2011 Draftees and Status

[OregonStrosFan]

Per Levine (via Twitter):

Astros signed 15th round pick 1B Zachary Johnson out of Oklahoma State. -Z

[OregonStrosFan]

With the Zac Johnson signing earlier today, the Astros have signed 14 of their top 17 picks, and have signed 27 of their 50 overall picks. Additionally, the Astros have signed NDFA.  Astros 3rd round pick is headed to the CWS so wont be able to sign until that is over (and there have been rumblings that he'd be going to the Cape this summer anyway, so this could be a bit), but with the UConn losses in the Super-Regionals, Springer is eligible to sign whenever.

So with that prologue, you're updated Draftees and Status list as of Gametime on 6/13:

Draftee Springer, George Houser, Adrian Armstrong, Jack Lee, Chris Trapeano, Nick Meredith, Brandon Reynolds, Javaris Culbreth, Brandon Dufek, Jonas Hallock, Kyle Gominsky, Justin Hamblin, Miles Hinson, John Stubblefield, “Gandy” Johnson, Zac Zuloaga, Scott Perez, Tyson Miller, Kevin Lambson, Mitchell Duffy, Matthew Howick, James Muren, Andrew Sosa, Ruben Wierzbicki, Jesse Flamion, Billy Fisher, Jared Todd, Alex John, Jordan Gonzalez, Wallace Steranka, Jordan McKinney, Jarrod Dando, Zachary Taylor, Dominique Kellog, Dustin Morales, Christopher    Gonzalez, Kevin Martin, Steven Propst, James Haerle, David Lamothe, Buddy Davidson, Chase Granger, Hoke Grimes, David Ford, Blake Epps, Christopher Shults, Justin Hardoin, Zachary Murray, Andrew Peterson, David Davis, Colton Non-drafted FA signings Gill, Justin Meskin, Jacob Witowski, Joseph Dennison, Steven Shewey, Paris Johnson, Neiko

Rd/Pick (1) 11 (2) 69 (3) 99 (4) 130 (5) 160 (6) 190 (7) 220 (8) 250 (9) 280 (10) 310 (11) 340 (12) 370 (13) 400 (14) 430 (15) 460 (16) 490 (17) 520 (18) 550 (19) 580 (20) 610 (21) 640 (22) 670 (23) 700 (24) 730 (25) 760 (26) 790 (27) 820 (28) 850 (29) 880 (30) 910 (31) 940 (32) 970 (33) 1000 (34) 1030 (35) 1060 (36) 1090  (37) 1120 (38) 1150 (39) 1180 (40) 1210 (41) 1240 (42) 1270 (43) 1300 (44) 1330 (45) 1360 (46) 1390 (47) 1420 (48) 1450 (49) 1480 (50) 1510 NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA

Signed  - Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes - - Yes Yes Yes Yes - - - Yes - - - Yes Yes - - - - - Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes Yes Yes - - - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

POS OF RHP RHP LHP RHP LF CF RHP RHP LHP CF C 2B RHP 1B LHP RHP RHP LHP 3B SS CF 2B 1B LF RHP SS LHP RF 3B RF RHP CF RHP  RHP C RHP RHP RHP RHP 1B CF OF RHP OF 1B LHP C RHP CF RHP C C LHP LHP IF/OF

School UConn Locust Grove HS, OK Vanderbilt Santa Fe CC SUNY Stony Brook San Diego State King HS, FL Forsyth County Day School, NC    Creighton Kent State Minnesota U Mississippi Clemson Lufkin HS, TX Oklahoma State Scottsdale CC Fresno CC UC Berkley Arizona State Tennessee Jacksonville U Cal State - Northridge Oklahoma City U UNC Chapel Hill Central Catholic HS, CA Newport HS, WA Sonoma State U Oklahoma Bishop Amat HS, CA Penn State Arkansas Central Arizona College Salt Lake CC Caney Creek HS, TX Clear Creek HS, TX Texas A&M Texas A&M Oklahoma State Col of the Canyons, CA San Jacinto College North Georgia Northside Methodist Academy, AL    Upton Lakes Christian School, NY    Lamar University Clemson UC Riverside U Missouri Columbia Westfield HS, NJ College of Charleston Lake Wales HS, FL Kent State Arizona St. Johns Wheaton College Washington State Kentucky

