Baseball America’s 2026 MLB Draft report card for the Astros paints a class built on contact, polish and a few standout tools that could move quickly.
Texas Tech outfielder Logan Hughes, the club’s first pick, showed up all over the board. He was named best pure hitter and best power hitter in Houston’s class, a nod to a profile that already plays in games.
Hughes hit .337 in his college career and struck out just 12.1% of the time, then backed it up with 47 home runs over three seasons and strong exit velocities. He kept rolling after the draft, too, earning best pro debut honors by slashing .333/.443/.605 with four home runs and eight doubles in 21 games with Low-A Fayetteville.
The underlying batted-ball data matched the production, and he continued to look like one of the draft’s most impressive hit-power combinations.
The Astros also leaned into polish with their next two college selections. Florida State left-hander Wes Mendes, taken second, was recognized for having the best secondary pitch in the class of Astros picks.
His low-80s changeup was his best swing-and-miss weapon this spring, drew plus grades from scouts, and showed real separation from his fastball with a 12 mph gap and more than 11 inches of induced vertical break. Notre Dame right-hander Jack Radel, Houston’s PPI pick, earned best fastball thanks to a heater that sat 94 mph and reached 98, with solid riding life and the command to land it for strikes.
Georgia prep shortstop Keon Johnson, the Astros’ third-rounder, showed up in a pair of categories. He was tabbed as the best defensive player in the class and also gave Houston another name for best pure hitter.
Johnson’s swing is simple from the right side, and the report points to barrel skill that could make him an above-average hitter. At shortstop, he brings textbook actions and a strong arm, the kind of defender who may not wow with twitch but still handles the routine and then some.
There was power, too, beyond Hughes. Kansas prep infielder Beau Peterson, Houston’s fourth-round competitive balance pick, was singled out as the best athlete in the class.
He has strength, power upside and enough arm to matter on both sides of the ball. The report notes that his plus arm could fit at third base, but it also helped him reach 94 mph as a pitcher, along with a solid slider.
He might have been able to play both ways in college.
Speed belonged to South Florida outfielder Ryan Pruitt, Houston’s ninth-rounder, who has been a high-volume basestealer everywhere he’s gone. The path ran through Western Texas JC in 2023, Yavapai (Ariz.) JC in 2024, then two seasons at South Florida in 2025 and 2026.
The Astros’ class also included a few more unusual backstories. California right-hander Gavin Eddy, a fifth-round pick, broke out in 2026 and posted the fourth-best ERA among ACC pitchers.
His father, Ryan, played college football at Oregon. Illinois State right-hander Michael Addari, Houston’s sixth-rounder, has a mother, Debby, who was a track and field athlete at Western Illinois.
Olivet right-hander Bryan Carney, a seventh-round pick from a Division III program, finished his four-year career as the school’s all-time strikeouts leader with 288 and set the single-season mark with 122 in 2026.
For a class with a chance to move, Houston’s first three college picks stood out. Hughes, Radel and Mendes were all identified as players with the polish to advance quickly.
And down the board, Middle Tennessee State outfielder Owen Nowak was the Astros’ best 11th-round-or-later pick, or NDFA. He hit .319/.437/.474 this spring with just a 4.2% strikeout rate, a top-five mark among qualified Division I hitters, and carried that contact skill into pro ball by hitting .303/.424/.447 in 22 games with Low-A Fayetteville.
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