Astros Double Up with College Stars in Latest MLB 2026 Mock Draft

The Houston Astros have Hunter Brown to thank for the additional first-round selection they have in July’s MLB draft.

Brown, who was drafted by the Astros in the fifth-round in 2019, was a Cy Young finalist in the American League last year. That triggered a prospect promotion incentive pick, which is a reward for MLB teams that develop talent, keep it and watch them either claim league awards or finish as the finalist for league awards before they hit arbitration.

Thanks to Brown, the Astros have the No. 28 overall pick, which is sandwiched between the first and second round, along with their No. 17 pick.

Astros’ Latest Mock Draft

Five strikeouts through two for @USC_Baseball lefty Mason Edwards. Velo came down to 91-93 in the second but the heater still has ample carry and picked up another whiff. Ended the inning with a dirty 82 mph breaking ball. Buckled the hitter with it twice in the AB. pic.twitter.com/CXiQVVTEEs
— Jacob Rudner (@JacobRudner) March 21, 2026

Baseball America (subscription required) released its second mock draft of this cycle and projected both of Houston’s selections and believes the Astros will select a pair of college players — Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell and USC pitcher Mason Edwards.

Bell’s pick comes with a slot bonus of $4.868 million and the Astros have a salary pool of $13.712 million. While he’s a .354 hitter this season, he has an impressive on-base percentage of .567, which is nearly as high as his slugging percentage (.569). That’s because he draws a walk one of out of every four plate appearances. He could be seen as a potential replacement for Jeremy Peña if he leaves in free agency.

Edwards would give Houston a left-handed starting option once he’s fully developed and his pick comes with a slot bonus of $3.363 million. The third-year collegiate is having an incredible season, as he is 6-0 with a 1.10 ERA for the Trojans. Batters hare hitting only .104 against him and he’s struck out 85 hitters in 49 innings.

The Astros’ sign stealing scandal, which was exposed after the 2019 World Series, cost Houston some of its draft capital as it gave up both its 2020 and 2021 first-round picks as punishment. Since then, the Astros have drafted four players in the first round, two of which have already made it to the Majors.

Houston selected Tennessee outfielder Drew Gilbert in the first round in 2022 but used him to re-acquire Justin Verlander in 2023 in a trade with the New York Mets. Gilbert was dealt to the San Francisco Giants last season and made his MLB debut. He’s back in Triple-A right now. In 2023 the Astros selected Houston native Brice Matthews out of Nebraska. The infielder made his MLB debut in 2025 and made this year’s opening day roster after he showed he could play outfield.

The Astros drafted a future catcher in Walker Janek in 2024 out of Sam Houston. He’s already participated in Major League spring training and is on pace to be an option for Houston sometime next season. Last year’s first-round pick was Mount Vernon, Wash., prep star Xavier Neyens, who just made his professional debut at Class-A Fayetteville this month.

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