Because 2008 was Ed Wade and Bobby Heck’s first year in Houston, you can’t peg their philosophy yet. But, based on that draft, the trend is college hitters and high school arms. The Astros obviously have a very thin farm system, and it would bode them well to take the best prospect available, the question is, who is the best player on THEIR board (last year, they insist Castro was the best guy on their board). I have thought Zach Wheeler would be the perfect guy to drop for them, and I have stuck to that belief — on a related note, I don’t create a mock until the week of the draft because once my head makes an impression, like Wheeler to the Astros, I can’t shake it. So I create one mock, not long before the draft.

Anyways, great blog keep up the good work.

Joshua – You are a far better authority on me than this, but certain players in this draft just give off a bit of an Astros vibe to me. Wheeler is one of them, Rex Brothers is another, and one of the Big XII arms that may fall (Oliver or Volz) complete the group. I can’t explain any of that rationally, but I can close my eyes and envision any one of those players wearing an Astros uniform someday. Weird, I know.

Now that I think about it, I think Wheeler to Houston is interesting. The newest buzz has Wheeler maybe going as high as the top ten, but “no way” falling out of the top 20. Well, who picks 21? Could it be that the unnamed sources who are claiming Wheeler won’t fall past the top 20 are employed by a team that knows they’d snatch him up if he was there at 21? Sure, I know that 21 isn’t technically “top 20″…but it’s a thought.