2007 Houston Astros Prospects

2007 Houston Astros Prospects

1. Hunter Pence, OF, Grade A- (I see nothing not to like)
   
2. Troy Patton, LHP, Grade B+ (One of the better southpaw prospects in the game)
   
3. Matt Albers, RHP, B+ (made huge progress last year but control still an issue)
   
4. Jimmy Barthmaier, RHP, B+ (can't decide between B and B+ here)
   
5. J.R. Towles, C, B (He looks good to me, good glove, strong bat)
   
6. Max Sapp, C, B (I don't want to overreact to poor NY-P numbers given his youth. Might downgrade to B-)
   
7. Juan Gutierrez, RHP, B- (live arm, needs to sustain command)
   
8. Paul Estrada, RHP, B- (overlooked prospect with a live arm)
   
9. Sergio Perez, RHP, B- (one of my favorites from the 2006 draft)
   
10. Felipe Paulino, RHP, C+ (outstanding arm but still learning how to pitch)
    
11. Lincoln Holdzkom, RHP, C+ (rule 5 guy from the Cubs)
    
12. Chris Sampson, RHP, C+ (Should be a useful control pitcher, old for a prospect)
    
13. Chad Reineke, RHP, C+ (another guy who can be a good utility pitcher)
    
14. Brian Bugosevic, LHP, C+ (2005 hot draft pick has injury concerns)
    
15. Jordan Parraz, OF, C+ (can he hit above the NY-P?)
    
16. Bud Norris, RHP, C+ (live arm from '06 draft)
    
17. Brooks Conrad, 2B, C (old for a prospect but he does a lot of things right)
    
18. Eli Iorg, OF, C (great tools, but skills are sketchy)
    
19. Drew Sutton, 2B, C (similar to Conrad but two levels behind him)
    
20. Chance Douglass, RHP, C (another guy who can be a decent utility pitcher)

Others of Note: Josh Anderson, OF; Raymar Diaz, RHP; Thomas Fairchild, RHP; Sam Gervacio, RHP; Hector Gimenez, C; Casey Hudspeth, RHP; Charlton Jimerson, OF; Chris Johnson, 3B; Tommy Manzella, SS; Nick Moresi, OF; Chris Salamida, LHP; Sergio Severino, LHP.

The Astros in One Sentence: This system has some quality guys at the top, and there is a decent group of potential spare parts, but some of the college bats expected to bring depth have disappointed lately.

Jason Hirsh would have ranked number two before his trade to Colorado. Again, there isn't a lot to distinguish the C/C+ guys, and some of those grades are fluid and may be changed.

ALL GRADES ARE PRELIMINARY. If you hate a grade, feel free to make a case for me to change it, though remember that cases phrased respectfully using logic and facts are more likely to be viewed positively than those featuring insults and invective.

There is a lot of slack in the B-/C+/C range and players may move up and down depending on how my thinking progresses. Feel free to make comments, point out sleepers I may have missed, etc. Note that there is only a limited amount of space in the book, and the max I can do is 35-36 players per team.

And, as always, there is the helpful reminder to Buy My Book, which will lay out reports for all these guys (and more) in detail.