And it's time to talk baseball h
former Major League scout Jeremy Booth.
Jeremy, how's the Allstar game s
outstanding, man.
It was great to be in Seattle
and and the Mariners fund a
good show, a lot of talent.
Futures Game was great too.
And of course,
the draft was always fun,
so it was pretty good
time. All right. So as customer,
we receive so many surveys via
e-mail over the phone, right?
So let's do this.
Let's survey these Astros midway
through July. Jeremy, up first.
The Astros will still be in
second place on July 31st.
One extremely likely,
7 extremely unlikely,
and four neutral.
Where are you
at this point?
So this has been a back and forh
with with Texas and the schedul.
You know they got the A's in
there before the end of them.
I'm just gonna stay right here.
I'm gonna stay right in the mide
because you don't know which cls
gonna show up in any given nigh.
The Rangers have had some regren
a little bit and you know it's
the after the Allstar break.
So for the moment and I know
I'm not a usually a fence
guy I'm staying right there.
Number four.
You're right.
The Rangers there are some games coming up.
You also have Oakland.
I I'm I think it's I'm gonna sa.
About a three that it's extremey
likely only because of the
injuries and we still don't have
any clarity on how Jose Altuve
will be how Jose Arkidi will be
and of course your Don Alvarez.
Yeah you know anytime you're mig
pieces like that it's tough to t
anywhere for you know front and back.
It does however speaks how
talented the roster is right.
So you don't know what's going
to happen with with the Rangers.
We started the year and and we d
that the Rangers will be much better.
However we also said they're
not really built yet to go that.
Extra mile, right?
So we'll see. Right or wrong.
But for right now,
I'm still right in the middle.
It's anybody's race.
Up next, yin air. Diaz Astros.
Twitter loves to talk about this one.
He'll be the Astros primary
catcher by August 15th,
supplanting Martine Maldonado?
Extremely likely.
Extremely unlikely. Neutral.
Where are you on this one?
You know, let me. OK, I'm right here.
I just. I don't see it happenin.
Fromber, Christian, Javier.
They love throwing the Maldi.
Dusty Baker is a maldi guy.
I I don't think it's going to happen.
Yeah. You know, I'm with you.
I I don't think it's going to happen at all.
I'm going to circle.
I'm going to check because I I t
think Dusty really is is intered
in anybody Maldon or catching ae
would have seen a different offseason.
That doesn't mean it shouldn't
begin to change. Right.
And if I had to say what I woul,
I I'd be in the two range over .
Dana Brown, the GM.
As his work cut out for him of course
the trade deadline is coming up.
So Jeremy Dana Brown if he does make a
trade will he have to trade froe
26 man active Major League rost?
You know we there's a lot out there of
and it's been this way for a wh.
Is this system good? Is it not ?
Is it somewhere in the middle and what you
have to give this organization credit for.
Without question is what they've done
in pitching development and a gd
job of of taking some undervalud
assets and get to the big leagu.
That's what they've been able t.
That said it it's not there's
nothing there in the system to
really move from unless you're g
to trade somebody like Corey Le,
which would bring some value ba.
If I'm Dana Brown,
I have a team playing this well.
I'm not trading off this roster
if I don't have to.
So I'm going to go over here.
I'm going to go right there because there's
always a chance that he he does have to,
right? But.
He can go take that piece of Cory Lee,
it's been in Sugarland.
He can go find some other pieces
behind that in the system and
try to get a mid level piece bak
to help them get over the hump.
I'm wondering if a jokes a Jake Myers
some of these. Other pitchers
who've been up and down,
they might be on the 26th
Man at that point. Sure.
I think I'm going to say only
because we saw it last year,
the Astros had to do it by moving Jose Siri.
So I'm going to say it's
more likely than unlikely.
Yeah, I get that.
And I think Siri was an important piece.
I think Siri was blocked here
with the play ahead of him.
If this situation don't have
Bradley back or Brantley back,
you don't have Alvarez.
We just talked about when
he's going to be there.
So your outfield depth
is already pretty thin.
I don't know if we're doing tha,
but like I said,
it's always possibility. Up
next, the Major League
Baseball draft is in the books.
The first round pick,
local kid who went to Nebraska.
