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Here's how the Astros can avoid the sting from MLB's draft punishment

The MLB Draft begins Wednesday and this year it will have a very different look than previous years. There will only be five rounds of the draft, and the Astros have four picks available to them. The Astros won't have their 1st and 2nd round selections because of the punishment they face from MLB, but they do have a compensatory pick at number 72 overall that they received for losing Gerrit Cole in free agency. No. 72 will be their first selection, and they will also have one pick in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds. What's encouraging about this draft for the Astros is who will be making the selections.

The Astros have their new GM in James Click, and he'll clearly have a huge role. But what might surprise some Astros fans is that the two men that ran the 2019 draft when Jeff Luhnow was in charge, are still with the team and working with Click. Charles Cook and Kris Gross. Gross leads the Astros amateur scouting, and Cook was promoted to director of player evaluation last fall by Jeff Luhnow. The Astros definitely have a tough task ahead of them without their 1st and 2nd round picks, but at least they have experienced talent evaluators in the building that learned directly from Jeff Luhnow. Say what you want about Jeff Luhnow, but his resume is elite when it comes to team building and analytics.

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The Texans have been extremely active in free agency. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, The Houston Texans are signing veteran linebacker Cory Littleton to a 1-year, $2.7 million contract.

The 29-year-old linebacker played last season with the Carolina Panthers, starting 7 games and appearing in 15. He recorded 47 tackles and 2 QB hits.

Littleton spent the first 4 years of his career with the Rams, and went to the Pro Bowl in 2018. He then played 2 seasons with the Raiders before joining the Panthers last season.

PFT is reporting that he played 61% of the Panthers' special teams snaps, and 32% of the defensive snaps in 2022. So it wouldn't be a surprise at all if he's used on special teams with the Texans as well.

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