Gray Fenter on his way to Baltimore.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Gene says he's getting a $1 million signing bonus. We knew it was coming, but it's disappointing nonetheless.

Damn, what a total fluke thing... The guy turns down 10-12 offers for third round money, then Baltimore comes back four rounds later offering 2nd round money. We caught a couple of breaks this draft, but Fenter was really tough luck.

[Todd4State]

I'd say all of our draft losses were tough luck to be honest with you.

[5 Star]

Gene says he's getting a $1 million signing bonus. We knew it was coming, but it's disappointing nonetheless.

Damn, what a total fluke thing... The guy turns down 10-12 offers for third round money, then Baltimore comes back four rounds later offering 2nd round money. We caught a couple of breaks this draft, but Fenter was really tough luck.
Maybe so, but I don't see how anyone can be anything other than ecstatic with the way it turned out in the end.

I know people are hung up on power, but look at all the CWS teams, those guys have pretty much 1 true power guy (example Xander Wiel), then you have to get lucky with the Dansby Swanson types. We have our guy next year in Humphreys or Rooker, then in 2017 it'll be Gordon or Lowe, plus whoever else we recruit beyond that. No worries there IMO.

[Homedawg]

The toughest one of you ask me was Riley. If he had been taken by a team as pitcher, he would have been a way tougher sign. He didn't want to give up hitting. Not saying he wouldn't have signed, just saying it would have been more in our favor. And I don't think he thought his number was ever going to be met. Oh well....eta, we were never getting Pickett. He wasn't coming. Period.

[maroonmania]

I'd say all of our draft losses were tough luck to be honest with you.

Riley and Fenter were. Pickett was going regardless.

[I seen it dawg]

Good luck kid. Don't spend it all in one place.

[Todd4State]

Riley and Fenter were. Pickett was going regardless.

I say Pickett was tough luck too simply because he was close to getting past the 10th round- and that would have made it interesting. Plus, he also signed over slot as well.

[Homedawg]

I say Pickett was tough luck too simply because he was close to getting past the 10th round- and that would have made it interesting. Plus, he also signed over slot as well.

Todd- Pickett was this years dale burdick, he was going to play pro ball. It wasn't tough luck, we were never getting him here.

[Schultzy]

Orioles, hmm isn't there another signee that went to them that we thought we were out of the woods with yet.

Of all franchises you'd think they'd be the last to sign/draft our signees? just sayin.

[smootness]

Fenter was definitely gone as long as somebody gave him the money. So since teams knew this, it was actually fairly likely a team with room in their slot pool would take him and give him that money.

I agree with Homedawg on Pickett; I don't think there was any way we were going to get him to campus.

[Todd4State]

Todd- Pickett was this years dale burdick, he was going to play pro ball. It wasn't tough luck, we were never getting him here.

Well then he negotiated very well since he doubled his slot- which is different than Burdick's "I got drafted? Where do I sign? 10K? Cool". Cohen himself said that there was a chance that we were going to get everyone in the class before the draft- I assume he didn't pull Pickett's scholarship. What I had been hearing was that if Pickett had fallen past the 10th round, there was a chance he would come to school. Same thing that Robbie Faulk was basically saying on 247.

We'll never really know, and yes odds are he was going pro regardless even if he had dropped past the 10th round.

Speaking of, I thought Robbie did a really good job with the draft- other than the scout he talked to that thought that Delvin Zinn was a five tool player. That scout must have been doing crack during whatever game he watched him play.

[Todd4State]

Orioles, hmm isn't there another signee that went to them that we thought we were out of the woods with yet.

Of all franchises you'd think they'd be the last to sign/draft our signees? just sayin.

Not that I can recall. You might be thinking about William DuPont with the Blue Jays. Truth is you're never really out of the woods until after the deadline. And even then- probably assuming MLB doesn't decide to extend the deadline like they did with Kirk Presley or your guys that were commits couldn't come to terms with MLB but don't want to play for you either so they go JUCO or to IMG.

[Todd4State]

Fenter was definitely gone as long as somebody gave him the money. So since teams knew this, it was actually fairly likely a team with room in their slot pool would take him and give him that money.

I agree with Homedawg on Pickett; I don't think there was any way we were going to get him to campus.

I think the Orioles overpaid. I mean, 12 teams offered him 650K-750K but obviously someone in Baltimore really liked him. It's pretty risky considering his size and the fact that he is probably a relief guy in the pros.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Well then he negotiated very well since he doubled his slot- which is different than Burdick's "I got drafted? Where do I sign? 10K? Cool". Cohen himself said that there was a chance that we were going to get everyone in the class before the draft- I assume he didn't pull Pickett's scholarship. What I had been hearing was that if Pickett had fallen past the 10th round, there was a chance he would come to school. Same thing that Robbie Faulk was basically saying on 247.

We'll never really know, and yes odds are he was going pro regardless even if he had dropped past the 10th round.

Speaking of, I thought Robbie did a really good job with the draft- other than the scout he talked to that thought that Delvin Zinn was a five tool player. That scout must have been doing crack during whatever game he watched him play.

