An Update on the 2012 Astros Draft Class

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to look back at some of the Astros draft classes and see where things stand. First up, I wanted to see how General Manager Jeff Luhnow's first class is faring. Let's look at the numbers:

41 players drafted
31 players signed
21 players still in the Astros system

22 position players drafted/17 signed/13 still in the system
3 from high school/3 signed/3 still in the system
2 from junior college/2 signed/2 still in the system
14 from college/12 signed/8 still in the system

19 pitchers drafted/16 signed/8 still in the system
1 from high school/1 signed/1 still in the system
2 from junior college/2 signed/0 still in the system
12 from college/11 signed/7 still in the system

Of the 10 no longer in the system, one was traded, seven were released and two retired. Of the seven who were released, four played Indy Ball in 2014 and the other three appear to be out of organized baseball.

Here is a little on each of them. Active Astros players are in bold. The position shown is the position at which the player was drafted, and I have also indicated in parentheses whether they were drafted out of high school (HS), junior college (JC) or college (C).

1. SS Carlos Correa (HS)

Correa had a terrific season with High A Lancaster and was poised for a promotion to Corpus Christi when his season was ended as he suffered a broken femur on June 21st. Prior to that, he hit .325/.416/.510 in 62 games.

1s. RHP Lance McCullers (HS)

McCullers, who turns 21 today, started off his season in Lancaster quite nicely with his 2.51 ERA and 1.151 WHIP in his first seven appearances (four starts) in April, but had a bit of an up-and-down season after that, ending his season with a 5.47 ERA and a 1.557 WHIP in 25 games (18 starts).

2. SS Nolan Fontana (C)

Fontana also had an incomplete for the season. He played in 66 games at AA Corpus Christi before hitting the DL in late June, where he remained for the rest of the season. In those 66 games, he hit .262/.418/.376 and played 41 games at second base.

3. RHP Brady Rodgers (C)

Rodgers made all but one of his appearances with Corpus Christi (making a very successful spot start in AAA Oklahoma City in early August as well). In 27 games (18 starts), he had a 4.55 ERA and a 1.239 WHIP.

4. 3B Rio Ruiz (HS)

Ruiz quietly went about having a very consistent season with Lancaster in 2014, hitting .293/.387/.436 over 131 games.

5. OF Andrew Aplin (C)

Aplin split his season between Corpus Christi (98 games) and Oklahoma City (28 games), hitting .265/.372/.345 combined.

6. OF Brett Phillips (HS)

Fully healthy for the entire season, Phillips had a breakout year, resulting in his being named the Astros Minor League Player of the Year. In 130 games (103 with Low A Quad Cities and 27 with High A Lancaster), he hit .310/.375/.529.

7. OF Preston Tucker (C)

Tucker received his promotion to Oklahoma City after playing in 65 games for Corpus Christi. In a combined 138 games, he hit .282/.352/.481.

8. C Tyler Heineman (C)

Heineman spent his season with Corpus Christi, appearing in 78 games (70 behind the dish). He hit .242/.332/.332 and had a robust 46% caught stealing rate.

9. RHP Daniel Minor (C)

Minor fully transitioned to the bullpen in 2014, making all 36 appearances for Lancaster this season in relief. He ended the season with a 9-3 record, 3 saves, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.302 WHIP. One of those saves came as he pitched the final inning of a no-hitter in May.

10. LHP Joe Bircher (C) - released

Released prior to the 2014 season, Bircher played independent ball with the Sioux Falls Canaries in the American Association in 2014. He had a 4.37 ERA and a 1.477 WHIP in 18 starts.

11. LHP Hunter Virant (HS) - did not sign

Virant went to UCLA and missed all of 2014 due to injury.

12. OF Terrell Joyce (JC)

Joyce spent his 2014 season with Short Season A Tri-City where he hit .231/.309/.495 in 53 games.

13. LHP Brian Holmes (C)

Holmes toiled in the California League for the entire season, putting up a 5-2 record (with two saves), a 4.53 ERA and a 1.248 WHIP in 20 games (10 starts).

14. SS Joe Sclafani (C)

Sclafani played in 98 games between Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City in 2014. He hit .315/.384/.405 and played 54 games at second base, 31 games at third base and 13 games at DH.

15. RHP Erick Gonzalez (JC) - released

Gonzalez also played Indy Ball with the Sioux Falls team in 2014. In 13 bullpen appearances, he had a 6.75 ERA and a 1.821 WHIP.

16. OF Dan Gulbransen (C) - retired

Gulbransen retired from baseball in mid-July. He had been playing for the Lancaster team.

17. RHP Aaron West (C)

West spent much of his season on the DL. In 10 games (8 starts) between Corpus Christi and a Gulf Coast League rehab assignment, he had a 4.72 ERA and a 1.252 WHIP.

