Let's welcome the Houston Astros Draft Class of 2023! By now you know how this thread works: All news pertaining to the 2023 draftees will go here. Signing bonuses, intent to sign or return to school; it will all be here. The signing deadline this year is 4 PM Central on July 25. College seniors are exempt from this deadline. Final update: July 25 Bold - player has signed or intends to sign Name stricken through - player intends to return to school/attend college Round 1, Pick 28: Brice Matthews, SS, Nebraska (JR); signed for $2,478,200 ($402,500 below slot value of $2,880,700) Round 2, Pick 61: Alonzo Tredwell, RHP, UCLA (JR); signed for $1,497,500 ($192,600 over slot value of $1,304,900) Round 3, Pick 99: Jake Bloss, RHP, Georgetown (Grad student); signed for $497,500 ($181,000 below slot value of $678,500) Round 4, Pick 131: Cam Fisher, OF, UNC-Charlotte (SR); signed for $497,500 ($100 below slot value of $497,600) Round 5, Pick 164: Chase Jaworsky, SS, Rock Canyon HS (Highlands Ranch, Colorado); committed to Utah Valley; signed for $847,500 ($486,700 over slot value of $360,800) Round 6, Pick 194: Ethan Pecko, RHP, Towson (JR); signed for $247,500 ($33,200 below slot value of $280,700) Round 7, Pick 224: Joey Dixon, RHP, Stanford (JR); signed for $218,800 ($2,500 below slot value of $221,300) Round 8, Pick 254: Ryan Johnson, 2B, Pepperdine (SR); signed for $97,500 ($89,000 below slot value of $186,500) Round 9, Pick 284: Jeron Williams, SS, Toledo (SR); signed for $147,500 ($25,000 below slot value of $172,500) Round 10, Pick 314: Austin Deming, 3B, Brigham Young (5th-year SR); signed for $7,500 ($156,900 below slot value of $164,400) Round 11, Pick 344: Nehomar Ochoa Acosta, OF, Galena Park HS (Galena Park, Texas); signed for $300,000 ($150,000 counts against bonus pool) Round 12, Pick 374: Anthony Huezo, OF, Etiwanda HS (Rancho Cucamonga, California); signed for $397,500 ($247,500 counts against pool) Round 13, Pick 404: James Hicks, RHP, South Carolina (SR); signed for $150,000 Round 14, Pick 434: Jackson Nezuh, RHP, Louisiana-Lafayette (JR); signed for $150,000 Round 15, Pick 464: Garret Guillemette, C, Texas (JR); signed for $150,000 Round 16, Pick 494: Will Bush, C, Tyler Junior College (JUCO FR); signed for $150,000 Round 17, Pick 524: Colby Langford, LHP, Murray State College (JUCO SOPH); signed for $150,000 Round 18, Pick 554: Derek True, RHP, Cal Poly (JR); signed for $100,000 Round 19, Pick 584: Andrew Duncan, OF, A3 Academy (Tampa); committed to Florida State Round 20, Pick 614: Pascanel Ferreras, SS, Western Carolina (JR); signed for $150,000 Bonus pool: $6,747,900 Pool money used: $6,954,500 $206,600 over pool The new signing bonus cap for Rounds 11-20 is now $150,000. Any dollar amount over that will count against the pool. Undrafted free agents In the past, there were players who apparently signed as undrafted free agents with the Astros but never appeared on a roster of a minor league affiliate. With the relative lack of overall depth in the system, I imagine there will be a few more names in this section than in previous years. The bonus limit is also $150,000 for undrafted free agents. Here are the undrafted players who have reportedly/apparently agreed to terms with the Astros. Ben Petschke, RHP, Samford Hudson Leach, RHP, Miami (Ohio) Anthony Sherwin, SS, Bucknell Kelly Austin, RHP, UCLA (was going to grad transfer to Florida) Xavier Casserilla, SS, Seminole State College (Oklahoma) - signed for $170,000 ($20,000 counts against pool) Alejandro Torres, RHP, Miami
Nehomar Ochoa's dad, also named Nehomar, pitched for a couple years in the Expos/Nationals system. Never made it out of short-season, though. Chase Jaworsky (5) already has "at astros" on his Instagram page. So does... Anthony Huezo (12)???!? Will Bush (16) put "Houston Astros Organization" on his Twitter. Of course, that doesn't always mean anything. But it does, because they all intend to sign.
Jake Bloss (3) is on the verge of earning his Master's. He's also the highest-drafted player in Georgetown baseball history.
We have a possible undrafted free agent signing: Ben Petschke, a RHP from Samford. He was 3rd in the nation with 14 saves this year.
Seems like the only players who might be at all questionable to sign would be Huezo and Duncan. I’m assuming they had everything worked out for both Huezo and Ochoa before selecting them and that Duncan was a “just in case” pick. It would be a boon to sign both.
A lot of high end players - young guys with heavy tools or college guys with heavy tools but lack of experience or late bloomers…. With Bregman, Tucker and Altuve all either getting older or possibly leaving in free agency, the Astros need more genuine star level players and that is reflected in who they drafted at the top of the draft and then later with some high schoolers. Even George Genovese had some bad years leading scouting for organizations - so anyone can have a bad draft, but Dana Brown has been exceptionally good, and over time will prove to be very good at it. He also has some very good scouts under him.
This quote was in the McTaggart article. Also mentions that he’s ready to head to the Astros complex in Florida either this week or next. The scouting director seems to be pumped about this guy. Sidenote: Ochoa’s physique for a 17 year old is pretty insane. Excited to see what the player development team can do with him.
I definitely like the reduced signing period. Give ‘em 2 weeks to make a decision and get on with it.
OP updated with some "will signs" and undrafted free agents. D1Baseball's tracker is probably more reliable.
Interesting that Peteshke, Sherwin, and Leach are all high school class of 2020 players. I typically think of UDFA as college seniors wanting to extend their careers. Even Austin is forgoing the chance to play for one of the more successful college programs. I saw a site that claimed Leach can reach the mid 90s and has high end spin rates on his breaking balls.
A lot of those guys have gotten their degree and would rather go ahead and play pro ball than do a year of a grad degree they don’t really want in the unlikely chance they dramatically improve their draft stock, which still wouldn’t necessarily significantly increase their signing bonus. I’m wondering if some of those guys are getting the full $150k, in which case it’s not much different than if they’d been drafted in the 10th round.
