Everything coming from him and the Astros makes it sound like a done deal.
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Another data point for you: Keith Law had Whitaker at #52 on his pre-draft board. Describes him as having “huge power potential” and a plus arm that “give visions of a 30-homer bat in an outfield corner,” but caveated that by noting that he’s got too much swing and miss right now.
Round 11, Pick 328: Chad Stevens, SS, Portland
Round 12, Pick 358: Rhett Kouba, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Round 13, Pick 388: Kobe Kato, 2B, Arizona
Round 14, Pick 418: Bryant Salgado, RHP, Oregon State
Round 15, Pick 448: Adrian Chaidez, RHP, UCLA
Round 16, Pick 478: Nic Swanson, RHP, Northeastern State
Round 17, Pick 508: Justin Williams, 3B, Penn State
Round 18, Pick 538: Will (Son of Billy) Wagner, 2B, Liberty
Round 19, Pick 568: Hector Nieves, SS, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
Round 20, Pick 598: Jackson Linn, OF, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
It’s a nice story, but there’s no way this kid can play pro ball.
Look at these pics.
He makes Altuve look like a giant.
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Damn, he looks like a child.
So the Angels did a draft no-hitter.
The Angels did not draft a hitter this year, either replenishing their minor league stocks after trading six pitching prospects to the Orioles in the last two years or reloading to trade even more when Mike Elias comes calling. https://t.co/pYbGiys1UG
— Jon Meoli (@JonMeoli) July 13, 2021
A few thumbnails on day 3 drafted players for the Astros…
11th round pick Chad Stevens out of the U of Portland raised his OPS each year, going from .593 as a freshman to .772 as a soph to .866 in the abbreviated '20 season to .932 this past spring. However he posted only a .619 OPS when exposed to stiffer competition when he spent 27 games in the summer of '19 playing in the CCBL. 328th overall pick in the draft and that was pretty much where BA had him ranked in their draft board–at #320. He’s a big kid at a listed 6’4" 215 lbs which leads some scouts to suggest (per BA) that he’ll have to slide over to 3B at some point.
12th rounder RHP Rhett Kouba out of DBU was not on the BA Top 500 draft board but was listed at #60 in their state of Texas top draft prospects. Since his coverage area includes north Texas this would be a Jim Stevenson guy so probably wise to pay close attention to Mr. Kouba. Listed at 6’0" 180 lbs. Has reached 95 with his fastball.
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13th rounder 2B Kobe Kato out of the U of Arizona was the 388th overall pick but was listed at #250 on the BA draft board. Good bat/not so good defense seems to be the scouting synopsis for the kid out of Hawaii. Offensive numbers for the Wildcats this spring were stellar for Kato…assuming you like contact hitters with not so much pop. He hit .350/.466/.469 with 43 BBs vs 34 Ks. He mostly sat on the bench in '19 and '20.
14th rounder RHP Bryant Salgado out of Oregon State would have been seen up close and personal many times by the Astros including in '18 (and prior) as a Klein Forest HSer, in '19 as a San Jac Gator and again as a Gator in '20 but the club didn’t bite on those occasions. He goes off to the PNW and thennnnnnn Houston decides to pull the trigger. Worked out of the bullpen for the Beavers and control was an issue (14 walks in 26.2 IP). Apparently high 90s on the fastball with a decent CB. Listed at 5’11" 204 lbs.
No idea of his skillset, but these numbers are pretty stupid given the competition level:
RHP ADRIAN CHAIDEZ (#448)…22…6-1, 180…UCLA…one of three relievers named to the 2021 Pac-12 All -Conference Team…in 30 appearances for the Bruins, was 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA, tallying 48 K’s in just 32.2 innings…allowed just 14 hits in his 32.2 innings for a .128 opp. avg…posted an 0.52 ERA with 27 K’s in 17.1 innings vs. Pac-12 opponents…allowed a hit in just four of his first 26 outings, including a stretch from Feb. 27 to May 7 that saw him give up a hit in just one of 18 appearances… also stranded 26 of 31 inherited runners for the season.
Nothing really to add to Lefty’s post on 15th rounder RHP Adrian Chaidez.
