Walker Janek: "I had zero idea who was going to take me. I was kind of stressing out on the couch there and once it finally happened it was a surreal moment. I really think it hasn’t hit me yet. I feel I’m still in awe. I’m super excited and ready to play."

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 15, 2024

MaxPower said:

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Mr.Bond said:

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Cortez to angels

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Makes sense. They love fast movers and Cortez could easily be in a big league bullpen next year. Hate it for him because I think that stunts his development trying to be a starter.

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They're gonna be going to Cortez throwing 101 with a wipeout slider, then to Joyce throwing 104 to close out games. Seems like we don't have very many triple digit guys in our organization at all.

Jose Altuve has his reasons for skipping the All-Star Game. But it’s not the same without him. Column: https://t.co/MNcovCTowj

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 15, 2024

Ken just can't help himself from taking shots at Altuve and the Astros, basically claims that he owes it to baseball and all fans to show up and play regardless of his ailments.

so Bregman reaches the all-star break...

with .730 OPS and OPS+ 107

his career lows were in 2021...with .777 OPS and OPS+ 113

the culprit is the lack of walks (31) in over 400 plate appearances -- it's really suppressing his on-base % and thus his OPS

also having trouble against left-handed pitching -- .650 OPS vs. leftys

He also dug himself into a massive hole with his putrid start. He's always been a slow starter, but this year was exceptionally bad. These are all red flags in his contract year.

Three takeaways from the Astros’ first half of the season - https://t.co/yGz8PaicXh

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 15, 2024

Our 7yr old is starting to get the itch after the Aggie's run this past year. What is the best way to purchase tickets for a game? We are a family of 5, so not trying to take out a second mortgage to go to a game, the prices I am seeing online are cray high

Yesterday, I was doing some comparisons, and I decided to look at Chas's production since Loperfido debuted. Things are looking so much better for Joey, pretty much thanks to one thing: babip



Joey has only 2 more walks in 7 more PA than Chas, but 9 more hits. So how is he getting more hits? Line drives, instead of ground balls. More than half the balls Chas has put into play, since April 30, have been on the ground.



Chas generally is hitting the ball harder than Joey, but he can't get it out of the infield. Now, I know Chas's struggles have been going on all year, but there must be something mechanical that has him unable to lift the ball a little more. In the meantime, I have no issue with Joey taking most of the ABs. In a perfect world they would be a great platoon tandem.

Oh, a final note on Chas. Last year he had +22 run value on 4-seamers. This year it's -3.

https://www.mlb.com/astros/tickets/specials/fan-value/family-sundays
(edit: missed the family of 5 part)

If you're on the facebook, there are Astros fan groups with good deals often as well.

Seatgeek is what I typically use. When browsing turn on the filter to include fees so you're looking at an accurate number

$1 hot dog night is great and when the pirates come this month that would be a great night for the family and won't break the bank

wessimo said:

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Cheapest way is to join Astros buddies for $40, includes 4 tickets to select games in the 400s.

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I hate the nosebleeds (they're hot AF) so when we do this we upgrade from the 400s and they'll only charge you the difference.

You may be able to a 5th ticket when you do the upgrade.

TickPick is also a win!

I just saw your questions post.

I'd sign 2 of your kids up for Astro buddies for $80 and that gets you 8 tickets.

Use 5 for a family trip then you'll have 3 left over for you and wife you can use for another game.

Fair warning...If your heathens (I mean sweet perfect kids) are anything like mine they'll lose their shlt when arguing over who gets the backpacks, hats, and socks you get with the Buddy memberships. Royal rumble cage match is the only solution.

Speaking of bobble heads, we went to Sunday's game as part of the Cub Scout day and ended up with 3 of the King Tuck bobble heads (Tucker with a king's crown leaning on his bat). Would anyone want to trade a different bobblehead or similar give away for one of my two extra Tucker bobble heads?

My son and I like collecting and have a few now- we don't have any Altuves, Penas, or Frambers for example.

Day 2 of the MLB will begin today at 1 p.m. CT and feature rounds 3-10.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 15, 2024

Makes me wonder if some of the reasoning to the seemingly more aggressive approach overall this year has to do with giving umpires less chances to make questionable calls ending in strikeouts.

cc10106 said:

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Makes me wonder if some of the reasoning to the seemingly more aggressive approach overall this year has to do with giving umpires less chances to make questionable calls ending in strikeouts.

