The Astros addressed a lot of needs in this year's draft. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
The Houston Astros entered the 2025 MLB Draft with limited capital but a clear objective: find talent that can help sustain their winning ways without needing a full organizational reboot. With just under $7.2 million in bonus pool money and two forfeited picks, lost when they signed slugger Christian Walker, the Astros needed to be smart, aggressive, and a little bold. They were all three.
A swing on star power
With the 21st overall pick, Houston selected Xavier Neyens, a powerful left-handed high school bat from Mt. Vernon, Washington. At 6-foot-4, Neyens is raw but loaded with tools, a slugger with plus power and the kind of bat speed that turns heads.
He’s the Astros’ first high school position player taken in the first round in a decade.
If Neyens develops as expected, he could be the next cornerstone in the post-Altuve/Bregman era. Via: MLB.com:
It’s possible we’ll look back at this first round and realize that the Astros got the best power hitter in the class. At times, Neyens has looked like an elite hitter who’d easily get to that pop, and at times the swing-and-miss tendencies concerned scouts, which is why he didn’t end up closer to the top of the first round. He was announced as a shortstop, but his size (6-foot-4) and his arm will profile best at third base.
Their next big swing came in the third round with Ethan Frey, an outfielder/DH from LSU who was one of the most imposing college hitters in the country.
He blasted 13 home runs in the SEC and helped lead the Tigers to a championship.
Filling the middle
In the fourth round, the Astros grabbed Nick Monistere, an infielder/outfielder out of Southern Miss who won Sun Belt Player of the Year honors.
If Kendall likes the pick, I like the pick. https://t.co/NQKqEHFxtV
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) July 14, 2025
He doesn’t jump off the page with tools, but he rakes, hitting .323 with 21 home runs this past season, and plays with a chip on his shoulder.
They followed that up with Nick Potter, a right-handed reliever from Wichita State. He projects as a fast-moving bullpen piece, already showing a mature approach and a “fastball that was regularly clocked in the upper-90s and touched 100 miles per hour.”
From there, Houston doubled down on pitching depth and versatility. They took Gabel Pentecost, a Division II flamethrower, Jase Mitchell, a high school catcher with upside, and a host of college arms, all in hopes of finding the next Spencer Arrighetti or Hunter Brown.
Strategy in motion
Missing multiple picks, Houston leaned into two things: ceiling and speed to the majors. Neyens brings the first, Frey and Monistere the second. And as they’ve shown in recent years, the Astros can develop arms with late-round pedigree into major league contributors.
The Astros didn’t walk away with flashy headlines, they weren’t drafting in the top 10. But they leave the 2025 draft with a clear direction: keep the farm alive with bats that can produce and arms that can fill in the gaps, especially with the club managing injuries and an aging core.
If Neyens becomes the slugger they hope, and if Frey or Monistere climbs fast, this draft could be another example of Houston turning limited resources into lasting impact.
You can see the full draft tracker here.
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Houston Texans find positives despite preseason defeat in Minnesota
Aug 11, 2025, 10:25 am
J.J. McCarthy was solid in his brief return for the Vikings, going 4 of 7 for 30 yards while leading a scoring drive in his only series and Minnesota topped the Houston Texans 20-10 on Saturday in the teams’ preseason opener.
McCarthy, who missed all of his rookie season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee in last year’s first preseason game, took the field to a rousing ovation from the home crowd.
The first-round pick in last year’s NFL draft out of Michigan completed his first four passes, three to Jordan Addison, who made a sliding grab for an 18-yard gain on the third. McCarthy also ran 8 yards for a first down on fourth-and-4 at the Texans 43 to keep alive a 58-yard scoring drive capped by Will Reichard’s 48-yard field goal that put the Vikings up 3-0.
“It was great to get things done from an operational standpoint,” McCarthy said. “There’s a lot we can build on off that — a lot more areas we can grow, me specifically, for sure. But I was really happy to string together (a drive) and get some points on the board.”
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell also felt good about what he saw from his starting quarterback.
“We don’t do a lot of game-planning for these games,” O’Connell said. “But we also want to give our guys a chance to go out there and have success. So there are going to be some plays where guys have to rise up and make some plays above the scheme, and he did that a couple of times with his legs.
“It didn’t really feel like he put the ball at harm’s risk very much in that sequence of plays.”
The Texans responded on their own opening possession. Davis Mills, who got the start at quarterback after head coach DeMeco Ryans elected to sit starter C.J. Stroud, marched his team 74 yards in 10 plays to score on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Berrios that put his team in front 7-3.
“I was really pleased with our first offensive group,” Ryans said. “The way they stepped out very efficiently. I liked everybody just being very calm and composed. Davis did an excellent job of driving the ball down the field, commanding the huddle, putting the ball in really good placement.”
McCarthy, meanwhile, was replaced by backup Sam Howell before the Vikings’ second possession. Howell played the rest of the first half, finishing 11 of 13 for 105 yards. He led Minnesota to a pair of scores: a 38-yard field goal by Reichard and his own 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Vikings a 13-7 halftime lead.
Not all went the Vikings way, however. Wide receiver Rondale Moore, signed this offseason, was carted from the field after suffering what O’Connell said appears to be a serious left knee injury on a punt return early in the second quarter. He’ll have an MRI on Sunday.
Moore, who missed the entire 2024 season while with Atlanta after injuring a knee in the preseason, was expected to add receiving depth for Minnesota. The Vikings will be without Addison for the first three games of the regular season after he was suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
“It’s heartbreaking,” O’Connell said of Moore’s injury. “I think anybody in the ballpark (today) could feel the emotion. It’s one of the most painful things for me as a head coach. I make a life out of trying to leave others better than I found them, and in that particular situation, there’s really nothing you can do.”
Houston’s final two drives ended in interceptions of rookie Max Brosmer by Kahlef Hailassie, sealing a win for the Vikings in McCarthy’s first game in almost exactly a year.
“It felt amazing being back out there,” said McCarthy, whose team has a pair of joint practices with the New England Patriots scheduled for this coming week. “Just really playing football again and being out there with the guys. There’s nothing like it. I loved the way we played as a group collectively.”
Sitting out
Among the several Vikings veterans who didn’t play were wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who’s still recovering from a mild left hamstring strain he suffered late last month, and offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, who continues to work his way back from a season-ending knee injury a year ago.
Houston running back Nick Chubb, who signed with the team in the offseason, didn’t play. He missed practice time during the week after taking a shot to the head.
Injuries
O’Connell said the Vikings also lost rookie center Zeke Correll to what X-rays showed was a right ankle fracture in the second half.
Up next
Texans: Host the Carolina Panthers next Saturday.
Vikings: Host the Patriots next Saturday.
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