The Houston Astros have the No. 1 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft for the third-straight year and Jeff Luhnow says choosing the best player available is vital.
"You need to hit on 1-1," Luhnow said. "It's critical, because you're making a big investment and it's also an opportunity to take the best player out there. It's one of those things that we expect that we're going to get a return on that pick."
Houston is believed to be choosing from left-handers Brady Aiken of Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego and Carlos Rodon of North Carolina State, right-hander Tyler Kolek of Shepherd High School in Texas, catcher/outfielder Alex Jackson of Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, shortstop Nick Gordon of Olympia High School in Orlando, Fla., and LSU right-hander Aaron Nola.
"You really have to take the best player, and even in football where the players go directly to the NFL, you'll still find that tendency, because you're looking for upside and you're trying to get as much upside as possible," Luhnow said. "We're not smart enough to know exactly what our team configuration is going to look like five years from now, much less three years from now, so it wouldn't make sense for us to draft on need."