Meh. He was pretty far off on several guys- he said Elih Marrero and Ethan Small were both almost definitely going pro, and even tried to claim Gray Fenter was coming to school hours after he was drafted and it was obvious that he would sign. Gene was pretty far off too throughout the process.

Granted the MLB draft is really tricky- but our website reporters didn't have great info this cycle.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I think the Orioles overpaid. I mean, 12 teams offered him 650K-750K but obviously someone in Baltimore really liked him. It's pretty risky considering his size and the fact that he is probably a relief guy in the pros.

If I'm an Orioles fan, I'm not crazy about that pick either. Fenter will probably be a very good pro and I would've loved to have him here- but dropping a $1 million signing bonus on a fairly unproven high school kid whose ceiling is probably a relief pitcher in MLB is questionable.

[Todd4State]

Meh. He was pretty far off on several guys- he said Elih Marrero and Ethan Small were both almost definitely going pro, and even tried to claim Gray Fenter was coming to school hours after he was drafted and it was obvious that he would sign. Gene was pretty far off too throughout the process.

Granted the MLB draft is really tricky- but our website reporters didn't have great info this cycle.

If you notice, the guys that they were the most off were the non-area players. That's most likely because their sources are area scouts who see very little of players outside of our region.

I was wondering if I was off on Marrero myself because I had heard that his Dad wanted him to go to college but then you had both Gene and Robbie saying he was probably going pro and I thought that my info was dated.

Gene had Padgett going pro- even though Robbie did a story on him pretty much saying he wasn't. He also had Pickett as a 1-3 round pick, didn't know what Riley was going to do- I'll give him a pass on Riley though. He also had Fenter pretty much coming to school from the outset.

The rumor was that Ethan Small was going to go pro and then his stock shot up- and then it went down as the season progressed. I imagine he was most likely encouraged to go to school.

[Todd4State]

And didn't Fenter send out a tweet that he was going to school before he was drafted by the Orioles? I can give them a pass on that to be honest.

[Buddy]

Well then he negotiated very well since he doubled his slot- which is different than Burdick's "I got drafted? Where do I sign? 10K? Cool".

Burdick signed for $150K after being drafted in the 40th round last year.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/preps/2014/06/22/dale-burdick-new-york-mets-summit-baseball-mississippi-state/11230893/

[messageboardsuperhero]

And didn't Fenter send out a tweet that he was going to school before he was drafted by the Orioles? I can give them a pass on that to be honest.

No he never tweeted that he was coming to school.

[maroonmania]

I think the Orioles overpaid. I mean, 12 teams offered him 650K-750K but obviously someone in Baltimore really liked him. It's pretty risky considering his size and the fact that he is probably a relief guy in the pros.

Well, heck, how about the Braves with Riley? I know Austin is a pretty good prospect but they dropped 1.5 million on a guy that hadn't been projected in the Top 100 draft prospects all year. Maybe they wanted him but knew they had to draft him there to get him to sign but you could definitely say they overpaid. Its a little hard to project just how good of a hitter Riley is when he primarily faced MS HS pitching all year. No doubt Riley is a fine player, and likely would have been a really good college player, but 1.5 million's worth? I don't know about that.

[MabenMaroon]

Well, I am a long time Astros fan ( 50+ years ) and am tickled to death with their draft this year and excited for us and the rest of the SEC that 1) Kyle Tucker has signed and won't be playing for the Gatuhs like his brother Preston did and 2) Bregmann will never don a LSU uniform again. But on the other hand, I am disgusted that the Astros signed Scott Weathersby but the tsun pitchers over the past decade or so have had a pretty decent showing in the bigs. But I guess I will get over his lineage/heritage if he turns out to be a good one. Actually found myself rooting for Alex Presley to make it with the Astros but now he is Brewer's property.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Well, I am a long time Astros fan ( 50+ years ) and am tickled to death with their draft this year and excited for us and the rest of the SEC that 1) Kyle Tucker has signed and won't be playing for the Gatuhs like his brother Preston did and 2) Bregmann will never don a LSU uniform again. But on the other hand, I am disgusted that the Astros signed Scott Weathersby but the tsun pitchers over the past decade or so have had a pretty decent showing in the bigs. But I guess I will get over his lineage/heritage if he turns out to be a good one. Actually found myself rooting for Alex Presley to make it with the Astros but now he is Brewer's property.

The ones that make it there do fairly well. Bianco has burned several out before that. What happened to Scott Bittle was rough.

[Intramural All-American]

Well, I am a long time Astros fan ( 50+ years ) and am tickled to death with their draft this year and excited for us and the rest of the SEC that 1) Kyle Tucker has signed and won't be playing for the Gatuhs like his brother Preston did and 2) Bregmann will never don a LSU uniform again. But on the other hand, I am disgusted that the Astros signed Scott Weathersby but the tsun pitchers over the past decade or so have had a pretty decent showing in the bigs. But I guess I will get over his lineage/heritage if he turns out to be a good one. Actually found myself rooting for Alex Presley to make it with the Astros but now he is Brewer's property.

