Astros draft...another catcher and Second Baptist hurler

With the 10th pick in the MLB draft the Astros select Jason Castro, C, Stanford.
According to his Stanford bio, his favorite show is Entourage and his greatest athletic moment was being drafted...by the Red Sox in 2003. He also hit .167 last year and had 4 career HR his first two seasons at Stanford. He had a great junior season and it's not done over yet. He and Stanford take on CS-Fullerton starting Friday night in Super Regional action.

MLB.com full scouting report.

He will be fast-tracked to the majors if at all possible. He'll start pushing Towles by the beginning of next season, unless Towles has a great second half of the season. No reason at all to have this kid piling up minor league at-bats unless he falls on his face in rookie ball this fall - even then I'd like to see him pushed quickly.

Here's Alyson Footer's story on Castro, with comments from Astros scouting director Bobby Heck.
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For once the Astros actually did the right thing with arbitration and received a compensatory selection when Tampa Bay signed Trever Miller. They had pick #38 and used it on Jordan Lyles, RHP from Hartsville HS in South Carolina. He's not listed among Baseball America's top 200 prospects. But he is one the state's top WRs! He's already committed to South Carolina to play ball, but it seemed reasonable to believe the Astros offer will be enough to sway him to forego college and join the organization.
UPDATE: Check out the podcast on SportsRadio610.com for Lyles one-on-one interview with Sports Director Robert Henslee as he confirms that he is signed already and ready to begin his professional career with the Astros rookie league team in Greenville.
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The remaining selections for day one....
- Jay Austin, HS outfielder from Georgia, a speedy guy who has committed to Southern Cal.
From the Astros draft release...
Year AVG AB..R..H.2B.3B.HR.RBI.SB
2008 .568..74..43.42.9...4...15...52.26
Speedy, rangy outfielder with 5-tool potential...runs the 60-yard dash in 6.2 seconds....listed as Baseball America’s 99th-ranked prospect in the draft...also listed by the publication as a third-team high school All-American...one of four players considered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for CityLife Baseball Player of the Year...also on the AJC’s All-Area first team...stands at 5-foot-11, 170 lbs....bats and throws lefthanded...also pitched for the North Atlanta, recording a 1.21 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 23 innings...consistently hit 89 mph on the radar gun...nicknamed ‘Pookie’ by his friends.

- Charles "Chase" Davidson, another HS outfielder from Georgia.
Year AVG.AB.R...H..2B.3B.HR.RBI.SB
2008 .429 70.32..30...5...2...12...31...12
Strong, athletic outfielder stands at 6-foot-5, 222 lbs....was Georgia Region 6-5A Player of the Year...selected to the 2008 Georgia All-state Baseball Team...ranked 106th on Baseball America’s draft rankings and 71st in their 2008 High School player rankings...also a football player for the Milton HS team, winning Defensive Player of the Year as a linebacker and Special Teams Player of the Year as a punter for his HS team....graduate of East Cobb Baseball program, which also produced Major Leaguers Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur,
Corey Patterson and former Astros SS Adam Everett.

- Ross Seaton, RHP from Second Baptist here in Houston. He's committed to Tulane, but he also joined us on the show tonight and you could hear how excited he was about the fact that he has the opportunity to play for the team he grew up watching. Check that interview out on SportsRadio610.com. Expect him to sign and join the organization for some rookie league work before the end of this season, unless they want to protect his arm and wait until next year to get his arm started
Year ERA W-L GS IP H BB SO
2008 1.34 8-1 13 68.0 40 7 110

Ross Seaton MLB.com scouting report/video

- T.J. Steele, CF for the Arizona Wildcats. The Astros actually drafted him 3 years ago as well, although as a 22nd round draft pick he opted to go to college. Steele is the team's fastest runner and considered the team's best athlete. You can catch Steele in action in Super Regional play at Miami tomorrow at 6pm & Saturday at 6:30 on ESPN. Steele BIO & season stats

- David Duncan, LHP for Georgia Tech. His bio indicates he's 6'9" and 230 lbs, but watching the video of him pitching 230 seems like a stretch. He has room to grow. He was the #1 starter for Tech this year and there were just eliminated by Georgia in regional play at the NCAA tournament. His numbers are far from eye-popping, (7-3, 4.48 ERA), but he's got a plus arm and as of this very second just moved ahead of Brian Bogusevic as a left handed pitching prospect in the Astros organization. Duncan BIO & season stats

- J.B. Shuck, CF/LHP for Ohio State. A recent article suggested Shuck, a junior, would likely be moving on to pro ball. J.B. Shuck, the team’s most gifted player, will likely be the first Buckeye chosen in the Major League Baseball draft. The lefty struck out 76 batters in only 65 innings of work, and his .371 average was second on the team. He has the tools to play almost any position, and he’s got speed to burn. If he returns, it’ll be solely out of loyalty to OSU. Shuck BIO season stats
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