2007 Draft picks falling

[Duman]

I was seeing the names being released and was surprised how many 2007 draft picks have gone down.  So far, 9 out of the 33 draft picks signed have been released.  Of the 24 left, here is where they are: 3 are at Salem, 10 are at Lex, 3 are in Tri Cities, and 8 are in rookie ball for a second year.  Looks like the new management has a very different picture of these guys than those who drafted them.

Released so far this year:
17th round Mason Roberts
22nd round Drew Anderson
23rd round Phillip Gamble
24th round Phillip Stringer
26th round Sal Iacono
28th round Jerrod Pitts
29th round Travis Sweet
30th round Danny Gil
33rd round Cody Phipps

Still playing this year:
5th round Colin Delome (Salem)
6th round David Dinelli (G'ville)
7th round Russell Dixon (Lex)
9th round Luis Pardo (Lex)
10th round Matt Cusick (Lex)
11th round Robert Bono (Tri)
12th round Brian Pelligrini (Lex)
14th round Craig Corrado (Lex)
16th round Devon Torrence (G'ville)
19th round Jon Fixler (Lex)
20th round Kyle Greenwalt (G'ville)
21st round Kyle Miller (G'ville)
25th round Kevin Carkeek (Salem - been released and resigned)
27th round Brett Robinson (Lex)
31st round Jason Dominquez (Salem)
32nd round David Miller (Tri)
34th round Brian Wabick (G'ville)
35th round Jordan Powell (Lex)
36th round Albert Cartwright (G'ville)
37th round Jake Leonhardt (Lex)
41st round Jim Colton Pitkin (G'ville)
42nd round Chris Turner (G'ville)
43rd round Marquis Williams (Tri)
44th round Cat Everett (Lex)

[VirtualBob]

Just a small nit ... Iacono voluntrily retired.  Seems I heard some grumbling about lack of opportunity.

[Duman]

Just a small nit ... Iacono voluntrily retired.  Seems I heard some grumbling about lack of opportunity.

Yes, I had that on the minor transactions page.  My main point here is how many draft picks from last year are already gone.  By comparision here is the 06 draft players no longer playing in the Astros system 2 season later. 

15th round Kevin Fox
16th round Andrew Holder
17th round Justin Stiver
27th round Alberto Cruz
28th round Brandon Caipen
29th round Rafeal Parks
31st round Kyle DeYoung
32nd round Adam Young
41st round Axel Gonzalez

One factor may be the that the rules of DFE's changed for the 07 draft and this early release may be the new way of doing things but several of these players (Stringer, Gamble, Iacono, Sweet, and Gil) were college age players and wouldn't have been DFE eligible.

[Jacksonian]

I was seeing the names being released and was surprised how many 2007 draft picks have gone down.  So far, 9 out of the 33 draft picks signed have been released.  Of the 24 left, here is where they are: 3 are at Salem, 10 are at Lex, 3 are in Tri Cities, and 8 are in rookie ball for a second year.  Looks like the new management has a very different picture of these guys than those who drafted them.

Released so far this year:
17th round Mason Roberts
22nd round Drew Anderson
23rd round Phillip Gamble
24th round Phillip Stringer
26th round Sal Iacono
28th round Jerrod Pitts
29th round Travis Sweet
30th round Danny Gil
33rd round Cody Phipps

Still playing this year:
5th round Colin Delome (Salem)
6th round David Dinelli (G'ville)
7th round Russell Dixon (Lex)
9th round Luis Pardo (Lex)
10th round Matt Cusick (Lex)
11th round Robert Bono (Tri)
12th round Brian Pelligrini (Lex)
14th round Craig Corrado (Lex)
16th round Devon Torrence (G'ville)
19th round Jon Fixler (Lex)
20th round Kyle Greenwalt (G'ville)
21st round Kyle Miller (G'ville)
25th round Kevin Carkeek (Salem - been released and resigned)
27th round Brett Robinson (Lex)
31st round Jason Dominquez (Salem)
32nd round David Miller (Tri)
34th round Brian Wabick (G'ville)
35th round Jordan Powell (Lex)
36th round Albert Cartwright (G'ville)
37th round Jake Leonhardt (Lex)
41st round Jim Colton Pitkin (G'ville)
42nd round Chris Turner (G'ville)
43rd round Marquis Williams (Tri)
44th round Cat Everett (Lex)

More misery.  As posted in the Minor Transactions subtract Dinelli, Pardo, Miller, Carkeek, and Leonhardt.  Too Cusick was dealt.  Did I miss anyone else?  At the risk of sounding too hyperbolic, this is already shaping up as the worst Astros draft ever.