Class JR HS JR J1 JR JR HS HS  SR SR JR SR SR HS JR J2 J2 SR JR SR JR SR JR SR HS HS SR SO HS JR JR J2 J1 HS HS SR SR SR J1 J2 JR HS HS 5S SR SR SR HS JR HS SR SR SR SR SR SR

B/T R/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R L/R L/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/R S/R R/R L/L L/R R/R R/L R/R L/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R L/R R/R S/R L/R L/R L/R L/L R/R R/R R/R

Ht/Wt 6’03”- 205  6’04”- 205 6’07”- 230 6’03”- 175 6’04”- 205 6’02”-225 6’01”- 190 6’04”- 200 6’05”- 215 6’02”-185 6’04”- 185 6’03”- 200 6’01”- 180 6’05”- 190 5’11”- 200 6’03”- 205 6’03”- 215 6’00”- 195 6’01”- 195 6’03”- 215 6’02”- 185 6’06”- 195 5’07”- 170 6’03”- 200 6’01”- 195 6’04”- 235 6’02”- 190 6’03”- 200 6’05”- 230 6’03”- 195 5’11”- 205 6’03”- 175 6’01”- 190 6’04”- 185 6’05”- 205 5’10”-190 6’06”- 225 6’01”- 180 6’02”- 195 6’03”- 225 6’05”- 225 6’02”- 200 6’01”- 180 6’05”- 215 6’00”- 190 6’03”- 205 5’10”- 190 6’02”- 215 6’05”- 205 6’03”- 190

DOB 09/19/89 02/02/93 12/14/89 08/17/92 08/27/90 12/19/89 01/24/93 07/27/92 06/30/88 08/06/88 08/26/89 10/22/88 09/13/88 07/23/92 06/06/88 09/20/89 12/27/89 08/25/89 07/20/90 02/06/89 08/26/90 11/22/88 09/23/90 11/24/88 01/19/93 09/01/92 08/15/89 07/05/90 02/11/93 11/14/89 10/14/89 01/04/91 08/11/92 02/16/93 07/22/93 11/06/87 11/16/87 03/18/89 03/16/92 10/11/90 01/14/90 05/31/92 02/13/93 05/16/88 12/10/88 12/02/87 07/11/88 04/04/93 01/04/90 08/27/92

[Navin R Johnson]

FWIW, 35th Rounder Chris Morales just committed to University of Houston.  Not sure if that means he wasn't offered enough to go, or if he is just using that as leverage.

[Jacksonian]

FWIW, 35th Rounder Chris Morales just committed to University of Houston.  Not sure if that means he wasn't offered enough to go, or if he is just using that as leverage.

Or just keeping all doors open.

[OregonStrosFan]

Springer won't be an 'expedited signing' (Levine LINK):

“I’m not expecting this to be an expedited signing,” said Heck. “He just played (66) games. We’ll give him a little time to relax and heal up a little bit. He’s had a long year, and they’ve been on the road for the last few weeks with regionals, super regionals, Big East tournament. He tweaked his hamstring, and he ran into a wall. So I’d be inclined to give him a little bit of heal time even if I thought it would be extremely fast (signing him).”

[austro]

Springer won't be an 'expedited signing' (Levine LINK):

“I’m not expecting this to be an expedited signing,” said Heck. “He just played (66) games. We’ll give him a little time to relax and heal up a little bit. He’s had a long year, and they’ve been on the road for the last few weeks with regionals, super regionals, Big East tournament. He tweaked his hamstring, and he ran into a wall. So I’d be inclined to give him a little bit of heal time even if I thought it would be extremely fast (signing him).”

In other words, maybe we'll let Crane worry about the size of the bonus.

[Ron Brand]

In other words, maybe we'll let Crane worry about the size of the bonus.

Your decoder ring is in excellent working order.

[OregonStrosFan]

Per Stephen Goff (via Twitter):

Astros signed LHP Mitchell Lambson, their 19th-round selection out of Arizona State, today. They have now signed 28 of their 50 Draft picks.

[astrosfan76]

Per Goff (Twitter)

The Astros signed 24th-round pick Jesse Wierzbicki, 1B, North Carolina, today. They have now signed 29 of their 50 2011 Draft picks.

[OregonStrosFan]

With the signing of 24th round pick, the Astros have now signed 29 of their 50 picks, as well as 6 NDFAs.  As of game time on 06/25/11, here is the list of 2011 draft picks and signees.

