The Houston Astros selected Stanford catcher Jason Castro with the tenth pick in the MLB Amateur Draft on Thursday. Shortly after, left-hander Jeremy Bleich was taken by the New York Yankees with the 44th pick of the draft in the first compensation round.

Later in the afternoon, second baseman Cord Phelps was chosen by the Cleveland Indians in the third round, and center fielder Sean Ratliff was picked by the New York Mets in the fourth round.

On Friday, third baseman and pitcher Austin Yount was selected in the twelfth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and staff ace Erik Davis was chosen by the San Diego Padres in the thirteenth round. The final Cardinal drafted was first baseman and designated hitter Randy Molina, who was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 42nd round.

Castro is the highest Cardinal drafted since Gregory Reynolds was taken with the second pick of the 2006 draft by the Colorado Rockies.

The junior currently has not missed a game this season, and leads Stanford with a .372 batting average, 94 hits and 16 doubles.

He was the third catcher taken in a draft heavy at the position. But he is different from the rest of his class because he’s left-handed—a rarity amongst catchers. This enticed a number of teams near the top of the draft. He was rumored to go as high as No. 8 to the Chicago White Sox, and was not expected to drop any further than to the New York Mets at No. 18.

If Castro does choose to sign with Astros—it is not uncommon for top picks to refuse to do so—he will face considerable competition in the Houston farm system. The Astros’ top prospect is catcher J.R. Towles.

Bleich was Stanford's top pitcher in 2007 and was expected to be the staff ace in 2008. But an early season injury kept him out for much of the year, and he has only recently returned. That being said, the junior is 2-2 with a 1.09 ERA in eight appearances. He heads to a New York farm system in dire need of left-handed talent.

The seven teammates are currently in Fullerton with the rest of the Cardinal as they prepare for their weekend Super Regional series against Cal State Fullerton.