Saturday, December 06

SEATTLE -- Xavier Neyens finally spilled the beans on where he got the Astros short-sleeved pullover he wore during a Zoom interview shortly after he was selected by Houston in the first round of the MLB Draft on Sunday. He said he bought it at the team store at Daikin Park when he worked out there a few weeks ago with a handful of other players.

"I just liked the colors,” he said. “It’s something I could wear that I could work out in and stuff. I never knew if I was actually going to need to wear it or throw it in a bin.”

Neyens had the pullover on again Friday at T-Mobile Park, where he made the hour-long drive from his home in Mount Vernon, Wash., to watch batting practice on the field prior to the Astros’ series opener against the Mariners. He said will travel to Houston on Sunday and will take a physical next week before signing a contract Wednesday. Neyens will then head to West Palm Beach, Fla., to get his career underway.

"I was super, super strongly committed to Oregon State, so it was definitely going to have to be a strong offer for me to sign and play pro ball, but the Astros gave me something I could not turn down,” said Neyens, who was personable and engaging and seemed wise beyond his 18 years.

Neyens watched batting practice from behind the cage and met Astros manager Joe Espada, bench coach Omar López and hitting coach Troy Snitker, who told him he had watched a lot of film on him. He also said hello to rookie Cam Smith, taken in the first round of last year’s Draft out of Florida State. They are represented by the same agency.

“It’s nuts, really,” Neyens said. “It kind of comes fast. It’s almost a week ago that I was drafted. As a person, I don’t feel different at all. Still grinding and everything, but really excited to get to Houston in the next couple of days and get out to Florida and start grinding.”

Neyens, selected by Houston with the No. 21 overall pick, is a 6-foot-4 shortstop who has an advanced approach at the plate, big-time power potential from the left side and a strong arm. As a pitcher in high school, he was throwing 95 mph.

Neyens led his high school team to a state title this season, hitting .456 with eight home runs, 10 doubles, 27 RBIs and 49 runs scored in 28 games.

There are some swing-and-miss concerns with Neyens, but MLB Pipeline cites an “outstanding approach” that helped lead him to hit with power to all fields as a high schooler, which is where he’s improved the most.

"I really like his athleticism, really sweet swing from the left side,” Espada said. “Excited to meet him and happy we had the opportunity to talk to him. There were some people in the [Draft] room who were not sure if he was going to make it [to pick 21].”

MLB Pipeline’s No. 25 Draft prospect and the 10th-best high school position player, Neyens had some of the best raw power of any hitter in this Draft, especially among high school players. MLB Pipeline gives Neyens a 65 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale, one of the top power grades in this year’s Draft class.

The Astros are expected to have most, if not all 19, of their Draft picks in Houston this week to take physicals and sign.

“It’s something you dream of, especially for me,” Neyens said. “I’m a guy that’s obsessed with the grind. I want to get out there, I want to get reps in. I want to get reps at shortstop, I want to get hitting reps in, work with new coaches and stuff. For that to be in the future, I’m super, super excited.”

Neyens, who grew up a Mariners fan, was aiming to get to the ballpark Friday in time to watch Cal Raleigh, the Major League home run leader and Home Run Derby champion, take batting practice. Some bad traffic prevented that, but seeing Jose Altuve, Smith and the rest of the Astros was the day’s best highlight.

"I’m just excited to watch the Astros,” he said, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type deal.”

With starting center fielder Jake Meyers on the injured list with a calf strain, Chas McCormick will be getting some starts at the position in the next few weeks. McCormick was activated from the injured list prior to Friday’s game after going 4-for-23 with two home runs in six Minor League rehab games (five with Triple-A Sugar Land). He missed 40 games with a left oblique strain.

McCormick was hitting .256 (11-for-43) with the Astros, and getting him back to his 2023 form at the plate would be a huge development for the offense.

"When he’s at his best, he’s driving the ball to right-center-field,” Espada said. “He did some of that during his rehab assignment, but I think that’s when he’s at his best. He can do some stuff on the bases, he’s a real threat to hit the ball of the ballpark and walks. We need to get him going and he’s in a really good spot.”

Outfielder Joseph Sullivan, the Astros’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi on Friday. A seventh-round pick in last year’s MLB Draft from South Alabama, Sullivan was hitting .233 with 11 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 35 RBIs and 34 steals in 75 games at High-A Asheville.

Sullivan, a 23-year-old left-handed hitter, led the South Atlantic League with 65 walks, producing a .411 on-base average. Sullivan’s grandfather, Pat Sullivan, won the Heisman Trophy in 1971, starring at quarterback for Auburn before playing for Atlanta, Washington and San Francisco in the NFL. He then served as head football coach at TCU and Samford. Joseph’s dad, Pat Jr., played quarterback at Auburn and TCU.

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