for Oklahoma as a junior, there were persistent concerns about his third pitch and command, and it would’ve been a risk to select him over a complete package starter in Appel. “Being a rookie, I wasn’t quite sure how to go about. Bryant would’ve been a much better pick here in hindsight, but the Astros can’t be faulted for picking a comparable talent who was seen as safer.

After selecting five consecutive college players, the Astros projected to have some bonus pool money to work with and elected to pop prep catcher Jacob Nottingham in round six.

Appel never had so much as two good starts in a row as a pro, but the Astros were able to package him in the Ken Giles trade, salvaging a scrap of value from the pick.
Emanuel took surprisingly well to the pen given his profile, missing more bats than he has at any stop in the minors as a starter, but he fell victim to hard contact and his ERA remained north of 5. While his power was limited for his position, the Vandy star had an elite approach and made consistent contact, and there looked to be untapped power in his frame. Tyler White will go down as one of the better 33rd round picks in history, and Kemp and Martin look to have careers ahead of them as role players. Pick Grade: C Much like Appel, Thurman was a value based on information available on draft day.

Astros take Game 1 in Minnesota thanks to Valdez, Springer, Brantley. On production, White could’ve been a first-round pick in this class. Kemp was a dominating performer for Vanderbilt, hitting for absurd batting averages and wreaking havoc on the basepaths. Kemp picked up where he left off in the minors, and rose quickly through the Houston system.

Players also selected in the top 10 included Kohl Stewart, Trey Ball, Hunter Dozier and Phil Bickford. Astros place Peacock on IL, activate Taylor. Scouts praised his pitchability and his status as an advanced college lefty appealed to Houston, but he failed to live up to his modest billing in the minors.

Though he was seen as an advanced arm, Thurman’s performance in A ball was middling as he posted a 5.38 ERA in 115.1 innings and a mediocre K rate of 21.5%. The 2013 Houston Astros team roster seen on this page … Emanuel anchored the staff for a UNC team that was among the best in the country, but had middling stuff that held back his pro projection. Astros hope to eliminate the Twins today and advance to the next round of playoffs.

He’s been out of the Astros’ system since 2016, playing sparingly in the Red Sox organization since. Game 2 Wild Card Playoff Series Thread, September 30, 2020, 12:08 CDT.

The Luhnow front office has received consistent praise for maintaining a steady stream of talent through the draft and trade.
In the end, Gregor fared as most fourth-rounders do, never reaching the majors. Verlander, who suffered a forearm strain on Opening Day, threw 75 pitches at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, including 24 in a simulated game. This was also their 52nd season as an MLB franchise, their 49th as the Astros, and their 14th at Minute Maid Park. Appel had four major league pitches of which three were presently plus, a clean delivery, command and a workhorse frame. Taylor, meanwhile, admitted he tried to pitch through left elbow soreness when the best course of action should have been to alert the trainers and Baker sooner. White has produced more big league WAR than the rest of the class combined and is poised to contribute to the big club again in 2019. If it’s not right physically, it’s probably not right mentally, either. Pick Grade- B+ The Astros got real value out of this selection, both in terms of the player’s talent relative to his draft position and his role in bringing in Scott Kazmir.

The Luhnow front office’s first draft was a home run, but the follow up in ‘13 now looks like a swinging bunt. In the end, his time with Houston would be short lived, as he was packaged with Daniel Mengden and shipped to Oakland in the Scott Kazmir trade, and was subsequently flipped to Milwaukee as part of the Khris Davis deal. He could likely start for a weaker team, and is a valuable bench piece on the Astros contending roster. At this point Emanuel is little more than organizational depth, and his only hope to reach the bigs is as a middle reliever for a needy team. Houston Astros 2014 Draft: Where Are They Now? Daniel Pinero, 20th round- Didn’t sign, headed to Virginia and was a notable piece for strong college clubs. In the Atlanta system, Thurman continued to struggle to miss bats, and his command backslid in a big way, leading to his release in 2016. Though he lacked the overpowering stuff that made Appel a two-time first round pick, Thurman was coming off of a monster season in college ball and looked like a quick-rising #3 starter.

Entering the 2013 season, Gregor was seen as a likely first round pick as one of the most advanced hitters in the NCAA game. Nottingham, like Kemp, quickly became a fan favorite and performed quite well for his age in the Astros’ organization. The former Tar Heel failed to to miss bats at any minor league level as a starter, and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2015 season. Those concerns have been silenced several times over, and Bryant has gone on to become by far the best player selected in picks 1-31 of the 2013 draft (Aaron Judge was selected 32nd). He was able to reach base as a pro but never hit an especially high clip and the power remained dormant. 2013 Houston Astros Roster.

Pick Grade: D Unlike Thurman and Appel, Emanuel was not seen as a strong value at his draft position, and he never looked like a professional pitcher in the Astros’ system. Baker said Peacock’s injury is the same shoulder discomfort that has plagued him since last season and has limited him to three game on the mound this year. While both are college righties, the Astros 2nd rounder had a very different profile from Appel on draft day. “Peacock was looked at yesterday and was looked at again today, and I don’t’ have the results yet.”.

The diminutive outfielder debuted for the Astros in 2016, and has made valuable contributions as a role player since. The UC Irvine Friday starter had a more compact frame and threw in the lower 90s, backing up his heater with a big breaker and lively changeup. Tyler White, 33rd round- Unheard of value deep on day 3. His approach continued to be excellent, but an approach is not a carrying tool and his projection took a hit. It’s not right.

Coming into the year all of the buzz for 1.1 centered on Mark Appel and high school outfielders Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows. Even with his struggles for the Commodores, Gregor projected to go higher than the top of the fourth round on draft day, so this represented a value for the Astros. Astros Top Prospects From 2009. Contrary to what some might tell you, virtually every outlet ranked Appel as the best available prospect, and there were plenty of reasons for this.