Draftee Springer, George Houser, Adrian Armstrong, Jack Lee, Chris Trapeano, Nick Meredith, Brandon Reynolds, Javaris Culbreth, Brandon Dufek, Jonas Hallock, Kyle Gominsky, Justin Hamblin, Miles Hinson, John Stubblefield, “Gandy” Johnson, Zac Zuloaga, Scott Perez, Tyson Miller, Kevin Lambson, Mitchell Duffy, Matthew Howick, James Muren, Andrew Sosa, Ruben Wierzbicki, Jesse Flamion, Billy Fisher, Jared Todd, Alex John, Jordan Gonzalez, Wallace Steranka, Jordan McKinney, Jarrod Dando, Zachary Taylor, Dominique Kellog, Dustin Morales, Christopher    Gonzalez, Kevin Martin, Steven Propst, James Haerle, David Lamothe, Buddy Davidson, Chase Granger, Hoke Grimes, David Ford, Blake Epps, Christopher Shults, Justin Hardoin, Zachary Murray, Andrew Peterson, David Davis, Colton Non-drafted FA signings Gill, Justin Meskin, Jacob Witowski, Joseph Dennison, Steven Shewey, Paris Johnson, Neiko

Rd/Pick (1) 11 (2) 69 (3) 99 (4) 130 (5) 160 (6) 190 (7) 220 (8) 250 (9) 280 (10) 310 (11) 340 (12) 370 (13) 400 (14) 430 (15) 460 (16) 490 (17) 520 (18) 550 (19) 580 (20) 610 (21) 640 (22) 670 (23) 700 (24) 730 (25) 760 (26) 790 (27) 820 (28) 850 (29) 880 (30) 910 (31) 940 (32) 970 (33) 1000 (34) 1030 (35) 1060 (36) 1090  (37) 1120 (38) 1150 (39) 1180 (40) 1210 (41) 1240 (42) 1270 (43) 1300 (44) 1330 (45) 1360 (46) 1390 (47) 1420 (48) 1450 (49) 1480 (50) 1510 NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA

Signed  - Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - Yes - - - Yes Yes - - - - - Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes Yes Yes - - - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

POS OF RHP RHP LHP RHP LF CF RHP RHP LHP CF C 2B RHP 1B LHP RHP RHP LHP 3B SS CF 2B 1B LF RHP SS LHP RF 3B RF RHP CF RHP  RHP C RHP RHP RHP RHP 1B CF OF RHP OF 1B LHP C RHP CF RHP C C LHP LHP IF/OF

School UConn Locust Grove HS, OK Vanderbilt Santa Fe CC SUNY Stony Brook San Diego State King HS, FL Forsyth County Day School, NC    Creighton Kent State Minnesota U Mississippi Clemson Lufkin HS, TX Oklahoma State Scottsdale CC Fresno CC UC Berkley Arizona State Tennessee Jacksonville U Cal State – Northridge Oklahoma City U UNC Chapel Hill Central Catholic HS, CA Newport HS, WA Sonoma State U Oklahoma Bishop Amat HS, CA Penn State Arkansas Central Arizona College Salt Lake CC Caney Creek HS, TX Clear Creek HS, TX Texas A&M Texas A&M Oklahoma State Col of the Canyons, CA San Jacinto College North Georgia Northside Methodist Academy, AL    Upton Lakes Christian School, NY    Lamar University Clemson UC Riverside U Missouri Columbia Westfield HS, NJ College of Charleston Lake Wales HS, FL Kent State Arizona St. Johns Wheaton College Washington State Kentucky

Class JR HS JR J1 JR JR HS HS  SR SR JR SR SR HS JR J2 J2 SR JR SR JR SR JR SR HS HS SR SO HS JR JR J2 J1 HS HS SR SR SR J1 J2 JR HS HS 5S SR SR SR HS JR HS SR SR SR SR SR SR

B/T R/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R L/R L/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/R S/R R/R L/L L/R R/R R/L R/R L/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R L/R R/R S/R L/R L/R L/R L/L R/R R/R R/R

Ht/Wt 6’03”- 205  6’04”- 205 6’07”- 230 6’03”- 175 6’04”- 205 6’02”-225 6’01”- 190 6’04”- 200 6’05”- 215 6’02”-185 6’04”- 185 6’03”- 200 6’01”- 180 6’05”- 190 5’11”- 200 6’03”- 205 6’03”- 215 6’00”- 195 6’01”- 195 6’03”- 215 6’02”- 185 6’06”- 195 5’07”- 170 6’03”- 200 6’01”- 195 6’04”- 235 6’02”- 190 6’03”- 200 6’05”- 230 6’03”- 195 5’11”- 205 6’03”- 175 6’01”- 190 6’04”- 185 6’05”- 205 5’10”-190 6’06”- 225 6’01”- 180 6’02”- 195 6’03”- 225 6’05”- 225 6’02”- 200 6’01”- 180 6’05”- 215 6’00”- 190 6’03”- 205 5’10”- 190 6’02”- 215 6’05”- 205 6’03”- 190

