Let's welcome the draft class of 2025 to the Houston Astros organization! All news for the 2025 draftees will go in this thread. This year's signing deadline is 4 PM Central on July 28. College seniors are exempt from this deadline. Players drafted in rounds 11-20 can sign for up to $150,000 without having the bonus count against the bonus pool; for over-slot bonuses, only the amount over $150,000 will count. For JUCO players, teams can elect to take the draft-and-follow approach. Should a team exercise this option, a JUCO player they pick can sign between the end of the JUCO season and the beginning of next year's draft for up to $225,000. Bold - player has signed or intends to sign Name stricken through - player intends to return to school/attend college Round 1, Pick 21: Xavier Neyens, 3B, Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon, Washington (committed to Oregon State) Round 3, Pick 95: Ethan Frey, OF, LSU Round 4, Pick 126: Nick Monistere, 2B, Southern Miss Round 5, Pick 156: Nick Potter, RHP, Wichita State Round 6, Pick 186: Gabel Pentecost, RHP, Taylor (Indiana) Round 7, Pick 216: Jase Mitchell, C, Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes, Delaware (committed to Kentucky) Round 8, Pick 246: Kyle Walker, 2B, Arizona State Round 9, Pick 276: Kellan Oakes, RHP, Oregon State Round 10, Pick 306: Zach Daudet, SS, Cal Poly Round 11, Pick 336: Justin Thomas, OF, Arkansas Round 12, Pick 366: Elijah Farley, Navarro High School, Geronimo, Texas (committed to Hill College [JUCO]) Round 13, Pick 396: Aubrey Smith, RHP, UNC Wilmington Round 14, Pick 426: Josh Wakefield, OF, Grand Canyon Round 15, Pick 456: D.J. Newman, RHP/OF, Bowling Green (transfer portaling to Tennessee if he doesn't sign) Round 16, Pick 486: Chase Call, OF, UC Irvine Round 17, Pick 516: Grayson Saunier, RHP, Texas Round 18, Pick 546: Landon Arroyos, SS, Grayson High School, Loganville, Georgia (committed to Georgia State) Round 19, Pick 576: Joey McLaughlin, OF, Harrah High School, Harrah, Oklahoma (committed to Arkansas State) Round 20, Pick 606: Curtis Hebert, SS, Portland Bonus pool: $7,181,500 Pool money used: Undrafted free agents In the past, some players apparently signed as undrafted free agents with the Astros but never appeared on a roster of a minor league affiliate. The bonus limit is also $150,000 for undrafted free agents. Here are the undrafted players who have reportedly agreed to terms with the Astros. Jackson Wells, RHP, Arkansas-Little Rock Coleman MacRae, RHP, Central Arkansas Brandon Cassedy, RHP, George Mason Charlie Weber, RHP, Saint Louis Mason Lytle, OF, Texas-San Antonio Some (half-assed) thoughts I'm fully on the Neyens train. He's probably gonna be shouldering the load for 80% of this class, with Frey and maybe Mitchell picking up the rest. If Nick Potter finds command, he'll be a steal. None of the picks after the 11th round really pop out to me, but I'm interested to see how long of a leash they give D.J. Newman before they tell him to focus on one aspect of the game. That is, if they can talk him out of heading to Tennessee first. Curtis Hebert also has experience as a pitcher and arguably had more upside on the mound, but I guess the Astros have enough belief in his bat to list him as a shortstop when they picked him. The three high schoolers after the 10th round aren't really highly regarded so I think they'll sign. Two choices here: turn pro and get professional development or slum away in the mid-majors. Kyle Walker is my "exceeds expectations" pick. This hasn't exactly gone well for me in the past, but everything about Walker screams "exceeds expectations," much like Tony Kemp.
First undrafted free agents are in: Central Arkansas RHP Coleman MacRae; never really put it together in his three seasons as he went 8-9 with a 5.95 ERA in college, mainly due to a 5.6 BB/9. Little Rock RHP Jackson Wells, who was originally planning to transfer portal to Arkansas George Mason RHP Brandon Cassedy; Cassedy went 8-2 with a 3.32 ERA and was 1st-team All-Atlantic 10 in his only season with the Patriots after transferring from Division III Christopher Newport.
Saint Louis RHP Charlie Weber is the next player to get a UDFA deal. He returned home after starting his college career at Wofford. 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA in 18 relief appearances (56 IP). He walked 18, struck out 58, and allowed a .239 average against.
Here's Anthony Boyer/Eephus Tosser's thread of rundowns for the draft class: https://bsky.app/profile/eephustosser.bsky.social/post/3ltv3by74vk2p
Man I love this annual thread. Props to you @tellitlikeitis for doing this and being so thorough and consistent with all the minor league stuff all these years. I have been living in Moscow since 2012, the dark days of Astro baseball, when the team was terribad, and every morning I would be on the “marshrutka”, kind of like a mini shuttle bus, on my way to work and reading all of your posts and getting irrationally excited about all the prospects. Years and years later, and I’m still doing the same. Thank you man. I appreciate you
UTSA outfielder Mason Lytle is the first position player to agree to a UDFA deal for this post-draft cycle.
This is a top heavy draft for the Astros IMO. I think that Frey is a good off set for Neyens. Neyens is the younger guy with swing and miss but a lot of strong raw skills. It may take him awhile to move up with his profile and age, and there is a lot of risk but also an extremely high ceiling. Frey is older, and while I believe his athleticism and skills are under-rated, he is more of the bat first prospect that shouldn't require a lot of time in the lower minors and could be a fast mover. His ceiling is basically a starting above average corner outfielder, but his floor is basically a 5th outfielder. He should not crash and burn. I like the safe versus risky off set between the two. As for the rest of the draft, I don't know enough to have an educated opinion on some of these kids. I do know that the Astros drafted at least one pitcher that I did not think was even a prospect, but they know far better than I do and I trust them. I also like the high schoolers late - they are basically lottery tickets. Every MLB draft, especially with less picks, is a risky proposition - but this one seems especially so, but that is how Brown has largely drafted since joining the Astros, and even with Atlanta and Toronto.
The Astros can not afford to swing and miss regarding signability of their top 10 rd guys. I'm sure they had agreements in place and knew the numbers before even taking them.
