Houston Astros 2020 Draft: Team enriches farm system despite limitations

The 2020 Major League Draft has come and gone for the Houston Astros. They selected four players that will surely enrich their farm system. Let’s discuss.

Houston Astros faithful — the 2020 MLB draft is in the books for James Click and Co. It was an interesting draft to watch because of how the team had to deal with the punishments of the sign-stealing scandal and the reduced rounds of the draft (only five rounds because of the coronavirus pandemic). 

In the Competitive Round, the Astros selected Alex Santos a high school pitcher out of New York state. He is currently committed to going to the University of Maryland, but that could change with being drafted. His MLB.com scouting report reads as follows:

"“There isn’t a strong history of pitchers getting drafted and signing out of the New York City high school ranks. Leury Tejada was a 10th-rounder in 2018 who signed with the Rangers. Santos is a fellow Bronx native who has the chance to do much better than that after a strong summer showcase circuit performance that included a spot on USA Baseball’s 40-man 18U National Team Trials roster.Santos is tall and projectable with long limbs who has the chance to have a three-pitch mix, though he’s a bit raw. Over the summer, he consistently showed a fastball in the 90-94 range with good life, sitting in the 92-93 mph range in most of his outings. Given his size and a frame that should allow him to add strength, it’s easy to dream about velocity gains.He’ll throw a 76-78 mph slider to complement the fastball and he has good feel for a changeup that touches the low-80s. While he’s more projection than now stuff, Santos did show an ability to pitch without his best stuff during the Area Code Games, pitching more off his changeup effectively. Teams might have to be patient, but the Maryland recruit is the kind of high-ceiling prep arms that many organizations covet.”"

In the next round, the Astros drafted a college pitcher by the name of Tyler Brown, who pitched at Vanderbilt University, winning a national championship with the Commodores in 2019. My colleague Brian Patterson analyzed the pick in his piece yesterday.

The Houston Astros then proceeded to draft a college outfielder by the name of Zach Daniels out of the University of Tennessee and from the sounds of his scouting report, he has all the tools necessary to make it to the big leagues after a few years. His scouting report from mlb.com is below

"“Daniels has loud tools and helped his cause by batting .357/.478/.750 this spring, but scoutsMore from House of HoustonAre you the 2021 FanSided Sports Fan of the Year?Houston Texans: 4 reasons Romeo Crennel is right coach right nowAstros-Twins Wild Card Series: 5 things to know as MLB postseason beginsHouston Texans: The Most Underrated Sports Drought EverHouston Texans: J.J. Watt’s early case for NFL Hall of Famenever got the chance to see how he’d fare against tougher pitching in Southeastern Conference play. His hitting ability remains a question because he batted a combined .176 with a 38 percent strikeout rate in his first two seasons and put up worse numbers in the Cape Cod League last summer. He’s enticing because he offers well above-average raw power from the right side of the plate, plus speed, an average arm and a chance to play center field.”"

In their final round, the Houston Astros drafted another college player, a shortstop out of San Diego California Shay Whitcomb. In an article by Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart supervisor of national scouting Kris Gross explained why the team took Whitcomb with the final pick.

"“He raked down there at UC San Diego. He was tested on Cape Cod and went out and proved it and a [heck] of a summer out there. That is really the drawing part for Shay, and we’re excited to get him.”"

Overall, I think the  Houston Astros did a good job of getting a mixture of position players and pitchers. They have a great farm system and these guys will only enrich the farm system and their major league careers.