Houston Astros 2020 Draft: James Click talks about his strategy at No. 72

The Houston Astros will finally be featured in Day 2 with four picks to try to get this team on track of replenishing crop. What’s Click’s strategy? Look.

The Houston Astros have finally made it to the MLB Draft, an event that we weren’t sure if it was still going to be held amid the world fighting a global pandemic.  But the NFL holding a successful, fully-rounded draft, the MLB has decided to give it whirl albeit on a much smaller scale.

The first round occurred last night and although the Houston Astros weren’t anywhere near the spotlight because of the penalties imposed from the sign-stealing scandal, today will be their time to shine.

The Detroit Tigers selected Spencer Torkelson out of Arizona State with the No. 1 pick of the draft and then things were off the races shortly thereafter.  Heston Kjerstad, Max Meyer, Asa Lacy and Austin Martin following Torkelson to round out the first five picks.

There will only be five rounds instead of the usual 40 and those who aren’t picked will have the opportunity to sign with teams for a $20K bonus which should make things interesting in terms of the type of talent that the Houston Astros can pluck to help solidify the viability for the future.

With this team being as about as good as it gets, less focus has been on the draft and more of retaining/bolstering the roster that we have today as it currently is in contention for a World Series championship.

The Houston Astros were within a few innings of doing so last season and I’d expect they’ll be giving teams a run for their money, especially when the season starts, whenever that may be or however long that will go.  The MLB and the MLBPA are still working out the particulars on how that’s going to look.

But the conclusion of today’s draft — Rounds 2-5 — will start at 4.p.m. CDT and the Houston Astros’ first pick will be at No. 72.

Incoming general manager James Click will be tasked with finding incredible talent in the later rounds to help this team be even more potent in the not so distant future.

Here’s what he told FOX 26’s Mark Berman:

Click feels that he can get first-round talent of the later rounds and there’s no question that he’s

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going to be able to do this.   He’s no stranger into building a winner on a limited budget, especially with the success he has had with the Tampa Bay Rays with the prospects that they were able to get over the years that blossomed into productive major league players.

The Rays do make small waves in free agency signings but their bread-and-butter is their prospects and I’m positive that’s what Click will be tasked with once Jim Crane decides to break this fabulous team up when the writing is on the wall.

That likely won’t happen for a while so Click will use this same approach to build up the farm so that there is continuity of the success of this franchise.

I can’t wait until later on today and I certainly hope that the guys he picks — they badly need to start replenishing left-handed pitching prospects — are of the quality this team needs.  I have no doubt that he will.

Let’s go!