DOB 09/19/89 02/02/93 12/14/89 08/17/92 08/27/90 12/19/89 01/24/93 07/27/92 06/30/88 08/06/88 08/26/89 10/22/88 09/13/88 07/23/92 06/06/88 09/20/89 12/27/89 08/25/89 07/20/90 02/06/89 08/26/90 11/22/88 09/23/90 11/24/88 01/19/93 09/01/92 08/15/89 07/05/90 02/11/93 11/14/89 10/14/89 01/04/91 08/11/92 02/16/93 07/22/93 11/06/87 11/16/87 03/18/89 03/16/92 10/11/90 01/14/90 05/31/92 02/13/93 05/16/88 12/10/88 12/02/87 07/11/88 04/04/93 01/04/90 08/27/92

[OregonStrosFan]

2 more picks signed today. Per Levine (via Twitter):

Astros announce signings of two local products, both also Texas A&M Aggies: Kevin Gonzalez (Rd 36, C) and Steven Martin (Rd 37, RHP) -Z

The Astros have now signed 31 of their 50 picks, as well as 6 NDFAs.  Updated draftees and status list below, with notations where each of the players have been assigned (if known). [GCL = Gulf Coast League Astros; G-Stros = Greeneville Astros; TCVC = Tri-City ValleyCats]

Draftee Springer, George Houser, Adrian Armstrong, Jack Lee, Chris Trapeano, Nick Meredith, Brandon Reynolds, Javaris Culbreth, Brandon Dufek, Jonas Hallock, Kyle Gominsky, Justin Hamblin, Miles Hinson, John Stubblefield, “Gandy” Johnson, Zac Zuloaga, Scott Perez, Tyson Miller, Kevin Lambson, Mitchell Duffy, Matthew Howick, James Muren, Andrew Sosa, Ruben Wierzbicki, Jesse Flamion, Billy Fisher, Jared Todd, Alex John, Jordan Gonzalez, Wallace Steranka, Jordan McKinney, Jarrod Dando, Zachary Taylor, Dominique Kellog, Dustin Morales, Christopher    Gonzalez, Kevin Martin, Steven Propst, James Haerle, David Lamothe, Buddy Davidson, Chase Granger, Hoke Grimes, David Ford, Blake Epps, Christopher Shults, Justin Hardoin, Zachary Murray, Andrew Peterson, David Davis, Colton Non-drafted FA signings Gill, Justin Meskin, Jacob Witowski, Joseph Dennison, Steven Shewey, Paris Johnson, Neiko

Rd/Pick (1) 11 (2) 69 (3) 99 (4) 130 (5) 160 (6) 190 (7) 220 (8) 250 (9) 280 (10) 310 (11) 340 (12) 370 (13) 400 (14) 430 (15) 460 (16) 490 (17) 520 (18) 550 (19) 580 (20) 610 (21) 640 (22) 670 (23) 700 (24) 730 (25) 760 (26) 790 (27) 820 (28) 850 (29) 880 (30) 910 (31) 940 (32) 970 (33) 1000 (34) 1030 (35) 1060 (36) 1090  (37) 1120 (38) 1150 (39) 1180 (40) 1210 (41) 1240 (42) 1270 (43) 1300 (44) 1330 (45) 1360 (46) 1390 (47) 1420 (48) 1450 (49) 1480 (50) 1510 NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA NDFA

Signed  - Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - Yes - - - Yes Yes - - - Yes Yes Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes Yes Yes - - - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Asmg GCL G-Stros TCVC TCVC GCL GCL TCVC TCVC TCVC TCVC TCVC TCVC G-Stros G-Stros TCVC TCVC    ?? TCVC G-Stros    ?? G-Stros GCL G-Stros    ??    ?? G-Stros G-Stros GCL GCL GCL GCL CGL CGL CGL CGL G-Stros TCVC