16th rounder RHP Nic Swanson out of Northeastern State in Oklahoma would be the second Jim Stevenson pick of the draft. The D2 pitcher had the second best ERA in the nation at 1.55 and struck out 106 in 87 IP with 22 BBs. Listed at 6’2" 180 lbs.
BA has these players as NDFA signees with the Astros…
Jacob DeLabio, RHP, Carthage College
Kasey Ford, RHP, Kansas State
Ray Gaither, RHP, DBU
Deylen Miley, RHP, Bellarmine
Ford and Gaither would be from Jim Stevenson’s area giving him 4 signees so far this year (along with 12th rounder Rhett Kouba and 16th rounder RHP Nic Swanson).
A revised and more extensive write-up…
Another HSer for the Astros with their pick in the 4th round at #117. SS Alex Ulloa out of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale. Oklahoma State commit. MLB Pipeline had him ranked at #165 and questioned his ability to stick at short and consequently having to slide over to 2B. Even further down the BA draft board at #257 which also questioned his arm strength. Neither MLB Pipeline nor BA thought much of his ability to hit for power. Played most recently in the inaugural MLB Draft League where he hit .158/.233/.289 in just 38 ABs. Listed at 5’11" 180 lbs.
Another revised and more extended writeup…
12th rounder RHP Rhett Kouba out of DBU was not on the BA Top 500 draft board but was listed at #60 in their state of Texas top draft prospects. Since his coverage area includes north Texas this would be a Jim Stevenson guy so probably wise to pay close attention to Mr. Kouba. Stevenson would likely have gotten extended looks at him over the years given Kouba’s Oklahoma HS background, followed by his 2 years at a north Texas juco and this spring pitching for DBU. Started off the year as a reliever for the Patriots before moving in to the weekend starting rotation and was pretty slick over his last 10 outings with 68 Ks vs just 12 BBs in 49.1 IP. Listed at 6’0" 180 lbs. Has reached 95 with his fastball. BA suggests his change is ahead of his slider.
Screw that and here goes. Incorporates a bit of what Lefty posted as well as some things that BA had to say about him…
15th rounder and 448th overall pick RHP Adrian Chaidez was not on the BA Top 500 draft prospects nor even in their state of California top draft prospects which included an additional 38 guys not on the Top 500 list. Primarily a catcher in HS he moved to the mound exclusively in his two years at a California juco. Just 3 1/3 innings out of the pen for the Bruins in the shortened 2020 season. Whiffed 48 in 32.2 IP this spring with a miserly 0.95 WHIP. FB can touch 96 and BA says he has a decent slider and a promising CU. Has control issues that hopefully will get cleaned up as he gains more mound experience. Listed at 6’1" 180 lbs.
Revised and expanded writeup…
U of South Alabama outfielder Michael Sandle to the Astros at pick #298 (10th round). Not on the BA or MLB Pipeline boards. Nor did BA included him in their top draft prospects from the state of Alabama which included an additional 14 guys not in their Top 500 list. Listed at 5’10" 185 lbs. Hit .313/.389/.522 this spring. Nice run at the NCAA tournament at the Gainesville regional. Only 5 games but against Miami, U of Florida and USF he went 9-20 with a double, triple and 2 homers. Speed to burn says BA and they describe him as a plus defender in CF.
Another expanded writeup…
UCF lefty pitcher Colton Gordon to the Astros at pick #238 (8th round). Not on either the BA or MLB Pipeline draft boards. Nor was he on the BA state of Florida draft prospects list which included a whopping 109 additional players not part of the BA Top 500. Listed at 6’4" 225 lbs. 72 Ks vs 13 BBs in 55 IP this spring before as noted previously going down with TJS. In his one matchup against an elite team this spring, went 7 innings against Ole Miss and allowed just 1 run on 6 hits while whiffing 6. FB sits 88-89.
17th round and 508th overall pick 3B Justin Williams hit .302/.367/.472 for Penn State this spring and was hitting .271/.321/.583 with 4 homers in 13 games this summer in the CCBL. Wasn’t on the BA Top 500 draft prospects list nor on their state of Pennsylvania list which contained another 16 players not in the top 500. Although his numbers in college didn’t necessarily show it he seems to have plenty of pop and also apparently has plenty of arm for 3B. May struggle with contact though at the next level. Listed at 6’3" 215 lbs.