Troy Patton came out of one of the best high school teams in Texas with a high-heat fastball in the mid-90's that was worthy of a cool $550,000 signing bonus after the Astros grabbed him in the 2004 Draft's 9th round (274th OA).
The Astros always are on the lookout for a good lefty, and Patton looks like he'll fill the bill, once he gets his time in the minors done.
The greenhorn played for the Greeneville Astros in the Appalachian League, went 2-2 with a 1.93 ERA striking out 32 with an impressive 6 earned runs, one dinger, and only 5 men walked and 32 struck out.
He was promoted to the Lexington Legends where he continued to dominate, going 1.94 with a 5-2 record on 78 innings pitched, striking out 94 and walking 20, while alllowing 17 earned runs and only 3 home runs.
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Player: Troy Patton
Position: Pitcher
(P)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 185
Birthdate: 09.03.85
High School: Tomball
High School
Home town: Tomball, Texas
Bats: L
Throws: L Organization: Houston
Astros
Acquired: Astros, 2004 9th Round 274th OA
Signed By: Rusty Pendergrass
Last Ballclub: Salem
Avalanche
2004 FAB50 Ranking: NR
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That earned Patton a move up to the Salem Avalanche, where, in spite of a losing 1-2 record, his ERA is still just 2.48 with 24 Ks and 5 walks, a great ratio. He's only given up 8 earned runs. Two of them just happened to be dingers.
He debuts on the MLN FAB50™ 2005 Baseball rankings at 48, even though we'd tell you that on technical skills he's a top three pitching prospect in the Astros organization itself. Since this is a movement, mid-season ranking system, we observe his Salem speed-bump as a bellwether of his pace moving through the farm system. We also have some concerns relative to his style of work, and the major league club itself.
Our sources tell us he's a very thoughtful pitcher, a good student of the position and the game who tries to apply his heat well. He was improving a cuttter that he's been working on for a season, and we're told that he has a curve that breaks fairly well. We're also told that he responds very well to good feedback from his coaches and the instructors at winter camp.
He also has some competition from recent graduates like lefty Mike Gallo who are fighting to get their time in the Astros bullpen and stay up.
We believe that he'll get another promotion next season to Double-A, and possibly to Triple-A in 2006. We think he has a shot at the 2007 Astros bullpen, making him a FAB50, and not a Ones2Watch, player.
