Today in the Rule V draft, the Astros drafted Willy Taveras from the Indians. Last year at advanced class A, he hit .282 with 57 SBs. He's won't turn 22 until Christmas, so he's still very young. Since he was drafted in the first round of the Rule V Draft, I thought he had to remain on the 25 man roster all season, but since he's never played over A ball I'm not sure if the rule applies. Looks like he may be the CF of the future...
The same rule applies. If he is not kept on the 25 man roster for the entire season he must be offered back to the Indians for $25,000 unless some sort of deal is worked out.
Astros lost no players, so there's not another Johan Santana in the making, at least this year. Taveras is from the Dominican, so there's a good chance he'll turn out to be 25 instead of 21; he has zero power, but seems to be a solid on base type guy, definitely has speed & plays a wicked CF, according to other Sally League managers. Interesting to see if he sticks with the big club, or goes the way of Victor Hall. 'Stros drafted a scrub LHP in the AAA portion of the draft. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...tent_id=618609&vkey=pr_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/Stats/stats_Acar_kin.shtml
Taveras played Class A last year??? He appears to be a long shot at this point for the 25 man roster.
Sounds like Glen Barker reincarnated. I like this a lot if the guy really is a good CFer. Late in close games, the last thing I want out there is Biggio in CF.
This is a description of him <a href="http://www.fantasyinfocentral.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=3852">on a message board</a> written by an Indians fan, Richie Madden, last year. I added a photo from his Class A team's site. OF Willy Taveras, 6’0”, 165 lbs, Age: 20 <table align="left" cellpadding="6"><tr><td><img src="http://www.kinstonindians.com/players/images/taveras.jpg"></td></tr></table>Willy Taveras was signed out of the Dominican Republic in May of 1999, when he was 17 years old. He’s extremely athletic and may be the fastest player in the Indians organization. Defensively, Taveras is fast and has a great arm, projecting as a solid CF, probably even one of the best around. However, he will need to refine his defense before he reaches the majors, which should be late 2004-early 2005 if he stays on track. He’s drastically improved his plate discipline and increased his OBP since last season. Taveras has improved in every category from last year’s stats except for BA and SLG. He is hitting .236 (but has a .364 OBP) with 2 HRs, 16 RBIs, and 30 SBs in 40 attempts. Unfortunately, he has 7 errors in 53 games. He could add a lot of muscle and become a solid gap hitter with adquate power. However, his low SLG (8 2B & 2 HRs) is troubling, especially since he has no triples. But if he adds the necessary muscle, he could hit 10-15 HRs in the majors, given his athletic ability. Taveras is extremely difficult to project. He could be anything from the speed guy on the bench to the next Kenny Lofton. Therefore, his grade is a cautious one. He could hit .300-10-70 with 40+ steals or better if he develops to his full potential. Whether or not he realizes that potential is a question mark, but he is beginning to make progress. GRADE: 80/100
If he's Dominican then I will wait until 2008 when he get his REAL age. Check out this link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/newages03.html insane
Lol, interesting link mateo. I didn't realize Dotel was one of the players whose age was misrepresented.
I find it ironic and a sweet pill to swallow that we may eventually end up with their "LOFTON" (Eddie Taubensee anyone?).