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I think that is more of a "we can wait until the ump puts us in a 2-strike count through a bull**** call where we have to swing at anything close or we can swing at the first pitch we see that looks good because it may be the only true strike we see". That is why I think the ump scorecards site dramatically underestimates the overall impact of the bad calls. Early fake strike calls completely change the hitter's mindset and allow the pitcher to get away with garbage pitches for the rest of the at bat that the hitter is forced to chase.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Day 2 of the MLB will begin today at 1 p.m. CT and feature rounds 3-10.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 15, 2024

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Popcorn indeed my friend

Tears or Jordan could be interesting here. Both strong players with high upside that can be good OFs but big whiff concerns.

Angels took Prager as well. Dang it

Stros take Ryan Forcuci from UC SD. I absolutely love this pick and I think it shows they are still leaning into the analytics side of things. Edited for scouter by report. His fastball IVB is excellent with a tough release point AND solid boring action. Combine it with mid 90s velocity and it's an excellent pitch. He also has 3 other offerings with promise to be at least average. Injury is what kept him from going earlier and keeps him from being up any earlier than 2026.


Scouting Report:
At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Forcucci has an athletic frame and clean, easy mechanics, making his delivery repeatable and efficient. On the mound, the selling point is a plus run and ride fastball. It sits 93-95 mph, and has been up to 97 mph with over 20 inches of ride and 9 inches of run, making it a nightmare at the top of the strike zone when combined with Forcucci's low release height.

For secondary pitches, Forcucci throws a slider that's above-average. It features some bite and sweep and has proved to be a bat-misser. Forcucci also throws a slower curveball and has started using a changeup, though it's far from being a weapon against pro hitters right now.

The combination of a plus fastball with unusual traits, clean mechanics, good athleticism on the mound, and a solid college track record make Forcucci great clay to mold at the pro level. As of mid-March, he looked like a top 50-60 selection come July. However, Forcucci hasn't made an appearance since then because of injury, and there is speculation that he will be having Tommy John surgery.

Round 4
Parker Smith, RHP, Rice University

From MLB.com:

Quote:

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A three-year starter at Rice, Smith is a durable 6-foot-4, 230-pounder whose floor stands out more than his ceiling. He creates a lot of run and sink on a 91-94 mph fastball that reaches 96, but it gets hit when he doesn't command it well. He gets chases with his heater as well as an upper-80s changeup with similar movement that flashes plus and a low-80s slider that's less consistent. He fashioned a 4.23 ERA with a 78/31 K/BB ratio in 89 1/3 innings as a junior.

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Don't know much about him. Seems like an under slot situation.

Smith has already made a start at minute maid!

Rice Owls. Back. 🔥

Rice hands Texas Tech their first loss of the season. Parker Smith with 6 shutty, 8 Ks. pic.twitter.com/cO7a5o390v

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) March 3, 2023

Kind of interesting Dana talked about hitting being the strength of the draft yet 3 of 4 picks are pitchers. The last two may have saved a few bucks to sign a high school guy. Also still plenty of interesting power bats.

Round 5
Cole Hertzler, RHP, Liberty University

Quote:

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Hertzler began his career at Liberty as a two-way player, one who didn't see an inning of competitive mound time as a freshman in 2022 and picked up just 11 at-bats. As a sophomore, he made 21 relief appearances and had 25 plate appearances. Focusing on pitching only in 2024, he took off as the Flames' Friday night starter, making 16 appearances (15 starts) and striking out nearly 10 batters per nine innings. A big-bodied right-hander who stands 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, Hertzler showed off four usable pitches in his first year as a starter. His fastball sits around 92-93 mph, but he's touched 95-96 mph at times, and it features some solid arm-side run. His go-to secondary offering is his low-80s changeup, thrown with good sink and fade, an offspeed offering that flashes plus. He has two distinct breaking balls, with both his mid-80s tighter slider and his slower, 80-81 mph curve showing bat-missing potential. Without a long resume as a starter, it remains to be seen if Hertzler can stick in a rotation at the next level, though he took a big step forward in his strike-throwing ability with the move to starting for Liberty in 2024. A team taking him on Day 2 of the Draft could very well give him the chance to keep starting at the outset, recognizing there might be some upside the further removed from playing both ways he gets and knowing that his stuff could tick up if he ends up in a bullpen down the road.

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I must've missed it with the power outages and all -- but welcome back Aledmys Diaz to the club.