http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/050708dish.html He'll be among the youngest players in the Futures Game, as he doesn't turn 20 until September. He'll also be among the slightest pitchers, at a relatively small 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. But Astros lefthander Troy Patton can put his numbers up against just about anyone. Patton was one of the top high school lefties available in the 2004 draft with a low 90s fastball and a plus-plus curve, but a strong commitment to Texas scared many teams off, and he slipped to the ninth round. Houston took a chance and later signed him to a $550,000 bonus, equivalent to late second-round money. In his first full season, Patton is 5-2, 1.94 in 79 innings at low Class A Lexington, limiting Sally League hitters to a .211 average while striking out 94. He was recently promoted to high Class A Salem, but has yet to make his Carolina League debut, as Houston shut him down until the second half due to some minor shoulder soreness. We caught up with Patton on Thursday as he prepared to head to Detroit for Sunday's big game. On the key to his success so far this season: "I have a changeup now. (Astros minor league pitching coordinator) Dewey Robinson taught me how to throw one in the offseason and I'm very comfortable with it. I feel as confident with it as I do with my curve, and just feel like I'm a different pitcher with three pitches." On the different between high school and professional statistics: "In high school I only had to worry about one or two guys in each lineup, but here, everybody can hit. You say I have 94 strikeouts and how that's really good, but to me, it just doesn't sound like that much yet." On not pitching since June 25: "They shut me down because I had some tightness in my shoulder. It's just minor tendonitis, and they were just very cautious. I'm ready to go, and start throwing again (Thursday) actually." On falling to the ninth round in last year's draft: "It was frustrating. I thought I made it clear that I wanted to sign, but everyone thought I was going to Texas. I stopped listening after the third round, but my dad called me to tell me that Houston took me in the ninth. After that I just assumed I was going to play at Texas, but the Astros called us and told us not to worry about it and just be patient and something would get done. They signed their higher picks, and then came back to us and kept their word." On watching Texas win this year's College World Series: "It would have been great to be a part of that, but right now I'm in High A and if I went to college I'd still have two years left before I went pro. Everything is going very well right now, so I have no regrets at all." On going to the Futures Game: "I'm just looking forward to the whole experience . A lot of those players are more advanced than I am, and I hope I can talk to them and learn something." --

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