POS OF RHP RHP LHP RHP LF CF RHP RHP LHP CF C 2B RHP 1B LHP RHP RHP LHP 3B SS CF 2B 1B LF RHP SS LHP RF 3B RF RHP CF RHP  RHP C RHP RHP RHP RHP 1B CF OF RHP OF 1B LHP C RHP CF RHP C C LHP LHP IF/OF

School UConn Locust Grove HS, OK Vanderbilt Santa Fe CC SUNY Stony Brook San Diego State King HS, FL Forsyth County Day School, NC    Creighton Kent State Minnesota U Mississippi Clemson Lufkin HS, TX Oklahoma State Scottsdale CC Fresno CC UC Berkley Arizona State Tennessee Jacksonville U Cal State – Northridge Oklahoma City U UNC Chapel Hill Central Catholic HS, CA Newport HS, WA Sonoma State U Oklahoma Bishop Amat HS, CA Penn State Arkansas Central Arizona College Salt Lake CC Caney Creek HS, TX Clear Creek HS, TX Texas A&M Texas A&M Oklahoma State Col of the Canyons, CA San Jacinto College North Georgia Northside Methodist Academy, AL    Upton Lakes Christian School, NY    Lamar University Clemson UC Riverside U Missouri Columbia Westfield HS, NJ College of Charleston Lake Wales HS, FL Kent State Arizona St. Johns Wheaton College Washington State Kentucky

Class JR HS JR J1 JR JR HS HS  SR SR JR SR SR HS JR J2 J2 SR JR SR JR SR JR SR HS HS SR SO HS JR JR J2 J1 HS HS SR SR SR J1 J2 JR HS HS 5S SR SR SR HS JR HS SR SR SR SR SR SR

B/T R/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R L/R L/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R L/R S/R R/R L/L L/R R/R R/L R/R L/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R L/R R/R S/R L/R L/R L/R L/L R/R R/R R/R

Ht/Wt 6’03”- 205  6’04”- 205 6’07”- 230 6’03”- 175 6’04”- 205 6’02”-225 6’01”- 190 6’04”- 200 6’05”- 215 6’02”-185 6’04”- 185 6’03”- 200 6’01”- 180 6’05”- 190 5’11”- 200 6’03”- 205 6’03”- 215 6’00”- 195 6’01”- 195 6’03”- 215 6’02”- 185 6’06”- 195 5’07”- 170 6’03”- 200 6’01”- 195 6’04”- 235 6’02”- 190 6’03”- 200 6’05”- 230 6’03”- 195 5’11”- 205 6’03”- 175 6’01”- 190 6’04”- 185 6’05”- 205 5’10”-190 6’06”- 225 6’01”- 180 6’02”- 195 6’03”- 225 6’05”- 225 6’02”- 200 6’01”- 180 6’05”- 215 6’00”- 190 6’03”- 205 5’10”- 190 6’02”- 215 6’05”- 205 6’03”- 190

DOB 09/19/89 02/02/93 12/14/89 08/17/92 08/27/90 12/19/89 01/24/93 07/27/92 06/30/88 08/06/88 08/26/89 10/22/88 09/13/88 07/23/92 06/06/88 09/20/89 12/27/89 08/25/89 07/20/90 02/06/89 08/26/90 11/22/88 09/23/90 11/24/88 01/19/93 09/01/92 08/15/89 07/05/90 02/11/93 11/14/89 10/14/89 01/04/91 08/11/92 02/16/93 07/22/93 11/06/87 11/16/87 03/18/89 03/16/92 10/11/90 01/14/90 05/31/92 02/13/93 05/16/88 12/10/88 12/02/87 07/11/88 04/04/93 01/04/90 08/27/92

[JimR]

any word on Springer?

[OregonStrosFan]

any word on Springer?

Not that I've seen recently. They originally expected him to be an 'easy' sign. I haven't got the impression that this has changed or that he's DeLino'ing the team, rather the only thing that I'd heard is that the team wanted to give him some time to recoup after the CWS and nurse the hammy, etc. I'd expect it to happen in the next week or two. Armstrong will be an end of the signing period signing though. IIRC, he's planning to head to the Cape and up his standing a bit.

[jbm]

I don't get the Armstrong tactic. It can be argued that third round is pretty high for a guy who wasn't that stellar last year, was mostly injured this year, and didn't even throw an inning for his team in the CWS (IIRC).  In other words, he was apparently taken that high because he obviously has upside, and going to the cape and demonstrating that he has upside isn't going to change much since the Astros have essentially acknowleged that by drafting him in the third round.

