In the 2023 draft, the Astros swung big on a couple of prospects on Day 3. One of them was a 17-year-old outfielder from Galena Park HS in Houston, Nehomar Ochoa Jr.
The MLB draft is unlike any other in professional sports. Teams have a bonus pool and draft picks are assigned a slot amount, though teams can deviate from that and go under or over slot. In the 11th round last year, the Astros drafted Ochoa and signed him for $300,000. Slot for rounds 11-20 is $150,000. A bonus of $300,000 is equivalent to around a 6th round bonus amount.
In Layman’s terms, the Astros liked Ochoa enough to select him in the 11th round and pay him twice the bonus slotted for that round.
As mentioned above, Ochoa was one of the younger players drafted in 2023 at just 17-years-old. To start this season, the Astros aggressively assigned him to full-season baseball, and he has performed well for a prospect that is 2.7 years younger than the average player in the Carolina League.
“We’ve had a big adjustment ever since High School. I had no doubt I have the talent to adjust to anything that comes my way but I think I can it pretty quickly,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa has experienced the ups and downs of a long season. After a slow start hitting .146 in the first 13 games, he went on a tear hitting .312 with a .814 OPS over his next 25 games.
“It’s just the hang of it, like the timing and whenever I’m in the box, just being focused. I just put my talent to focusing on myself which is trusting the process,” Ochoa said to his adjustments in season.
Before this season, Ochoa got to have a really cool winter ball experience. He ended up playing Australian Baseball League, a league where he was 7.8(!!) years younger than the average player.
“That experience for me was great. It definitely opened my eyes and made me more mature overall in the field,” Ochoa said. “I would say it was a big deal for me.
“It was an awesome experience. Jason Bell talked to me. When the season was over he told me ‘hey, what do you think about playing in Australia?’ and I was like, I’ll play wherever.”
Ochoa, who is listed at 6’4″ and 230 lbs, is very athletic for his size. To this point in the season, he has picked up 17 stolen bases. While he has played the corner outfield spots this season, he has played center before, including in rookie ball last season.
“Whenever I came back from Australia, I was 260 lbs. So they told me to lose weight because that [center field] is my natural position,” Ochoa said. “So now I’m at the weight they want me to be, but whenever the opportunity comes I will playing there.”
Going from high school baseball, to professional baseball in a span of weeks forces young players to mature quickly. Then a year later, they are playing full season baseball and getting paid as professionals. When asked where he has grown the most, Ochoa used one word: “maturity”.
At this point in the season, Ochoa has a 102 wRC+ over 82 games. The league average is 100, so he has been 2% better than a league average hitter, despite being one of the youngest players in the Carolina League. He has shown power (9 homers), speed (17 stolen bases) and the ability to make much needed session long adjustments. He has hit a tough stretch recently but has shown promise in his first full season.
It is still very early in his career, but it looks like the Astros made the right decision swinging big for Nehomar Ochoa Jr. on day 3 of the 2023 draft.
Be sure to follow on X, @AstrosFuture, follow me on Instagram, @AstrosFuture and like my Facebook page, facebook.com/AstrosFuture.
