Unlike the Astros' previous two general managers, Dana Brown cut his teeth in baseball as a scout. He said when he was hired to be GM prior to the season that he was "trained by old-time scouts." So it's not surprising he's been hands-on in the Astros' preparation for the upcoming MLB Draft, which begins Sunday with the first two rounds.
Brown joined the Astros after spending the previous four seasons (2019-22) as the vice president of scouting in Atlanta, where he oversaw the drafting of 2022 National League Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II and Harris' runner-up, pitcher Spencer Strider, along with infielder Vaughn Grissom.
Brown spent nine seasons as a special assistant to the GM for the Blue Jays and worked as the director of scouting for the Expos/Nationals from 2002-09, during which time he drafted more than 40 Major League players, including seven All-Stars. Brown said he's passionate about the Draft.
"This is probably the fun part of the job because it's something that I'm so used to and we're going through all these names and we're having conversations and I'm bringing a lot of my philosophies and thought process to it," he said. "It's actually exciting and kind of refreshing to be able to talk about some upcoming young players."
The Astros will have the final pick in Sunday's first round (No. 28 overall) and will also have pick No. 61 on Sunday. Rounds 3-10 will be held on Monday, and the Draft will conclude with Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday. The Astros have a $6,747,900 bonus pool.
Brown said he and his staff, including amateur scouting director Kris Gross, have discussed more than 700 players. Brown has made 18 scouting trips to see more than 20 players in person and said earlier this week he's confident he's laid eyes on the player the Astros will take in the first round.
"It's all about nailing the Draft," he said. "The Draft is the future of the organization. At the end of the day, you have to take good players. There's just no excuse. I'll be the hardest one on myself in terms of the Draft. I'll judge myself so no one else will have to judge me. I'll make sure that I'm judging myself to get the best player every time we pick and I'll hold that standard with Kris Gross, as well. We have to nail this Draft. There's no excuse. We have to get good players to the organization. It's a collective effort, but we feel good about the process."
Gross, who's run the Draft since 2019, said working with Brown preparing for the Draft has been refreshing.
"It's been a great experience," he said. "Our core of our senior scouting staff has been intact since 2012, so to have somebody come in with his experience and bring in fresh ideas, different ways to go about evaluating players, it's been a refreshing experience for us, I think."
The Astros are still recovering from losing their first- and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 Drafts as punishment from the sign-stealing scandal. Those players would likely be pushing for a spot on the Major League club, or could be used as trade chips. The absence of those picks, and the graduations of several other players to the big leagues, has weakened the farm system.
Brown said pitching may wind up being a focus for the club during the Draft.
"We just like to add to the Minor League system and we like to add more prospects, particularly in pitching, because we all know to get through a Major League season, 162 games, it's a grind," he said. "You're always looking for pitching. I think my focus will always be in that area. Even though we feel like we do have some arms that came up to help us, we're still looking to increase the amount of prospects when it comes to pitching as much as we can because the Major League season is a grind."
When asked what would define a successful Draft, Brown said acquiring at least four future Major League players each year.
"We were able to do it in Atlanta and I expect to do it here," he said.
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