Chad Bettis

Bettis could join Brett Eibner as an unsigned Astros 2007 draft pick (eighth round) who blossoms into a first-rounder three years later. As with Eibner, there's debate about Bettis' future role. He's definitely a pitcher, and while many scouts see him as a rubber-armed reliever, others say he has enough stuff to start. Texas Tech has used him in both roles, deploying him as a starter as a freshman, a reliever a year ago and both ways this spring. A 6-foot-1, 211-pounder, Bettis has a quick arm, fluid delivery and quality fastball. He pitches in the low 90s as a starter and touched 98 mph coming out of the bullpen last summer with Team USA. He generates velocity with his fluid delivery and arm speed rather than effort. He still needs to do a better job of locating his fastball down in the strike zone, but he has thrown more strikes and shown more sink this year. Bettis' mid-80s slider can be a plus, but he also overthrows it at times. His changeup gives him an effective pitch against lefthanders. He sometimes relies on his secondary pitches too much, to the detriment of his fastball command.