eagle eye Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Today is the last day the Astros have to sign the last 12 of their draft picks and I'm ashamed to say I didn't realize until I actually went through the names of the unsigned players that Lamar's own Stijn Van Der Meer was Houston's 34th round draft pick. Van Der Meer was a senior so unless he wants to use a possible extra year of eligibility there is no reason why he shouldn't go ahead and sign with Houston. I think it would be a hoot if he did sign and play for the Astros. As it is Houston have signed 28 of their 40 picks which is pretty good and what is even better is that the Stros have inked 17 of their top 20 picks. The deadline to sign 2016 draftees is today at 5 PM so maybe there will be a flurry of signings right before the deadline. In Van Der Meer's case I hope that's what happens. What is even more unbelievable is nobody else posted his drafting by the Astros. It is a big deal for Van Der Meer and Lamar and I really do hope he signs with the Astros before the deadline today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KABrother88 Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 I was actually just looking to see if he signed right before I got on here. RHP and Friday night starter Will Hibbs was taken in the 19th round by The Philadelphia Phillies and is off to a fantastic start to his pro career having tossed 11 innings in 7 relief outings with 12 Ks to 2 BBs and has yet to allow and earned run. Ironically he holds an 0-1 record due to allowing an unearned run. RHPs Enrique Oquendo and Jayson McKinley both signed Free Agent deals with the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays respectively. Oquendo had allowed 2 ERs in 8.1 IP across 5 appearances with 12 Ks to 7 BBs McKinley has allowed 5 ERs in 8 IP across 5 appearances but 4 of them came in his first outing as a pro. Since then he's allowed just 1 ER in 7 IP. Also holds an 11 K to 1 BB ratio total with the 1 BB also coming in the debut outing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle eye Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 I'm disappointed that Van Der Meer didn't sign with Houston. I have no idea why he wouldn't. It's not easy getting your foot in the door of any pro sport. All I can figure is he isn't interested in a pro baseball career. Signing with an up and coming organization like Houston would be a good thing for anybody wanting a healthy start to an MLB career. Too bad. Glad for the other Cards who are in the pros now. Much luck and success! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamar1 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Who says he had a choice? did the Astros offer a contract? Temas select guys never really intending to sign them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KABrother88 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I wouldn't say team draft someone with no intention of signing them...what would be the point in drafting them? They do however draft guys late that they have very little chance to sign. For example, last year Houston drafted a kid from Conroe very late (37th round) that ended up at TCU (told MLB teams before the draft he would not sign and instead enroll at TCU). If any of you watched the College World Series you'll know the name Luken Baker. If no google him. Houston knew they have very little shot of signing him but missing on a 37th round pick won't hurt a team. van der Meer's case is a little different. College seniors have no leverage on MLB teams because the either take what is offered or walk. My guess would be van der Meer either didn't like what was offered or potentially didn't want to deal with the life of a minor leaguer. Could have also been given an opportunity he couldn't pass up career wise. With what Houston has currently in the majors, what they have in the pipeline, and throw in the Cuban star they just signed, van der Meer's opportunity looks like it would have been with a different team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle eye Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 I agree with what you posted KABro. I actually found an article in which Van Der Meer was quoted as saying that if the offer from the Astros was not to his liking he would remain in the Netherlands. Apparently, the Astros offer wasn't to his liking. Too bad but if Van Der Meer had done well in the minors, given Houston doesn't really need a shortstop in the foreseeable future he could have been trade bait and got his chance with another team. Update: upon further investigation I found a post that said that Van Der Meer HAS signed a contract with the Astros! According to the post he will join the Class A short season Tri-City Valleycats. This is from a dutch baseball website and you can check out the link below! This is awesome news if it's true. https://dutchbaseballhangout.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/stijn-van-der-meer-signs-with-astros/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamar1 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 He's been playing in Curacao a Dutch possession in South America (Andruw Jones of Braves) He's currently not listed on Tri Valley roster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle eye Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 I found this article from the SBNation The Crawfish Boxes that focuses on the Astros. It is just general in nature but it does list all the draftees and those who have signed or not. It list Van Der Meer as having signed. So, that is a good deal. Where he is assigned is another matter. I just finished check every roster on every team in the Astros minor league system and he's no on any of them. So, the good news appears to be that he's signed with Houston and the not-so-good news is he isn't on a roster as yet. What may be happening is the Astros are allowing Van Der Meer to play for Curacao Neptunus since their season has already begun. Curacao Neptunus is a team in the Dutch league Honkbal Hoofdklasse which is the highest level of pro baseball in the Netherlands. The top two teams from this league are included in the European Cup. Curacao Neptunus plays out of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and the quality of play there may be equivalent to what Tri-Cities, Quad Cities or even Lancaster. One downside of allowing him to stay in the Dutch league is the season only consists of 42 games played between April and September with the games mainly being played on weekends. Another downside is he won't have Houston coaching monitoring his progress. It will be nice to see Van Der Meer back in America on an Astros system roster. http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2016/6/13/11924652/mlb-draft-2016-astros-2016-draft-pick-results-tracker-and-social Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle eye Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 A quick update on Van Der Meer. The reason he is not playing right now for the Class A Short Season Tri-Cities Valleycats is because he's getting his work visa done. If any of you has dealt with our government in such things you know that it is mind numbingly frustrating to deal with the G-men. As soon as he gets his work visa he will be in America playing ball. In the article linked below that comes from Mosaesports.com a company out of the Netherlands that posted this article about Stijn back on June 27 they talk about the terms of the deal with Houston a bit. It's kind of interesting to see how Van Der Meer wants to take care of his business. http://mosaesports.com/news/blog/stijn-van-der-meer-signs-with-astros/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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