And Then There Were Six

Since I first looked at the pre-2008 draft classes back in August, we have lost another six of those players (J.R. Towles, Brad James, Koby Clemens, Jimmy VanOstrand, Kyle Greenwalt and Colton Pitkin), leaving only six still in the Astros system. The 2007 Astros draft class has been much maligned, but it was just the culmination of several years of sub-par drafts.  Let's take a look at the results, starting in 2002.

2002 Draft
Players remaining in the system - None
Notable players - Mitch Talbot

2003 Draft
Players remaining in the system - None
Notable players - Jason Hirsh, Josh Anderson

2004 Draft
Players remaining in the system - None
Notable players - Hunter Pence, Ben Zobrist, Troy Patton, Drew Sutton, J.R. Towles

2005 Draft
Players remaining in the system - Brian Bogusevic, Brandon Barnes
Notable players - Brian Boguesevic, Tommy Manzella

2006 Draft
Players remaining in the system - Sergio Perez, Chris Johnson, Bud Norris
Notable players - Bud Norris, Chris Johnson

2007 Draft
Players remaining in the system - Collin DeLome
Notable players - None

Out of the six draft classes prior to Bobby Heck's tenure, there are only six players remaining in the system, and three of those (Brandon Barnes, Sergio Perez and Collin DeLome) are probably running out of chances to set themselves apart.

But what made the situation even worse was how the Astros wasted the limited resources that they had, and how very little (until the more recent trades) they received in return.

Ben Zobrist & Mitch Talbot -----> Aubrey Huff ------> Nothing
Jason Hirsh -----> Jason Jennings ------> Nothing
Josh Anderson -----> Oscar Villarreal -----> Nothing
Troy Patton ------> Miguel Tejada ------> Nothing

Of course there were a couple of decent trades:

Drew Sutton -----> Jeff Keppinger -----> Jason Stoffel & Henry Sosa
Albert Cartwright ------> Sergio Escalona

This is how the Astros got into the situation they were in last season, but the good news is that the worst is over.  Four players from Bobby Heck's first two drafts have already made their major league debuts, and there are more drafted players on the horizon that look to become solid major leaguers.  In addition, the Pence, Bourn, Melancon and Quintero/Bourgeois trades appear to be winners in the potential that they are bringing the team.  And, finally, we now have a General Manager who, I believe, will not be apt to waste any resources in re-building and strengthening the Astros system.

The Astros have gotten off to a terrific start in 2012.  However, there will undoubtedly be many painful losses to come, but they will be losing games because we have young players out there fine-tuning their skills at the highest level, not because we have a lot of aging free agent retreads trying to re-establish themselves.  That, in and of itself, will make the Astros worth watching this season.