AstrosDaily.com's Astrowire (Free subscription) | 11/24/2009
... uphill battle in their attempt to rebuild the farm system. That's why McLane went out and hired Bobby Heck on Oct. 24, 2007 as the team's scouting director. Heck was instrumental in transforming the Milwaukee Brewers farm system from being the worst in baseball in 2000 to a No. 1 ranking from 2001-04 by drafting prospects such as Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Tony Gwynn, Jr.,...
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 12/08/2009
... Astros will retain him now, but this is most likely a good thing long-term for the Astros. Give Bobby Heck another two draft picks to work with and he'll do magic. In other news: Rafael Betancourt accepted arbitration from the Rockie s while Rafael Soriano accepted arbitration from the Braves. This is yet another sign that the relief market is not what it appears to be. On the other...
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 12/07/2009
... deal for Valverde at the 2010 trade deadline. I'd rather us just get the draft picks and put them Bobby Heck's capable hands.
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 12/01/2009
... The Astros could potentially walk away from today with a bevy of 1st Round draft picks for Bobby Heck and co. to work their magic on next June. The other possibility is that the Astros repeat their typical behavior, totally avoid risk, and don't tender a signal arbitration offer (something will result in either a broken Blackberry Tour or MacBook). Luckily, as Astros Andy so masterfully...
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 11/20/2009
... Looking at the top 10 list of prospects Balder submits, just marvel at how many of those guys have Bobby Heck's finger prints on them: 1. Jason Castro , c 2. Jiovanni Mier, ss 3. Jordan Lyles, rhp 4. Sammy Gervacio, rhp 5. Chia-Jen Lo, rhp 6. Ross Seaton, rhp 7. Tanner Bushue, rhp 8. Jay Austin, of 9. Jon Gaston, of 10. T.J. Steele, of Will it take another two years for us to see...
The Crawfish Boxes (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
We've broken down the roster here , here , here and here . We've broken down where the money was spent last season and what moves the Astros made in the 2008 offseason . What's left to do? Farmstros and I teamed up to analyze the Astros 2008 Rule IV draft. With one full season of play in the minors under their belts, it seemed a good time to check in with Bobby Heck's first draft class...
AstrosDaily.com's Astrowire (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
... operations Tal Smith, general manager Ed Wade and assistant GMs Dave Gottfried, Ricky Bennett and Bobby Heck.“Ed has one more year,” McLane said. “That's different from what some think. If people do good work, they're making progress, they're producing, that is no problem. Tal has been with me for 16 years on a one-year deal, and he'll certainly be back next year. ... We've had some...