It's Bryce Matthews,
a shortstop, But Jeremy,
will he remain at shortstop?
Of course you've got.
Jeremy Pena playing in the
major leagues right now and
I know you don't typically
draft for need but will Bryce
Matthews remain at shortstop?
You
know the road to the big leagues
a lot faster with less affiliat.
You know there's just less stops to make
and and with a college player you know
it's accelerated timeline anyway for me.
Does have some kind of a
roadblock here in others pastur?
Maybe that's not the case.
That said, I think this kids enh
of an athlete to play pretty
much anywhere on the diamond,
whether or not the hands and
feet work enough to play.
Shortest to be a question.
I'm going to go back over here at number six.
I think he's going to move,
but I think he has enough powerd
speed combo to help in the outf.
You know, I find it interestingt
some people talk about Bryce Matthews
as being overdrafted a little b.
That he was more of a second round talent.
You got him at the end of the first round,
right? Like that's not an overdt
and you signed him for under slot. I I
take him right there.
I have no issues with that pick whatsoever.
At the end of the first round
you're looking for a college bat
performer or you're looking for
an upside play and like we said,
in this particular player you get both.
So I think that's a great pickig
for end of the first round.
Certainly athleticism was
one of his calling cards.
Played high school football,
excelled at high school footbal.
I'm kind of in that boat.
I at this point I I need more information.
I need to see how he progresses.
But it's not out of the ordinarr
the Astros to add positions to .
We saw it with Pedro Lyon and a,
I I think that it,
it really remains to be seen now when
we talk about this 2023 draft cs
headline bright by Bryce Matthe.
This is an interesting one, Jer.
Dana Brown's first draft,
the 2023 draft class,
will it be better than the 2022 class,
which of course brought them Drew Gilbert?
So I'm going to qualify
either answer here with this.
These guys just got here and
they just got in the system.
And anytime you just draft some,
it's really tough because the
old adage in scouting is when te
minute you submit your report,
you're wrong, right?
So you don't really know yet.
What I will say is in comparinge
1st 2:00 last two drafts, 22 an.
In 22, it seems like a lot of fr
guys and a lot of college guys,
a lot of floor, a lot of maybe we'll do this,
but at the worst case scenario I have that.
But in this scenario here,
what I see from Dana is taking
a very depleted system,
which almost anybody.
With a Pulse agrees that it's a
very depleted system.
If you look at this and
you've got an upside player,
Matthews at the first round,
you've got a big arm in the second round,
you've got power.
All those swing and miss in the middle of
the first of the fourth round and then you
start looking at the high school players,
right.
This kid from Galena Park,
we don't we don't know we're going to get.
We have some other stuff later
in the draft kit from Colorado.
You start putting this togetherd
you're looking at Dana's taking tools.
He's taking some upside.
Give me a carrying tool somewhee
and then I'll see what I have.
So from for that reason alone
because of potential impact,
which is something that we have talked
about on this show for seven ye,
that they have been lacking
now an impact in their drafts,
I think that this class is going
to be better than the 2022 clas.
Wow.
I I do say that. I think when
you've got Drew Gilbert leading
last year's draft class and then
Jacob Melton the second round p,
both big time performers in cole
off to strong starts relatively.
I hate to play the fence.
I'm going to say I'm neutral at this point.
I kind of lean towards.
I think the 2022 might be
better because of Gilbert, but.
You, you kind of talked me out of that.
Well, you know, Drew's my guy.
I mean, that's my guy.
And you know, the Astros took another
one this year in a Jackson Nezan
the 14th round of Louisiana Lafayette,
who actually is a 9596,
but a pitchability guy.
Drew's a performer with not a ton of upside.
But man, he's been playing the
big leagues for a while, right?
I mean, he's that type of guy.
It's made for Houston, so.
It's very easy to say the impact on Gilbert,
the guaranteed impact might be a better,
a better chance for that.
I I think when you're
looking at across the first,
there's only 20 rounds,
let's say across 15 to the 20,
you're talking about a carrying
tool versus just a floor.
And scouting will always take te
carrying tool because that's the impact.
He is. Jeremy Booth,
our KHO 11 baseball analyst,
the former Major League scout.
Jeremy, thanks for being on Sports X.
It's great to be back.