2012 MLB Draft: Astros Select Carlos Correa 1st Overall
With the first pick in the 1992 MLB Draft, the Houston Astros selected third basemen Phil Nevin, passing over a hotshot shortstop by the name of Derek Jeter. Twenty years later, the ‘Stros weren’t going to make the same mistake twice.
The Houston Astros selected the 17-year old Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa with the first pick of this year’s MLB Draft. Correa’s raw ability and youthful athleticism have baseball writers and fans deeming him this year’s version of a “can’t miss” hotshot shortstop.
Although this year’s draft lacked the Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg-type picks, Houston decided to shake things up and go against the grain right off the bat. Most writers had Houston selecting the Stanford fireballer Mark Appel first overall. A few went out on a limb (or so it seemed) and had the Astros selecting Byron Buxton, the five-tool high school outfielder from Georgia.
In our final S2S 2012 MLB Mock Draft, writer Robbie Knopf had Appel going first to the Astros, followed by the Minnesota Twins taking Buxton second. He, like many others, had Correa taken by the San Diego Padres with the seventh overall pick. (To check out Robbie’s analysis, click here)
Even more surprising to me is that Correa is the first Puerto Rican-born player selected first. For having name-dropped to Sam Ryan of the MLB Network all the uber-talented players he’s received advice from (Sandy Alomar, Sr., Roberto Alomar, and Ivan Rodriguez), it blows my mind to think a Puerto Rican hadn’t been selected first overall, until Correa.
The Stuff:
Correa sports an athletic, powerful frame for a shortstop at 6-4, 190 pounds. As a product of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, a school that provides a traditional high school education with an intensive baseball training program, he was essentially groomed to have an Alex Rodriguez-type physique.
He can swing the bat with power and average, and hit to all fields. He has a strong, powerful swing that is fundamentally sound, and should hold up well in professional ball.
He has an absolute cannon for a throwing arm coupled with quick hands. In addition, his athleticism gives him great range. His baseball IQ is off the charts, and with his impressive 4.0 GPA in high school, Correa should adjust to life in the Minor Leagues with no foreseeable issues.
The Future:
Although Correa was drafted as a shortstop, I doubt he’ll play there professionally for too long. As a 17 year-old that’s already over 6 ft tall, he’ll probably shift over to third before it’s all said and done, or perhaps even go to across the diamond to first.
Correa’s adjustment to hitting professional pitching shouldn’t be much of a learning curve. In the beginning of his high school career, he was known as being a bit of a free swinger, however, has been working at taking more pitches and practicing more patience at the plate. As long as he focuses and stays committed to improving his plate discipline, he’ll be a middle-of-the-lineup force.
Defensively, as mentioned above, he’ll probably shift positions. However, a few scouts on TV mentioned that he has a bit of a problem relying too much on his arm strength and not going full bore after every grounder. In the grand scheme of things, this is a relatively easy problem to fix once he understands the professionalism and hard work that goes into the daily grind of being a ballplayer.
Conclusion:
If everything goes according to Houston’s plan, Correa could be a cleanup hitter rapping baseballs off the tall left field wall at Minute Maid Park in the cleanup spot.
Although he verbally committed to play baseball at the University of Miami, nearly everybody expects him to forego the Hurricanes for the sizeable signing bonus coming his way.
It’ll be interesting to see at what level he begins his Astros career—could he begin as high as the “A” Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League, or in one of the rookie teams of the ‘Stros farm system (either the short season Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York Penn League, or the Greeneville Astros of the rookie-level Appalachian League.
Although the 2012 MLB Draft has been widely panned for lacking talent as exciting as previous years, the Astros provided plenty of excitement and intrigue by taking a risk with a skilled, albeit young, ballplayer like Correa.
For more on the Houston Astros and Carlos Correa, check out Climbing Tal’s Hill