Here is what the Astros have been doing in the amateur draft so far. I was kind of surprised to see that Jason Castro, a catcher was picked in the first round. We've got 5 picks before 109 so hopefully our farm system will shape up in a few years. On other catcher news J.R. Towles was sent down to AAA Round Rock, while Humberto Quintero was brought up. Its tough for Towles, as he is the fall man for the Astros slumping offense which gave them 2 wins in 9 games on the recent roadtrip, but Cooper and the front office is trying to find a remedy (not that the no. 8 spot holds the key to the Astros recent offensive struggles.
2-7 really was not good enough, especially getting beaten by the Pirates. The Astros scored 13 runs in their last 8 games after beating St. Louis 8-2. That is appalling for this offense and it needs to change, because the Astros are currently just one game above .500 at 31-30, 8 games off the Cubs and behind the Cardinals and Brewers.