Ed for accuracy and stupidity.

[Duman]

I just put my thoughts on the front page.  I had forgotten that list. 

ETA: Jacksonian you got the wrong Miller.  It was David not Kyle

[VirtualBob]

More misery.  As posted in the Minor Transactions subtract Dinelli, Pardo, Miller, Carkeek, and Leonhardt.  Too Cusick was dealt.  Did I miss anyone else?  At the risk of sounding too hyperbolic, this is already shaping up as the worst Astros draft ever.

Small nit ... Having followed the link in your Rule 5 post (thanks), I think it is David Miller (the pitcher) not Kyle Miller (C/3B/1B) that was released.  Kyle actually seemed to be showing a little spark this year.

[Jacksonian]

Well, hell.  I'm going to take a bus driving refresher.

[Hornstros]

IIRC, Dinelli had all sorts of potential coming out of high school.   Is it normal to release some nobody that quickly after two SSs?   Or is this another case of the new regime's difference of opinion from the old regime?

[VirtualBob]

IIRC, Dinelli had all sorts of potential coming out of high school.   Is it normal to release some nobody that quickly after two SSs?   Or is this another case of the new regime's difference of opinion from the old regime?

I do not know about this situation, but there are a lot of things involved in this kind of quick trigger.  Player attitude, coachability, etc. are part of it.  Also, the coaches have a much better perspective on real potential at this point.  Finally, the player may just have lost confidence and/or not want to do what it takes to become a professional.  If you look through prior year draft lists you will find many similar examples.

[Duman]

IIRC, Dinelli had all sorts of potential coming out of high school.   Is it normal to release some nobody that quickly after two SSs?   Or is this another case of the new regime's difference of opinion from the old regime?

He came out of Junior College with an injury to his finger.  He missed most of 2007 due to it.  I also heard discussion of attitude and coachability issues.  In 2008, he struggled with his control, walking 28 batters in 31 innings.  He also hit 6 batters.  I think his attitude and his lack of development were joint issues in his early release.  3 years is the norm for a highly regarded pick.

[coop]

To put this into perspective, how does this compare with previous Astros drafts (2 years in) and with the rest of the league?

[Duman]

To put this into perspective, how does this compare with previous Astros drafts (2 years in) and with the rest of the league?

The 06 draft is nothing to write home about but it is more solid than this.  I will be doing a more detailed look at it prior to the draft this year. 

I haven't looked at the rest of the league yet, but I will work on giving you an answer.

[VirtualBob]

To put this into perspective, how does this compare with previous Astros drafts (2 years in) and with the rest of the league?

Just a quick response ... no analysis.

2007 draft yielded 8 players in the first 15 rounds.  In 2008 they reached Salem (1), Lexington (5), Tri-City (1) & Greenville (1).  It also yielded 26 players from above the first 15.  In 2008 their status was Corpus Christi (1), Salem (3), Lexington (4), Tri-City (4), Greenville (4) and Released (10).  Of those, it looks to me like about 8 of them are still on the upswing for 2009, 1 was traded, and 4 (2 in the top 15) were released.

2006 draft yielded 14 players in the first 15 rounds.  In 2007 they reached Salem (6), Lexington (6) & Tri-City (2).  It also yielded 14 players from above the first 15.  In 2007 their status was Salem (2), Lexington (5), Tri-City (4), Greenville (3) and Released (1).  Based on assignment and role in 2008, about 8 of these could be considered on the upswing, and 9 (2 of the top 15) were released.

2005 draft yielded 15 players from the first 15 rounds.  In 2006 they reached Salem (2), Lexington (7), Tri-City (1), Greenville (4) and 1 was released.  It also yielded 16 players from above the first 15.  In 2006 their status was Lexington (5), Tri-City (5), Greenville (3) and Released (3).  Based on assignment and role in 2007, about 11 of these could be considered on the upswing, and 11 (2 of the top 15) were released.