18. C Ricky Gingras (C)

Gingras played in 46 games for the Tri-City team, hitting .252/.309/.361. He played first base for 18 games, caught in nine games and DH'd for the remainder of his games.

19. 2B Austin Elkins (C)

Elkins missed about six weeks of his season on the DL, but played in 26 games at Quad Cities and 36 games at Lancaster, hitting a combined .254/.369/.340.

20. LHP Michael Clark (C) - did not sign

Clark continued to play with Kent State. In 2014 he was a Red Shirt Senior and had a 1.07 ERA and a 0.993 WHIP in 16 games (three starts). He signed with the Texas Rangers as a non-drafted free agent this summer and pitched only six innings over seven games, last appearing on July 31st.

21. OF Marc Wik (JC)

Wik played a couple of fill-in games with both Corpus Christi and Lancaster before starting his season in earnest with Tri-City in June. After 12 games there, he was promoted to Quad Cities for the rest of the season. In a combined 75 games, he hit .248/.340/.400.

22. LHP Kenny Long (C) - released

Kenny Long was the third member of this draft class who played with the Sioux Falls Canaries in 2014. He appeared in 40 games and had a 3.76 ERA and a 1.377 WHIP.

23. RHP Travis Ballew (C)

Ballew started and ended his season with Corpus Christi with a brief side trip to the GCL in between. In 44 bullpen appearances, he was 6-3 with five saves, a 5.23 ERA and a 1.726 WHIP.

24. SS Pat Blair (C) - did not sign

Blair went back to Wake Forest in 2013 and was subsequently drafted by the Rays in the 12th round last year. He hit .252/.341/.344 in 2014 for the Rays full season Low A team.

25. SS Ryan Dineen (C) - released

Dineen played for two seasons and was released prior to the 2014 season. He appears to be out of organized baseball.

26. SS C.J. Hinojosa (HS) - did not sign

Hinojosa went on to attend the University of Texas. In 2014, he hit .298/.373/.376 for the Longhorns.

27. OF Tanner Mathis (C) - did not sign

Mathis did not sign with the Astros when he was first drafted by them in 2012, but subsequently signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2013. In 76 games split between Quad Cities and Lancaster in 2014, he hit .259/.362/.371.

28. 3B Angel Ibanez (C) - released

Ibanez played in the system for two seasons and was released prior to the 2014 season. He also appears to be out of organized baseball.

29. RHP Christian Garcia (JC) - released

Garcia was released prior to the 2014 season and played briefly for the Winnipeg Goldeyes independent league team this year. He is still pursuing a career in organized baseball.

30. RHP John Neely (C) - retired

Neely retired from baseball in July 2013.

31. C M. P. Cokinos (C)

Cokinos played in 60 games for Corpus Christi this season, hitting .271/.305/.320. He only caught in two games, and spent 33 games at DH and 20 games at first base.

32. LHP Tyler Manez (HS) - did not sign

Manez went on to play for Elon University Phoenix. In 10 games (five starts) in 2014, he had a 6.52 ERA and a 1.655 WHIP.

33. RHP Mike Hauschild (C)

Hauschild started his season with Lancaster and was promoted to Corpus Christi in mid-May. In a combined 28 games (20 starts), he had a 4.32 ERA and a 1.268 WHIP.

34. RHP Jordan Jankowski (C)

Jankowski started his season for Corpus Christi in the bullpen, but earned a rotation spot by late May. In 30 games (14 starts), he had a 3.58 ERA and a 1.074 WHIP. In August, he had a 1.35 ERA and a 0.650 WHIP with three walks to 33 strikeouts in 20 innings.

35. C Jimmy Sinatro (HS) - did not sign

The son of then Astros Catching Coordinator Matt Sinatro, Jimmy went on to attend Gonzaga where he hit .286/.380/.350 in 2014.

36. 3B Mike Martinez (C) - released

Martinez played for two seasons and was released prior to the 2014 season. He is currently out of organized baseball and is pursuing his EMS certification.

37. RHP Michael Dimock (C) - traded

Dimock was traded to the Padres organization in June 2014 for RHP Miguel Severino. After the trade, Dimock had a 3.64 ERA and a 1.315 WHIP in 23 bullpen appearances.

38. 3B Zach Remillard (HS) - did not sign

Remillard hit .259/.318/.368 for Coastal Carolina University in 2014.

39. RHP Mitchell Traver (HS) - did not sign

Traver pitched only one-third of an inning for TCU in 2014.

40. RHP Josesph Shaw (HS) - did not sign

In 26 games (three starts) for Dallas Baptist University in 2014, Shaw had a 2.96 ERA and a 1.079 WHIP.