Astros Get Under-The-Radar Acquisition In Arauz

HOUSTON—In a blockbuster deal in which the Astros unloaded the top overall pick in the 2013 draft and two pitchers with major league service time, Panamanian shortstop Jonathan Arauz was the least known player who changed addresses when the Phillies sent closer Ken Giles to the Astros.

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Arauz joined Giles with the Astros in exchange for Mark Appel, Vince Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer and minor-league righthanders Harold Arauz and Thomas Eshelman.

It could be several years before anybody knows if the Astros paid too much for Giles, but Jonathan Arauz’s development could ultimately make the deal more than a one-for-five.

Some scouts believed Jonathan Arauz, 17, was the top amateur in Panama when he signed with the Phillies for $600,000 as a 16-year-old in 2014.

Most teenagers from Panama, the Dominican Republic or Venezuela spend a year or two in the Dominican or Venezuelan summer leagues before their big league clubs secure P1 visas for them to play in the United States. So it’s a testament to Arauz’s talent that he made his debut in the Phillies’ Rookie-level Gulf Coast League team at 16 last year.

“I saw him a lot as an amateur,” said Oz Ocampo, the Astros’ director of international operations. “He’s really athletic and has really good hands, reliable hands.”

Arauz hit .254/.309/.370 in 44 games in the GCL. He had 2 home runs and 18 RBIs with 13 walks and 29 strikeouts.
The lanky 6-foot, 147-pounder committed only one error in 97 chances.

“He shows some power,” said Ocampo, who had scouted Arauz before the young shortstop signed with the Phillies. “He’s a guy that, for his age and for his background, he’s got a really good strike zone discipline.”

Ocampo compares Arauz favorably to Miguel Angel Sierra, the 6-foot Venezuelan shortstop who received a $1 million signing bonus from the Astros in July 2014 as a 16-year-old.

SPACE SHOTS

• Shortstop Alex Bregman, the second overall pick in 2015, will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

• Several of the Astros’ picks from the 2014 draft have also progressed enough to earn an invitation to big league spring training. Outfielder Derek Fisher, third baseman J.D. Davis and first baseman A.J. Reed will be in big league camp.