Houston Astros hire baseball writer Kevin Goldstein as Pro Scout- MLB News
The Houston Astros have added Kevin Goldstein as a pro scout to their ranks. Kevin is a former baseball writer with Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus and knows all about the players in the Minor Leagues. With his detailed knowledge of the players,
he can be a valuable scout for the Houston ball club.
The job will be a tough one as Kevin will be overseeing Astros pro scouting work for the Minor Leagues and all 30 Major League teams as well as players in professional leagues overseas and those playing in independent leagues.
He has been brought on board by Jeff Luhnow, the Houston Astros general manager and Kevin respects him a lot. He wants to prove that Jeff made the right choice and in the process, help the team.
"I know Jeff is sticking his neck out when he brought me on, and I totally respect that," Goldstein said. "It's something that drives me to prove him right and try to help this team."
Goldstein was an important person for the Astros during the Rule 5 Draft in the Winter Meetings that took place earlier in the month in Nashville, Tennessee. The Houston ball club had the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft and will also have the first pick in
the 2013 First Year Player Draft for a second consecutive year.
Kevin, who does not have college education, has a passion for the game and worked hard to get where he stands today. He is particularly interested in prospect reporting and said that teams got interested in his work that he did as a writer. Obviously getting
mentioned in an article by Peter Gammons also helped.
"It was something fun that I had a passion for," he said. "I started Prospect Report, and it started growing on a strange level and some teams were interested in the information I was putting out there. One day, [MLB.com's] Peter Gammons mentioned it an
article when he was still at ESPN, and that was kind of the explosion."
Kevin described Jeff Luhnow as an information junkie and wanted feedback from Kevin on deals taking place at the moment.
"Jeff is an information junkie and he wants everyone's opinion on everything," Goldstein said. The new pro scout is honoured by the trust shown in him by the general manager.
Goldstein will have to work hard as the team is moving into a new league and has already been performing well below par ending up at the bottom of MLB table for two years running now. The 100 plus defeats are hurting the fans and he can play a crucial role
in changing those fortunes in the longer run by making the right calls on the players Astros bring on board.
Tags: