Braves Sign Former Astro Prospect Collin DeLome

According to Colin DeLome’s (@D_LOW12 ) Tweet last night, the Braves signed him and assigned him to Gwinnett. The 27 year old left handed hitting DeLome was the Astros fifth round pick in 2007. They had no picks in rounds one and two and – under orders from the owner to stick to MLB’s recommendation for slot signing bonus – he was the first pick to sign thus considered the top pick of their draft. Unfortunately he’s never managed to convert his talent into a more advanced baseball skillset. The scouting timeline in Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) pretty well spells out how he’s fared.

2008: “. . .toolsy outfielder with good speed and some lefty pop. . . “ Baseball America ranked him the 11th Astros Prospect

2009: “He’s an athlete, not a ballplayer; he doesn’t read the ball well, leading to strikeouts at the plate and bad routes in the field, but make a mistake, and he can crush it.” Baseball America ranked him the 9th Astros Prospect

2010 (moved up to AA): “. . .he has some tools, with a strong arm, blazing speed, and tremendous bat speed. . . He won’t wind up as a center fielder, so the bat has to come around (for him to be a)  “prospect in any organization.” Baseball America ranked him the 25th Astros Prospect

2011: “His ability is something to dream on, but that’s all it will be until he does something about that hideous strikeout-to-walk ratio.”

All of that led to the Astros releasing him in April.  Looking at his AAA statistics it’s pretty easy to see why.

DeLome seems to be minor league depth rather than anything to be excited about. At 26 years old he’s past being a prospect. He does have a ability and a few players have been pate bloomers. Nelson Cruz kicked around the minors for  8 seasons before becoming a fixture in the Rangers outfield. Cruz however always hit 0ver .300 with OBPs over .350 in AAA. DeLome hasn’t been close to those numbers.

Other Minor League Moves

Earlier this month the Braves:

Signed: LHP Ian Thomas (York (Atlantic)), 2B Sergio Miranda (released by Brewers), SS Lance Zawadzki (released by Dodgers), OF Abner Abreu (released by Cubs)
Released: OF Sam Munson
Traded: 2B Drew Sutton to Pirates for cash considerations who then sold his contract to the the Rays where in three games he’s .545/.615/.727/1.343)  I wonder who go the most money?