As an Astros fan, I'm a little confused by the Bregman pick since we just called up Correa, and he is obviously the SS of the future. I would think we will do what we can to keep Altuve long-term as well, so unless Bregman can make a move to 3rd, I don't know what we will do with him. You don't draft a 3rd year college kid #2 overall if you don't expect him to contribute in the bigs in the next 2 years. I think Bregman is very good, but I kinda wish we had gotten a power arm instead.

[Todd4State]

No he never tweeted that he was coming to school.

I couldn't remember who tweeted it out- if it was Gene or if Gene was retweeting him. Obviously it was Gene on his own.

[Todd4State]

Well, heck, how about the Braves with Riley? I know Austin is a pretty good prospect but they dropped 1.5 million on a guy that hadn't been projected in the Top 100 draft prospects all year. Maybe they wanted him but knew they had to draft him there to get him to sign but you could definitely say they overpaid. Its a little hard to project just how good of a hitter Riley is when he primarily faced MS HS pitching all year. No doubt Riley is a fine player, and likely would have been a really good college player, but 1.5 million's worth? I don't know about that.

I think it's fair to say that the Braves overpaid for Riley based on where he was rated by all of the services. It's good that MLB is at least having to overpay for our recruits. I think that speaks well of our program.

We have to start finding ways to actually get them into school though, although we did fairly well this year overall.

[Todd4State]

Well, I am a long time Astros fan ( 50+ years ) and am tickled to death with their draft this year and excited for us and the rest of the SEC that 1) Kyle Tucker has signed and won't be playing for the Gatuhs like his brother Preston did and 2) Bregmann will never don a LSU uniform again. But on the other hand, I am disgusted that the Astros signed Scott Weathersby but the tsun pitchers over the past decade or so have had a pretty decent showing in the bigs. But I guess I will get over his lineage/heritage if he turns out to be a good one. Actually found myself rooting for Alex Presley to make it with the Astros but now he is Brewer's property.

The only Ole Miss pitcher that I can think of that has sustained any type of success in MLB is Lance Lynn. After him, the most successful is Drew Pomeranz who is a sixth starter/relief guy.

[MabenMaroon]

As an Astros fan, I'm a little confused by the Bregman pick since we just called up Correa, and he is obviously the SS of the future. I would think we will do what we can to keep Altuve long-term as well, so unless Bregman can make a move to 3rd, I don't know what we will do with him. You don't draft a 3rd year college kid #2 overall if you don't expect him to contribute in the bigs in the next 2 years. I think Bregman is very good, but I kinda wish we had gotten a power arm instead.

I am kind of thinking that he will be trade bait eventually, when Luhnow, Hinch and Stromm figure out what power arm prospect ( or emerging already in the bigs ) becomes available. Maybe someone who is struggling elsewhere like McHugh was. Seeing the track record of Luhnow so far, I feel pretty comfortable that any trades made will not be for a marquis name. Speaking of pitching, I think we hit a home run with either Ferrell or Eschelman(? sp ), feel like one of them is going to make a major impact in 2 to 3 years. If anything happens with the current rotation, I would love to see Devenski get a shot and get fast tracked like McCullers, Tucker and Correa did. Devenki is not a power pitcher but his command is awesome at this stage just look at his SO to BB ratio and his WHIP.
Of course it is very early in his career but I just have a gut feeling that we are looking at a historical type of player in Correa, that within a couple of years he will be one of the top 5 players in MLB and will stay that way for many years to come.
Glad to see a fellow 'stros fan on the board

[dawgoneyall]

Zinn is a really, really nice guy but I doubt he play any significant inning at MSU.

And to think he was considering (most likely) signing if drafted?????

[smootness]

As an Astros fan, I'm a little confused by the Bregman pick since we just called up Correa, and he is obviously the SS of the future. I would think we will do what we can to keep Altuve long-term as well, so unless Bregman can make a move to 3rd, I don't know what we will do with him. You don't draft a 3rd year college kid #2 overall if you don't expect him to contribute in the bigs in the next 2 years. I think Bregman is very good, but I kinda wish we had gotten a power arm instead.

I would think 3B would be the obvious choice. I don't think he's considered a wizard at SS, so the move to third shouldn't be a huge loss.

[MabenMaroon]

I would think 3B would be the obvious choice, either for Correa or Bregman. I don't think either one is considered just an absolute wizard at SS, so the move to third shouldn't be a huge loss.

The Astros' announcers Bill Brown, Alan Ashby and Geoff Blum have all commented about Correa's over the top throwing motion and he does have a cannon, so moving to third would probably be a decent move and they have pondered that thought as well.
I know one thing after the 2011 through 13 debacle, it is a great problem to have, too many prospects and too much talent at any position. The Astros have done very well in building up the farm system ( They better have with having three #1 picks, a #2 and 7 overall first rounders in the last 4 years ).