MOCK DRAFT! If you’re not familiar, overslotbaseball.com has a great mock draft simulator. This week, I ran another full 10-round mock draft using the Astros. I used their draft board for the later rounds, and while some of the bonus projections felt a bit light, it was still a fun exercise. My results are listed below. Let me know what you think!
*Bonus amounts determined by Over Slot Baseball
1.17 – Zion Rose, OF – $3,700,000 (Slot: $4,868,000)
With the first pick of the draft, I went with a high floor college outfielder. Rose has done nothing but hit at the college level batting .358 in his career and .417 this season. He has good power and produces some strong exit velocities. He’s well built at 6’1 and 200 lbs, but has been able to steal bases at a good clip. He will most likely end up in left field.
1.28 – Ace Reese, 3B – $3,100,000 (Slot: $3,363,300)
With the Astros second pick, a pick thanks to Hunter Brown finishing top 3 in the AL Cy Young voting, I have the Astros going with another college position player, this time an infielder in Ace Reese. The lefty-hitting Reese has some big time power and been a consistent performer for Mississippi State hitting .336 with 24 home runs this season.
2.57 – Mulivai Levu, 1B – $1,300,000 (Slot: $1,677,400)
The Astros go a little undersold in their second round pick taking another college position player. Levu has put up some monster numbers for UCLA during his college career including hitting .340 with 18 home runs and only 32 strikeouts over 59 games. He won’t provide much defensively but he has an advanced bat that can help him move through the system.
3.93 – James Clark, SS – $2,300,000 (Slot: $846,900)
With their third round pick, the Astros go for prep player here taking shortstop James Clark. Clark is a left-handed hitting shortstop from California. The Astros use some of their savings here to snag Clark and pay him way overslot. He is hit over power, not to say the power isn’t good, but scouts are very excited about his bat.
4.121 – Nathan Taylor, RHP – $358,000 (Slot: $638,800)
The Astros get their first pitcher of the draft, selecting right-hander Nathan Taylor out of Cincinnati. He put together a great junior season posting a 3.60 ERA with 115 strikeouts over 90 innings for the Bearcats. He is 6’5″ and has a mid 90s fastball with a couple strong off speed pitches.
4.133 – Jaden Jackson, SS/OF – $1,300,000 (Slot: $569,600)
The Astros use their extra pick from Framber Valdez signing with Detroit to get another young prep player, and pay him well above slot. Jackson is a left-handed hitting outfielder committed to UCLA. The only downside is he will be 19 years old at the time of the draft.
5.153 – Nu’u Contrades, INF – $251,000 (Slot: $467,700)
Back to the college route here with the pick in the 5th round. The Astros select a senior in Nu’u Contrades who has been great for Arizona State hitting .366 with 21 home runs and 10 stolen bases. Given he is a senior, a deal a little underslot here makes sense.
6.182 – Josh McDevitt, RHP – $192,000 (Slot: $361,900)
Now the Astros start taking some more arms, hoping to find the next diamond in the rough. McDevitt is a 6’2″ right-hander from Missouri who struck out 102 batters over 79.1 innings for Missouri. He has a fastball that touchers 97 MPH.
7.211 – Tate McKee, RHP – $182,000 (Slot: $285,400)
Another pitcher here, the Astros take right-hander Tate McKee out of Georgia Tech. The 21-year-old posted a 4.15 ERA with 99 strikeouts over 78 innings this season. He throws a ton of pitchers with the slider being his best one.
8.241 – James Guyette, RHP – $150,000 (Slot: $231,000)
In the 8th round, the Astros take a pitcher and swing for some upside. Guyette had a high ERA this season for Kansas State at 5.56 but did rack up 105 strikeouts over 79.1 innings. Something the Astros player development could be excited to work with.
9.271 – Josiah Kemp, OF – $800,000 (Slot: $206,800)
Here the Astros use the last of their bonus money to go overslot and get a prep outfielder. Kemp is a good athlete with above-average speed and really strong defense. He is a line drive hitter right now but has room for growth. He is committed to Oklahoma.
10.301 – Alex Sosa, C – $150,000 (Slot: $195,000)
The Astros finish out the first 10 rounds selecting a catcher, a position always needed. Sosa has put together a great season and not sure he will be available here, but he was on the mock. He hit .338 with 18 home runs over 59 games for Miami.
THOUGHTS:
Getting deep into the draft is ridiculously difficult. I relied on Over Slot projections for those rounds. Ultimately the goal here was to add some solid position player college level prospects while also adding multiple top prospects from high school. As stated many times, this is a great opportunity for the Astros to add a strong group of prospects to the system.
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