4.123 Houston Astros - Bobby Doran, RHP, Texas Tech

The Astros spent the 123rd overall pick on Bobby Doran.

Follow the jump for his pre-draft report.

Bobby Doran   Position: RHP   School: Texas Tech   State: TX   Year: Jr.   Height: 6’6’’   Weight: 240

Birth Date: 3/21/89   Seiler Rating: 2C3   Last Drafted: 2009 (PIT-36)

*At Seward County CC (KS)

Bobby Doran is a big right-handed pitcher from Texas Tech. Doran originally attended Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, and that school has a pair of pitchers in this Draft Notebook, as well. He wasn’t a heavily recruited pitcher out of high school, despite his enormous size, and the reason was that he hadn’t quite grown into his frame in terms of strength. He moved on to pitch at Seward County Community College in Kansas, and after a solid season mainly in relief as a freshman, he really blossomed as a sophomore, earning himself a late-round flier from the Pirates. He chose to attend Texas Tech as the next step in his progression, and after a slow start, he has seen his stuff and results mature over the last half of his season. His fastball gets consistent above-average grades, as it’s a heavy pitch that sits 90-92, touching 94, and he complements it with a solid-average curveball and average "vulcan" changeup. That type of stuff puts him in the number four starter category, and scouts believe his frame means he’ll be able to handle full-season loads of starting. He has started to miss more bats late in the season, but there is still the concern that he has struggled to miss quality bats with his arsenal at times. He does get plenty of groundball outs, though, so he should do well in a transition to facing wood bats. He should go somewhere in the fourth to eighth round area, where he should be signable for reasonable money.