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Today, I am going to look at the Astros’ 2008 Draft Picks who are currently playing for the Lexington Legends. We have 11 picks playing in Lexington including my personal favorite, Phil Disher, who was a huge surprise last year in Rookie ball. All 11 of these players had good seasons last year and I have been looking forward to them getting a little closer to home so I could see them in person.
| Name | Position |
| Jay Austin | OF |
| Jacob Priday | OF |
| Phil Disher | 1B |
| Andrew Simunic | 2B |
| Michael Diaz | 2B |
| Jordan Lyles | RHP |
| Ross Seaton | RHP |
| Brad Dydalewicz | LHP |
| Ashton Mowdy | RHP |
| Michael Hacker | LHP |
| Kirkland Rivers | LHP |
Jay Austin, Outfielder
| AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| .224 | 44 | 165 | 21 | 37 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 46 | 13 | 34 | 8 | 8 | .281 | .279 | .560 |
Pretty disappointing numbers from Jay. His strikeouts are sub-par and his slugging is awful. There are two shining numbers here though and that is doubles and steals; he has 9 doubles and 8 steals. It’ll be interesting to see where that stands at the end of the season. Not ready to crown him as the next Biggio just yet though.
Jacob Priday, Outfielder
| AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| .221 | 24 | 77 | 6 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 27 | 8 | 38 | 0 | 0 | .315 | .351 | .665 |
Priday’s numbers are even worse than Jay Austin’s and I don’t see anything there to be optimistic about. He has more strikeouts than Jay, but fewer at-bats. Not a good sign.
Phil Disher, First Baseman
| AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| .156 | 39 | 128 | 12 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 34 | 18 | 51 | 0 | 0 | .264 | .266 | .529 |
I was so high on Phil Disher last year. He was a bonafide slugger and a diamond in the rough. It looks like he went back into the rough. Ouch! 51 strikeouts?! Clearly, Phil needs to figure some things out.
Andrew Simunic, Second Baseman
| AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| .241 | 16 | 54 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | .328 | .259 | .587 |
A .241 average isn’t outstanding, but his strikeout numbers are good with 1 for every 8 at-bats. (As opposed to 1-in-3 for Disher.)
Michael Diaz, Second Baseman
| AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| .274 | 19 | 62 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | .348 | .290 | .638 |
Clearly, Diaz is the only pick having a good offensive season this year for the Legends. A .274 average isn’t fabulous, but respectable. His slugging is a little low though, but the strikeout numbers are good. Not a great season, but the best of the bunch so far.
Jordan Lyles, Right-handed Pitcher
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
| 2 | 5 | 3.31 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54.1 | 53 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 12 | 60 | .880 | .251 |
He may have a 2-and-5 record, but the 3.31 ERA is solid and the 60 strikeouts are very solid. Looks like he just didn’t have the offensive backup to help him get those wins. I still expect to see Jordan in an Astros uniform one day. I was real impressed with him last year and he continues to pitch well.
Ross Seaton, Right-handed Pitcher
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
| 6 | 4 | 2.44 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 53 | 23 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 30 | .920 | .240 |
I also expect to see Ross Seaton in Houston. A 2.44 ERA is great; especially for such a young kid. (Remember, he came out of high school in the draft.) He also has a complete game, shutout.
>> Seaton leads promising Legends’ pitchers
Brad Dydalewicz, Left-handed Pitcher
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
| 3 | 0 | 0.64 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28.1 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 1.160 | .126 |
If you were impressed with Seaton, then you should be thrilled with Dydalewicz. He has a 3-and-0 record with a 0.64 ERA. This is the kid who threw a no-hitter in Austin in one of his final games for Lake Travis High School and he seems to be moving right along.
Ashton Mowdy, Right-handed Pitcher
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
| 0 | 0 | 0.52 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17.1 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 1.290 | .182 |
Ashton Mowdy is another pitcher who I was really impressed with last year. Mowdy was a part of the 3-person no-hitter last year in Tri-City and he looks to be continuing his good relief. I expect that he will soon be on the Astros radar as a possible closer of the future.
Michael Hacker, Left-handed Pitcher
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
| 0 | 1 | 6.75 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2.250 | .280 |
Michael appears to be struggling. His ERA is bad and the rest of his stats are average.
Kirkland Rivers, Left-handed Pitcher
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
| 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.500 | .250 |
Rivers has been in 2.1 innings and gained a 3.86 ERA. That means he gave up 1 run. Not too bad, but we really need to see more of him to grade his performance this year.
It looks like the 2008 Draft Picks playing for the Lexington Legends have mixed reviews. On the offensive side, all five players could use improvement with only one of them (Diaz) having a decent season. However, the pitching side is much brighter. We have 3 pitchers who are having great seasons (Seaton, Dydalewicz and Mowdy) and another who is having a good season (Lyles). Seeing as how the Astros are in desparate need of starting picthing, it is good to see that we have a future in single-A. Hopefully, the Astros will hang on to some of these guys long enough for them to wear the star on their cap.
