<\/p>\n
After selecting high schooler Xavier Neyens in the first round last year, the Astros will have two picks in the first 28 selections when the MLB draft begins Saturday in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Daniel Shirey\/MLB Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Major League Baseball’s two-day draft begins Saturday in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The Houston Astros<\/a> will have six picks on the first day, including two in the top 28. The Chicago White Sox pick first, with Tampa Bay, Minnesota, San Francisco and Pittsburgh rounding out the top five. Click here<\/a> for the full draft order.<\/p>\n Here’s what you need to know about the draft and the\u00a0Astros’ picks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Draft schedule<\/p>\n Saturday: Rounds 1-4 How to watch<\/p>\n Picks 1-10: Noon Saturday, NBC and Peacock Sunday: 10:30 a.m., MLB.com and MLB TV<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Astros’ picks<\/p>\n Texas college players to watch\u00a0<\/p>\n Gavin Grahovac, INF, Texas A&M\u00a0<\/p>\n Grahovac, a junior,\u00a0 paced the Aggies lasts season with 78 hits, 76 runs scored, 22 home runs and 74 RBIs while slashing .339\/.429\/.722. The Orange, Calif., native earned first-team All-SEC honors, was named an NCBWA third-team All-American and took home SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, making him one of the most complete players in this year\u2019s draft class.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Christopher Hacopian, INF, Texas A&M\u00a0<\/p>\n After transferring from Maryland, Hacopian quickly became one of the Aggies\u2019 most reliable hitters. He started all 42 games he appeared in, batting .319 with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs while posting a .405 on-base and .578 slugging percentages. His production earned him first-team All-SEC honors in 2026 and established him as one of the top middle infielders available.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carson Tinney, C, University of Texas\u00a0<\/p>\n After spending two seasons at Notre Dame, Tinney transferred to Texas and immediately became one of the nation\u2019s top offensive catchers. He hit .326 with 22 home runs, 58 RBIs and a .483 on-base percentage in 61 games. Tinney\u2019s combination of power, patience at the plate and ability to stay behind the plate has made him one of the more intriguing catching prospects available.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ruger Riojas, RHP, University of Texas\u00a0<\/p>\n Rojas transferred to Texas after beginning his collegiate career at UTSA and developed into the Longhorns\u2019 ace in 2026. The Wimberley native struck out 120 batters over 81\u2154 innings while finishing 6-2 with a 3.97 ERA in 17 starts. His ability to miss bats, paired with an improving pitch mix, has helped elevate him up draft boards heading into the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Tre Broussard, outfielder, University of Houston\u00a0<\/p>\n The Houston native enjoyed a breakout season for the Cougars after beginning his collegiate career in the Texas Collegiate League. Broussard hit .344 with a .433 on-base percentage while playing primarily center and left field. Although he hit only three home runs, his speed, defensive versatility and ability to consistently reach base make him an intriguing prospect for clubs looking for athletic outfield depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sawyer Strosnider, OF, TCU\u00a0<\/p>\n In two seasons with the Horned Frogs, he has batted .315 with 24 home runs, 98 RBIs and a .623 slugging percentage. His combination of athleticism, power potential and age gives him significant upside if he enters professional baseball.\u00a0<\/p>\n High school prospects\u00a0<\/p>\n C.J. Sampson, RHP\/INF, Tomball<\/p>\n Sampson, who is the son of former Astros pitcher Chris Sampson, enters the draft as one of the top high school prospects in Texas after leading Tomball to a 6A Division II state championship and earning the tournament\u2019s Most Valuable Player award. He was also named Houston\u2019s No. 1 Athlete by the Houston Chronicle and is committed to Texas A&M, though he is widely projected to be selected within the first five rounds.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A true two-way standout, Sampson dominated on the mound during his senior season, posting a 1.00 ERA with 106 strikeouts over 83\u2153 innings while compiling a 13-1 record. At the plate, he hit .488 with a .610 on-base percentage, six home runs and 32 RBIs, giving professional clubs the option of developing him as a pitcher or position player.<\/p>\n Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian<\/p>\n Emerson enters the draft as one of the nation\u2019s premier prep prospects. MLB Pipeline gives him an overall scouting grade of 65 and praises his advanced approach at the plate, mature decision-making and polished all-around game. ESPN ranks him No. 2 among its Top 250 draft prospects.\u00a0<\/p>\n Emerson committed to Texas in November 2024 after flipping his commitment from TCU, but he is expected to be selected early enough that professional baseball could prove difficult to pass up.<\/p>\n Brody Bumila, LHP, Bishop Feehan High School (Attleboro, Mass.)<\/p>\n Bumila\u2019s draft stock has become one of the biggest stories leading into the weekend. The left-hander recently disclosed MRI results to MLB clubs showing a UCL injury in his left throwing arm. He previously underwent internal brace surgery on the same arm in 2024, leaving teams to weigh his long-term upside against the medical risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even with the injury concerns, Bumila remains one of the most talented prep pitchers in the class, and it will be worth watching whether a club is willing to invest in his future or whether he ultimately honors his commitment to Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After selecting high schooler Xavier Neyens in the first round last year, the Astros will have two picks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":791352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-791351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Sunday: Rounds 5-20<\/p>\n
Picks 11-40: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, MLB Network, MLB TV and MLB.com
Picks 41-135: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, MLB.com<\/p>\n