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The Houston Astros were just purchased by Jim Crane. After a lot of controversy, he was approved by the other owners. The deal came with a condition. He has to move his Astros to the A.L. West.
Most of the reason for MLB wanting to move the Astros to the A.L. is that the Houston market is quite large. It will bring more eyeballs to the teams in the A.L. West and it potentially can grow the popularity of A.L. West teams. All the more reason to put a winning team on the field.
As you guys probably know, I have been doing a shadow draft for the Astros the last two years and some have questioned the amount I would spend on the draft. I know this may seem unrealistic but the plan is to build a team from the bottom up instead of spending large sums on free agents. The Astros had $7 million dollars in operating income in 2010 and $14 million in 2011. If I spent $27 million on the in 2010 and $26 million this year to sign all the talent, the team would have had losses of $9 million and $7 million. That means I owe my owner $37 million dollars, or about 7.5 Wins Above Replacement. The only other teams that operated at a loss were the Red Sox, Mets and Tigers, who lost $29 million dollars. They have lost $54 million dollars over the last 3 seasons. I plan on spending a ton on the draft again this season but in the long run, it will pay off. While I have no proof at the major league level, the farm system is really shaping up at the lower levels.
The major league team is horrible but that isn't different than the real team. It is looking like the team is on pace for a top 5 pick again in 2013 as well as the 1st pick in 2012. This will continue to add depth to the farm system. I've spent a little time looking at how all this talent would fit together, and it is a little tight in the low minors to get everyone playing time but I'm sure it would work it's way out.
In the majors, Carlos Lee, Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez could be moved for more talent and free up salary. Jose Altuve, J.D. Martinez, Jordan Lyles, Bud Norris, Brett Wallace and a couple others could be worth keeping around for when the team starts turning around.
In 3A, Brett Oberholtzer, Ross Seaton and Juan Abreu could be helpful. There could be some bullpen help there as well.
In AA is where the talent really starts kicking up. A rotation of Sonny Gray, Jarred Cosart, Chris Hernandez, Josh Osich and Kyle Winkler starts it off. Michael Palazzone and Josh Zeid could help out of the pen. Jonathan Singleton at 1B, Jio Mier at SS, and Jay Austin and T.J. Steele in the outfield. A few of these guys could start helping as soon as this season.
In High A, Curt Casali behind the dish, Florida standout Preston Tucker at 1B, Nick Castellanos at 3B, Jonathan Villar at short and Stanford star Austin Wilson and Domingo Santana in the outfield makes a pretty impressive lineup. A.J. Cole, LSU ace Kevin Gausman, Tanner Bushue,Georgia Tech righty DeAndre Smelter and Stanford lefty Brett Mooneyham would be the rotation. Michael Ojala, Dean Kiekhefer and Brad Dydalewicz out of the pen would help close out games.
Low A has quite a few talented players. As do the short season leagues. A lot of them are still in college but a few are playing pro ball. Next year this will mean more but the talent is really piling up in the lower levels. Here is where we sit.
AA |
High A |
||
Corpus Christi |
Lancaster |
||
C |
Federico Hernandez |
C |
Curtis Casali |
1B |
Jonathan Singleton |
1B |
Preston Tucker |
2B |
Jason Smith |
2B |
Tyler Rahmatulla |
3B |
Jonathan Meyer |
3B |
Nick Castellanos |
SS |
Jiovanni Mier |
SS |
Jonathan Villar |
LF |
T.J. Steele |
LF |
Joseph Loftus |
CF |
Jay Austin |
CF |
