Mound Talk

1. Troy Patton, LHSP, MLB. Patton threw in Double- and Triple-A this year before being promoted for three games. He is, if nothing else, a command pitcher. Though he has struggled with shoulder injuries, Patton has been quite successful while on the mound. He’s not a big time strikeout guy and won’t ever become that type of pitcher.
2. J.R. Towles, C, MLB. Towles started the season in High-A and moved all the way to the bigs this year. Towles is a very good hitter. He has a great command of the strike zone and swings the bat well. He can hit for average and has some power. His power potential is well above average for a catcher. he doesn’t have great speed but certainly could put up Jason Kendall like speed numbers. He needs to work on using all fields and defensively needs to work on his accuracy of throws.
3. Felipe Paulino, RHSP, MLB. Paulino pitched most of the season in Double-A before earning a forgettable promotion to Houston. In 112 innings at Double-A, he struck out 110 but walked 49. His delivery is a little inconsistent and he has trouble with command. He gives up too many home runs though.
4. Juan Gutierrez, RHSP, MLB. Gutierrez was in Triple-A for most of the season before earning a promotion to Houston. In his 156 Triple-A innings, he struck out 108 and walked 63. He has a good fastball with nice sinking action. His changeup is a very nice complimentary pitch but it is still too inconsistent. Outside of that he doesn’t have any above average pitches or pitches with that potential. His curveball is inconsistent and below average. He’s likely to end up as a long reliever.
5. Michael Bourn, OF, MLB. Bourn spent all of 2007 in Philadelphia but accumulated just 119 at-bats. He’s incredibly quick and knows how to use that. He has good gap power and good command of the strike zone. He’s in line for the starting role in center field next year.
6. Bud Norris, RHSP, A+. Norris spent most of the season in Low-A before starting one game in High-A. In 97 Low-A innings, he struck out 117 but walked 41. He has a mid-90s fastball but tends to lose velocity later in games. His curveball is very good working in the low-80s with nice 12-6 action. He doesn’t have great command however and has an inconsistent delivery. He’s more likely to end up as a reliever.
7. Mike Costanzo, 3B, AA. Costanzo came over with Michael Bourn in the Brad Lidge trade this off-season. Costanzo is a left-handed hitter with very good power. He has good patience but strikeouts a bit too often. He has a very good arm at third but ultimately lacks the range to play consistently at third.
8. Mitch Einertson, OF, A+. Einertson is a good fastball hitter and can hit the ball to all fields. He has good range for a corner outfielder. 2007 was a re-emergence for him hitting .305/.365/.482 with 40 doubles as at age 21 in the Carolina League.
9. Josh Flores, OF, AA. Flores split time between High-A, where he succeeded and Double-A, where he struggled. In High-A he hit .325/.392/.500 with 27 XBH in 246 at-bats. He has very good speed stealing 39 bases in 44 attempts.
10. Eli Iorg, OF, A+. Iorg has lots of tools. He has a very good arm, good speed and can hit for some power. He’s 24, and has missed significant time already. He only got 162 at-bats this season before tearing a ligament in his right elbow resulting in Tommy John surgery.
Flier. Max Sapp, C, A. Taken in the first round of the 2006 draft, Sapp struggled in his first two seasons hitting a combined .237/.325/.322 without significantly improving his defensive skills. All that said, he has plenty of potential and as at age 19, there’s nothing to be worried about in terms of him becoming a bust, yet.

The Astros system is, at best, barren. There are very few impact players or even guys with impact potential. After the top two guys, no one seems to have much ability at the big league level.