NEW YORK â€" Most major-league teams agree there's no Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper in this year's baseball draft.
There's not even a Gerrit Cole or Danny Hultzen, last year's first two picks, at the top of the class.
So, without a clear-cut No. 1 prospect and several significant rule changes in place, teams face some intriguing decisions and an unpredictable first round in this year's draft, which starts tonight with the Houston Astros leading things off.
"It's a below-average draft as far as drafts go, and it's certainly down from last year as far as depth and premium players in the first round," said Sean Johnson, Minnesota's West Coast scouting supervisor.
Allotted spending caps based on the number and placement of team's picks, and an earlier signing deadline are among the changes clubs will navigate this year. The draft also is shorter now, pared down from 50 to 40 rounds.
The Astros have the No. 1 pick for the first time since taking Phil Nevin in 1992 â€" one of five teams to pass on a young shortstop named Derek Jeter, selected sixth overall by the New York Yankees.
This time around, Houston is confident it will get a player who could make a significant impact on the franchise, even if many teams aren't overly excited about the options.
"In an ideal world, you'd have a player pick themselves like that, one that was obviously separated like Alex Rodriguez or Ken Griffey, or more recently with Harper and Strasburg," said Astros scouting director and assistant general manager Bobby Heck. "But the positive that comes out of it is that we have options. We have choices."
Stanford right-hander Mark Appel, Florida catcher Mike Zunino, LSU righty Kevin Gausman and Georgia high school outfielder Byron Buxton are expected to be among the players picked early.
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