14-07-2025
Astros buck precedent and draft prep infielder Xavier Neyens with No. 21 pick
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros strayed from precedent to pluck one of the most tantalizing prep power hitters available in the MLB Draft.
After selecting a college position player with their past five first-round picks, the Astros chose Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School infielder Xavier Neyens with the 21st pick Sunday, supplying the organization with a left-handed bat it believes can one day play in the middle of a major-league order.
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'It's that type of potential,' Astros amateur scouting director Cam Pendino said. 'Obviously, it's a high school bat, but we think with our hitting development, we're really excited to give this ball of clay in Xavier over to them, and it has a chance to be a special offensive package.'
The Athletic's Keith Law wrote Neyens, 18, 'has some of the best raw power of anyone in the high school class this year.' Law ranked Neyens No. 17 in his pre-draft ranking of the Top 100 prospects. Baseball America ranked Neyens No. 19, and pegged him No. 25.
Neyens is committed to play college baseball at Oregon State, but teams rarely draft players in the first round without assurances they will forgo their commitments to sign professional contracts. Slot value for Neyens' pick is $4,122,500.
Neyens pitched and played infield in high school, but his professional future is just as a position player. Though his defensive future is fluid, almost all of Neyens' value is tied to an offensive profile with plus raw power and pristine plate discipline.
'His feel for the (strike) zone and his ability to spit on bad pitches and have an understanding of what he's trying to do at the plate and what he's trying to hunt, that's really stood out over the past year,' Pendino said. 'It's a skill that we're projecting on, but it gives him a chance to be a really special hitter.'
The Astros had not selected a high school position player with their first-round pick since taking Kyle Tucker fifth in 2015. Neyens is the first high school infielder taken by Houston in the first round since Carlos Correa went first in 2012.
Comparing any amateur player to Correa is silly, but based on size alone, the similarities between him and Neyens are difficult to ignore. Correa stands 6-3, weighs 220 pounds and patrols the left side of the infield. Neyens is listed at 6-4, 210 pounds and will begin his professional career at shortstop.
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'We'll give him every opportunity to play shortstop, we see it as a strong potential there, but if not, third base would be an obvious fallback,' Pendino said. 'We think he would be a really, really good third baseman because of the actions and the arm. We're going to give him every chance to stick at shortstop until he proves us wrong because we think he is a shortstop and we're excited about that potential.'
Welcome to H-Town, Xavier!#BuiltForThis x #MLBDraft
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 13, 2025
Before picking Neyens on Sunday, the Astros' past six first-round selections had been college players, unsurprising due to the smaller bonus pools with which they operated. The 21st pick Houston made Sunday was its highest since it selected pitcher J.B. Bukauskas with the 17th choice in the 2017 draft.
The Astros started scouting Neyens as an underclassman before following him along the showcase circuit. Tim Costic, the club's senior scouting supervisor on the West Coast, took the initial lead before bringing on other members of the team's amateur scouting infrastructure.
Regional cross-checker Jamie Lehman, senior director of amateur scouting Deric Ladnier and assistant general manager Charles Cook all scouted Neyens in person during a trip to the Pacific Northwest, Pendino said.
Neyens attended the Astros' pre-draft workout at Daikin Park, where he met general manager Dana Brown, who makes it an annual priority to see Houston's first-round pick before their selection.
'He put on a show,' Pendino said of Neyens' visit to Daikin Park. 'He did his thing. It was pretty impressive what he was able to do.'