[astrosfan76]

I don't get the Armstrong tactic. It can be argued that third round is pretty high for a guy who wasn't that stellar last year, was mostly injured this year, and didn't even throw an inning for his team in the CWS (IIRC).  In other words, he was apparently taken that high because he obviously has upside, and going to the cape and demonstrating that he has upside isn't going to change much since the Astros have essentially acknowleged that by drafting him in the third round.

Armstrong has a lot to gain by going out.  His slot would be in the $340K range, but proving himself healthy and dominant in the Cape could make him a lot more money.  Talent-wise, he'd have been a first-rounder, so there's a lot of room to go up.  If he doesn't like our offer, he can go back next season and, even though he'll be a senior, have a chance to improve his stock greatly in a weaker draft class.

[Navin R Johnson]

In terms of money, the Padres have signed the #10 pick Cory Spangenberg.  He got 1.86 million, he was a JUCO 2nd baseman. 

The things I read from Heck are similar to what OSF just posted.  They were gonna let him go back home for awhile, heal up and then would get the contract worked out.  I got the impression it would be a mid/end of July signing.

[jbm]

Armstrong has a lot to gain by going out.  His slot would be in the $340K range, but proving himself healthy and dominant in the Cape could make him a lot more money.  Talent-wise, he'd have been a first-rounder, so there's a lot of room to go up.  If he doesn't like our offer, he can go back next season and, even though he'll be a senior, have a chance to improve his stock greatly in a weaker draft class.

Really?  A couple of good weeks in the cape will make a guy who was low on the Vandy staff into a first round talent?  This strategy may have made sense if he was a 7th rounder or so (which he might have anticipated when he stated he was going to the cape), but seems kind of questionable for a 3rd rounder.  Would a few good weeks even allay concerns about his injuries?  

[astrosfan76]

Really?  A couple of good weeks in the cape will make a guy who was low on the Vandy staff into a first round talent?  This strategy may have made sense if he was a 7th rounder or so (which he might have anticipated when he stated he was going to the cape), but seems kind of questionable for a 3rd rounder.  Would a few good weeks even allay concerns about his injuries?  

We're talking about talent, not performance.  Vanderbilt didn't have him as a weekend starter (which he had been in previous seasons) this season because of back and elbow injuries.  He was able to build up his arm strength, though and was 96-99 on his two-seamer three weeks ago. 

Anyway, here's what Jack and Heck had to say:

"There's a pretty good chance I'm probably going to go to Cape," he said. "I'm pretty sure Houston knows that's going to be the deal. And they probably want to see me some more, anyway, to see where I fit in. I want to show them I'm healthy again and get some more reps in before I start my professional career, potentially."

Astros assistant general manager and director of scouting Bobby Heck said the Astros won't miss many of Armstrong's starts if the righty pitches in the Cape Cod League, and the club intends to sign Armstrong before the end of the summer.

"We've seen him the last few weeks healthy," Heck said. "That was probably part of his slide. Going into this year, he was one of the better prospects in the Draft, and that's obviously his reason for going up to the Cape and reproving his worth."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110607&content_id=20178192&vkey=draftcentral2011

[Duder]

Here's what John Klima from Baseball Beginnings had to say about Armstrong in 2009.  LINK

The feeling here is that if Jack Armstrong was in the 2010 MLB draft, we’d be talking about him as a solid 1/1 candidate.  ESPN and MLB PR types would shoot me, but Armstrong is better than Strasburg, and it ain’t even close.  Armstrong hits 96 in this video (twice) with a power curveball, and a great body. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I read that line about not caring about if the guy looks good in blue jeans, too, assuming it was really spoken. But let’s get something clear. This guy is as close to big league ready as there is in the SEC right now.

I don't get the Armstrong tactic. It can be argued that third round is pretty high for a guy who wasn't that stellar last year, was mostly injured this year, and didn't even throw an inning for his team in the CWS (IIRC).  In other words, he was apparently taken that high because he obviously has upside, and going to the cape and demonstrating that he has upside isn't going to change much since the Astros have essentially acknowleged that by drafting him in the third round.

If Armstrong is anywhere close to as good as Klima thinks he is, then he has plenty to gain by going to the Cape.

[Travis]

Baseball Beginnings is usually a pretty interesting read. IIRC, he has liked a lot of Astros draftees. For example, he loved Mier. http://baseballbeginnings.com/2009/05/15/jiovanni-mier-report#more-702

I think he was also pretty high on Austin Wates.