Domingo Santana |
RF |
Jon Gaston |
RF |
Austin Wilson |
1 |
Sonny Gray |
1 |
A.J. Cole |
2 |
Jarred Cosart |
2 |
Kevin Gausman |
3 |
Chris Hernandez |
3 |
Tanner Bushue |
4 |
Joshua Osich |
4 |
DeAndre Smelter |
5 |
Kyle Winkler |
5 |
Brett Mooneyham |
Low A |
Short Season |
||
Lexington |
Tri-City |
||
C |
Matt Rice |
C |
Matthew Roberts |
1B |
Brian Ragira |
1B |
Zac Elgie |
2B |
Martin Peguero |
2B |
Luca Martone |
3B |
Garin Cecchini |
3B |
Chan Moon |
SS |
Jacoby Jones |
SS |
Lonnie Kauppila |
LF |
Eric Arce |
LF |
Trey Griffin |
CF |
Joshua Sale |
CF |
Dale Carey |
RF |
Kris Bryant |
RF |
Krey Bratsen |
1 |
Stetson Allie |
1 |
Jose Perdomo |
2 |
Drew Cisco |
2 |
Euris Quezada |
3 |
Ethan Stewart |
3 |
Garrett Bullock |
4 |
Michael Feliz |
4 |
Joan Belliard |
5 |
Evan Rutckyj |
5 |
Danilo Del Rio |
Rookie |
Rookie |
||
Greenville |
GCL |
||
C |
Andrew Murray |
C |
Brandon Sedell |
1B |
Jared Lakind |
1B |
Roderick Shoulders |
2B |
Joshua Tobias |
2B |
Chase Williamson |
3B |
Matthew Dean |
3B |
Austin Slater |
SS |
Phillip Evans |
SS |
Jean Carlos Batista |
LF |
Jake Cave |
LF |
Kelvin Vizcaino |
CF |
Derek Fisher |
CF |
Danry Vasquez |
RF |
Vicmal De La Cruz |
RF |
Dominic Jose |
1 |
Daniel Norris |
1 |
Amir Garrett |
2 |
Carson Baranik |
2 |
Jose Montero |
3 |
Dillon Maples |
3 |
Spenser Linney |
4 |
Nick Burdi |
4 |
Blake Burrell |
5 |
Phillip Pfeifer |
5 |
Ricardo Jacquez |
Other Players:
Bench |
Bench |
|
Julio Martinez |
Kelly Norris-Jones |
|
Albert Cartwright |
Kevin Jordan |
|
Kash Kalkowski |
Yonathan Mejia |
|
Geno Escalante |
Christopher Triplett |
|
Jacob Goebbert |
Ben Orloff |
|
Erik Castro |
Breshon Kimbell |
|
Enrique Hernandez |
Christopher Lovett |
|
Tyler Hanover |
Shon Carson |
|
Brandon Barnes |
Mark Payton |
|
Telvin Nash |
Yoel Araujo |
|
Adrian Morales |
Khiry Cooper |
|
Johnny Coy |
Ronald Sanchez |
|
Darwin Rivera |
Grayson Greiner |
|
Drake Roberts |
Kirby Bellow |
|
Willie Argo |
Jay Baum |
|
Garen Wright |
Max Homick |
|
Jose Monzon |
Dylan Davis |
|
Zachary Alvord |
Drew Stiles |
|
Jose Fernandez |
Rouric Bridgewater |
|
Kevin Patterson |
||
Kyle Robinson |
Pitchers | Pitchers | |
Michael Palazzone |
Austin Urban |
|
Josh Zeid |
Dakota Freese |
|
David Berner |
Kilby Pena |
|
Arcenio Leon |
Dan Mengden |
|
Matt Nevarez |
Pat Connaughton |
|
Daniel Renken |
Jose Trinidad |
|
Zachary Grimmett |
Kirk Clark |
|
Pat Urckfitz |
Jorge De Leon |
|
Michael Ojala |
Danny Barnes |
|
Dean Kiekhefer |
Cody Martin |
|
Brad Dydalewicz |
Carlos Quevedo |
|
Colton Pitkin |
Enderson Franco |
|
Jonathon Crawford |
Francis Ramirez |
|
Rolando Botello |
Luis Ordosgoitti |
|
Rudy Acosta |
Ricardo Batista |
|
Thomas Pecoraro |
Clayton Crum |
|
Trae Davis |
Daniel Child |
|
Trevor Teykl |
Agapito Barrios |
|
Shane Wolf |
Ambiorix De Leon |
|
Forrest Snow |
Alberto Arias |
|
Jose Cisnero |
Ashton Mowdy |
|
Robert Donovan |
Billy Sadler |
|
Alex Sogard |
Brad James |
|
Casey Upperman |
Brandt Walker |
|
Kyle Greenwalt |
Brian Wabick |
|
Andrew Smith |
David Duncan |
|
Kyle Necke |
Elias De Leon |
|
B.J. Hyatt |
Francisco Baso |
|
Brett Bruening |
Gary Majewski |
|
Chris Hicks |
Leandro Cespedes |
|
Seth Maness |
Leonardo Alayon |
|
David Martinez |
Mike Schurz |
|
Juan Minaya |
Nathan Pettus |
|
Murilo Gouvea |
Rochi Gutierrez |
|
Ruben Alaniz |
Roliner Iturralde |
|
Mark Jones |
Alex Schmarzo |
|
Pedro Gomez |
Yuri Perez |
DSL Players:
DSL |
Yairo Munoz |
Iosif Bernal |
Mitchel Martes |
Luis Reynoso |
Arturo Michelena |
Adalberto Mondesi |
Luis Enrique Acosta |
Manuel Marcos |
Helsin Martinez |
Alexander Martinez |
Javier Saucedo |
Edgar Ferreira |
Jandel Gustave |
Johan Arias |
Richard Rodriguez |
Harold Arauz |
Reymin Guduan |
Mauricio Silva |
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