Monday, July 13

ARLINGTON -- With their first two picks in Saturday’s MLB Draft, the Astros selected a pair of polished college players in Texas Tech outfielder Logan Hughes and Notre Dame right-hander Jack Radel they believe can move quickly through the system and make an impact on the Major League club.

Those were just two of five picks the Astros took on the first day of the Draft, with the Astros owning four picks inside the Top 100 and boasting their biggest bonus pool since 2015. It’s perhaps Houston’s most important Draft since that same year, when they took a pair of future stars in Alex Bregman at No. 2 overall and Kyle Tucker at No. 5.

If the Astros can get close to the same return on their first two picks this year, the Draft will be a success. Hughes was taken No. 17 overall and Radel was selected with No. 28 pick, a Prospect Promotion Incentive pick they received for Hunter Brown finishing third in the 2025 AL Cy Young voting.

Hughes, a left-handed hitter, can play the corner outfield spots and also will get some time at first base in the Houston system, said Astros amateur scouting director Cam Pendino. The No. 42 Draft prospect batted .375 with 18 home runs and 71 RBIs last season at Texas Tech and showed good plate discipline with 50 walks and only 33 strikeouts.

“We view him as one of the best bats in the Draft,” Pendino said. “For him to fall to pick 17, we were super fired up to take him there. It’s a really special blend of making high-quality contact, controlling the strike zone, limiting swing and miss. He really damages the fastball as well as anybody in the class. We think it’s a potential middle-of-the-order bat.”

For full coverage of the Astros' No. 1 pick, click here >>

After taking Hughes with their top selection, the Astros made four more picks in rounds two through four: 

Round 2, pick 57: Wes Mendes, LHP, Florida State

Round 3, pick 93: Keon Johnson, SS, Macon First Presbyterian (Ga.)

Round 4, Pick 121: Kam Durnin, SS, Missouri

Round 4, Pick 133: Beau Peterson, 3B, Mill Valley (Kan.)

Day 2 of the Draft saw the Astros take 16 players in rounds five through 20. For complete coverage of every Draft pick from Day 1, players to watch from Day 2 and more, click here >>.

Yordan Alvarez, who will enter the All-Star break as the front-runner to win the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award, is Houston’s lone All-Star representative this year, having been voted as the starter at designated hitter. Alvarez clubbed his 31th homer Saturday (200th of his career) and is on pace to threaten Jeff Bagwell’s club record of 47 homers set in 2000. No Astros player has hit 40 homers since Alex Bregman (41) in 2019.

Alvarez also has a chance to become the first Astros player to lead the league -- NL or AL -- in home runs. He has been carrying the Astros offensively and is making a run at the AL Triple Crown.

“This is probably the best first half of a position player in the Major Leagues,” manager Joe Espada said.

Alvarez made history when he hit a two-run home run and a grand slam in the first inning of a game in Kansas City on June 13, but his MVP moment came just before the July 4 fireworks were set off in Houston. He homered twice in a game against the Rays, including a two-run, walk-off homer that was as dramatic as they come.

• 2026 T-Mobile Home Run Derby: Tonight, 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET on Netflix

• Set a reminder on Netflix (coverage begins 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET) 

• 2026 All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Mastercard (Tuesday, 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m ET on MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB App)

• 2026 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (Tuesday, 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET on FOX)

• Complete All-Star Game rosters

To subscribe to Astros Beat, visit this page and mark "Astros Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Astros or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (gahleexholly.hdhask@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.