Astros agree to deals with pair of Draft picks

HOUSTON -- The Astros have signed two of their four picks from last week’s MLB Draft -- Vanderbilt right-hander Tyler Brown, a third-round pick, and University of Tennessee outfielder Zach Daniels, a fourth-round selection.

In 2019, Brown had 17 saves, a 2.19 ERA, 65 strikeouts and nine walks for Vanderbilt, which won the College World Series that season. He posted a picture on Twitter on Wednesday night indicating he had signed with Houston. The slot value for the No. 101 overall pick is $577,000.

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Astros supervisor of national scouting Kris Gross said last week that the team plans to develop Brown as a starter.

“Absolutely,” Gross said. “He’s got four pitches to work with, touching 97 [mph]. Pretty low-effort delivery. I think the kid believes he’s a starter as well. … He’d be a starter at a lot of the colleges across the country. We’re optimistic Tyler can toe the slab every fifth day.”

According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, the speedy Daniels, selected with the No. 131 overall pick, received a $400,000 signing bonus. That was below the slot value of the pick, which was $430,800.

Daniels is a toolsy outfielder who struggled to make contact his first two years at Tennessee before a strong start to his junior campaign this year. He hit .357 with four homers and 18 RBIs in 56 at-bats before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“He had some inconsistent years early, but this year came out and showed real improvement,” Astros director of player evaluation Charles Cook said. “He’s a center fielder, 70 runner [on 20-80 scale], plus to plus-plus raw power. We thought the tool package was a really exciting gift for us at that pick.”

The Astros have already reached verbal deals with their other two Draft picks, pending physicals: 18-year-old right-handed pitcher Alex Santos from New York (72nd pick overall), hard-throwing right-hander Tyler Brown of Vanderbilt and shortstop Shay Whitcomb of Division II UC San Diego (fifth round).

Santos told MLB.com on Friday he had reached a deal with the Astros to begin his professional career and will forgo his scholarship to Maryland. The slot value for the pick is $870,700. Late Thursday, Whitcomb ($324,100 slot value) said he had reached a deal, as well.

The signing deadline this year is Aug. 1.

If a club exceeds its assigned pool, it faces a penalty. Teams that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, clubs lose future picks: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent.

In eight years with these rules, teams have exceeded their allotments a total of 149 times, but never by more than 5 percent. Twenty-one of the 30 teams outspent their pools last year.