2004 draft yielded 14 players from the first 15 rounds.  In 2005 they reached Salem (5), Lexington (7) & Tri-City (2).  It also yielded 18 players from above the first 15.  In 2005 their status was Salem (2), Lexington (6), Tri-City (2), Greenville (1), Injured (1) and Released (6).  Based on assignment and role in 2006, about 9 of these could be considered on the upswing, 1 missed the season due to injury, and 5 (2 of the top 15) were released.

2003 draft yielded 9 players from the first 15 rounds.  In 2004 they reached Salem (3), Lexington (4), Tri-City (1), Greenville (1).  It also yielded 14 players from above the first 15.  In 2004 their status was Salem (3), Lexington (3), Tri-City (4), Greenville (1) and Released (3).  Based on assignment and role in 2005, about 6 of these could be considered on the upswing and 10 (4 of the top 15) were released.

Based on numbers only, then, this draft looks to be comparable to 2003 at this point.  That notably horrible draft has been discussed elsewhere, but the survivors at this point consist of:

Jason Hirsh -- traded to Colorado
Josh Anderson -- traded to Atlanta
Josh Muecke -- RR on 2008; not on 40-man roster
Jimmy Barthmaier -- claimed off waivers before 2008 season by Pit ans spent most of season at AAA.
Edwin Maysonet -- RR in 2008; not on 40-man roster
Mark Saccomanno -- September call-up in 2008; outrighted back to RR

and that's it.

[Jacksonian]

2007 draft yielded 8 players in the first 15 rounds.  In 2008 they reached Salem (1), Lexington (5), Tri-City (1) & Greenville (1).  It also yielded 26 players from above the first 15.  In 2008 their status was Corpus Christi (1), Salem (3), Lexington (4), Tri-City (4), Greenville (4) and Released (10).  Of those, it looks to me like about 8 of them are still on the upswing for 2009, 1 was traded, and 4 (2 in the top 15) were released.

2003 draft yielded 9 players from the first 15 rounds.  In 2004 they reached Salem (3), Lexington (4), Tri-City (1), Greenville (1).  It also yielded 14 players from above the first 15.  In 2004 their status was Salem (3), Lexington (3), Tri-City (4), Greenville (1) and Released (3).  Based on assignment and role in 2005, about 6 of these could be considered on the upswing and 10 (4 of the top 15) were released.

Based on numbers only, then, this draft looks to be comparable to 2003 at this point.  That notably horrible draft has been discussed elsewhere, but the survivors at this point consist of:

Jason Hirsh -- traded to Colorado
Josh Anderson -- traded to Atlanta
Josh Muecke -- RR on 2008; not on 40-man roster
Jimmy Barthmaier -- claimed off waivers before 2008 season by Pit ans spent most of season at AAA.
Edwin Maysonet -- RR in 2008; not on 40-man roster
Mark Saccomanno -- September call-up in 2008; outrighted back to RR

and that's it.

For further comparison of 07 and 03:

In 03 the top 2 draftees not signed were Stubbs and Nick Green.  Stubbs has been ok for Cincy.  Green, a pitcher, is on the Angels 40-man and pitched last year in AAA.

The top 2 draftees not signed from 07 were Dietrich and Eibner.  Dietrich went to Georgia Tech.  He started every game for them at shortstop and was their 3rd leading hitter, as a freshman.  Eibner went to Arkansas.  He was a 2-way player for them.  On the mound he was ok and used mostly in relief.  In the field he was fine and ended up being one of their better hitters.

[hubert]

It looks like 07 draftee will end up ..... more like 02 draftee......
03 was not good, but there are still 6 major leaguers(even they did not stick or are not astros anymore).
02 was real disaster, only Mark McLemore reached major. That lucky guy in 07 could be Kyle Greenwalt or Collin DeLome???

Just pretend we never draft in 07, that will make us happier. If we got 1 major leaguer, THANKSGIVING!!!

[VirtualBob]

03 was not good, but there are still 6 major leaguers(even they did not stick or are not astros anymore).

6?  Muecke & Maysonet have not played above AAA.  Saccomanno got a cup of coffee in September with no promise of return.  Barthmaier pitched in 3 games, but he is at least still on the 40-man in Pit.  That leaves Anderson & Hirsh.  And even in the most generous accounting, 4 major leaguers.

[Russe]

Maysonet is on the 40-man and played a bit after the rosters expanded last year.

[VirtualBob]

Maysonet is on the 40-man and played a bit after the rosters expanded last year.

I stand corrected.