I'm surprised Barber made it through but perhaps he doesn't have the same kind of ceiling people saw in him in the past.
He’s been hurt a lot and that combined with skepticism that he can handle CF adequately is why he didn’t get picked. Obviously he is not as highly regarded internally as I thought he was since he wasn’t protected, but I still think he has one of the highest floor/ceiling combos in Houston’s system and is one of their 5 best prospects.
Yeah, it doesn't seem he played CF at all this past season and obviously his bat with its iffy power will not play nearly as well in the corner.
The Astros picked RHP Carlos Betancourt from the Phillies. Betancourt, 22 (turns 23 on March 27), signed with the Phillies in 2017 out of Venezuela. He spent 2023 with Class A Advanced Jersey Shore, where he went 5-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 39 appearances (2 starts). In 78 innings, Betancourt allowed 38 runs (32 earned), 68 hits (8 HR), walked 33, and struck out 92. Opponents hit .229 against him.
I still think there’s quite a bit of power potential there. He’s already shown 20+ HR power and he’s only 22. A Randy Arozarena level slash line (~.250/.350/.450, wRC+ in the 120-130 range) seems in reach in terms of reasonable ceiling, and even though he’s probably not more than an emergency CF, I do think he will be a plus defender in LF. I think an above-replacement up-and-down 4th OF is his floor, and he could be a perennial 3-4 win player if all goes well.
I don't have high hopes for him. He's young, and athletic enough, but I see him as Robbie Grossman type of guy. That's nothing to sneeze at as Grossman has had a 10 year career, but that is your floor and I see that as his best likely outcome. I think his floor is a guy like Derek Fisher. I see his ceiling as Andrew Benintendi (before he sucked).
I don't see the Fisher comp. He has a much better hit tool w/ much lower power and speed so a completely different type of talent. Benintendi may be a better comp, but he has more power than him. It's hard to compare different eras and we don't have stat cast numbers or scouting grades but I always thought of him comparable to Luis Gonzalez or Terry Puhl.
Who are the best Astros players exposed to Rule 5 who weren’t picked, and later went on to have good careers?
When it comes to scouting or knowledge of how players are viewed in the scouting community - I am not going to doubt Dana Brown and his staff of Dickey, Bove, Ladnier and Watson….. that is like 150 years of scouting experience.
He is going to be a corner bat and some concern with the power…. Plus teams really don’t want to stash position players on their roster.
Similar production to Fisher and similar defensive limitations. Fisher was a plus athlete, but it didn't translate well on the field. Benintendi was a 20-HR guy. I was thinking that version, not the guy he's become the last 2 seasons. Puhl is before my time, but I certainly can see Luis Gonzalez pre-roids.
I will always remember to blunder of not protecting Bobby Abreu in the expansion draft. Him and Richard Hidalgo were going to be key cornerstones for the continuity of excellence established by the Biggio / Bagwell era. With a Bobby Abreu, I think those Astros teams of the late 90’s and early 2000’s would have won at least one world championship.
I just read a HOF vote primer piece on Abreu on Fangraphs it was very detailed, and paints Abreu as a primadonna who was constantly tardy, lacked any work ethic, and reacted badly to being sent down to the minors. I didn't know any of that stuff but if true I understand why they chose Hidalgo over him. Sure turned into a hell of a player, but really Hidalgo was as good as a team could expect over his 7? controllable seasons ( was it longer back then?) - 20 WAR w/ 2 6+ WAR seasons. But Abreu is at least HOF consideration, Hidalgo needed another 1/2 decade of good seasons. Totally sucks getting raked over the coals like that by the expansion rules. Imagine only being able to protect 15 players in the entire organization?
Thank you for that piece of information. I had never heard about his attitude; I’ve been upset the Astros left him unprotected in the expansion draft. I can see why they would leave his exposed. What was even more infuriating was that Abreu was selected in the expand draft and traded immediately to the Phillies. That should have never been allowed! Baseball royally screwed the Astros by plucking key talent from a team that had worked real hard in Venezuela evaluating talent.
Hidalgo 2003 season was tremendous. I know everyone points to the huge numbers in 2000, but that was a matter of pitchers (ours and our opponents) mentally freaking out about the Crawford Boxes. 03 Hidalgo was a stud. I still don't understand trading him. Dude started 04 great then went into a lengthy slump, Jimy wasn't a fan of his and got him run out of town for two guys who never gave us anything.
