Here are Astros' Draft picks from Day 2

HOUSTON -- The Astros went position-player heavy in this year’s MLB Draft, selecting 12, to go along with one catcher and only six pitchers among their 19 picks in the Draft, which concluded Monday.

In past years, the Astros have gone pitcher-heavy in the final 10 rounds of the Draft. Last year, they took 11 pitchers among their 19 picks, but scouting director Cam Pendino said the influx of position players was a product of the way their Draft board lined up.

“We thought that specifically the college outfield crop, there were some guys who fell later than expected, and we were happy to scoop them up,” he said. “It’s trying to stay true to the board and not necessarily filling organizational needs. Having said that, we’re excited about the hitters we were able to acquire. We got some gems later on down the board.”

More on Astros' 2025 Draft:

• No. 21 pick Neyens hopes to help Astros keep wreaking AL West havoc
• Astros Draft Tracker

Here’s a rundown of the Astros’ Day 2 picks:

Nick Monistere, INF

• Round 4 (No. 126 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Southern Mississippi
• Calling card: Super athletic player with some power (he hit 21 homers this year en route to being named the Sun Belt Player of the year). A throwback-type player and competitor, who has tremendous bat speed and will play up the middle on the infield.
• Quote: “I think there’s a lot more in him, I really do. He’s got some versatility and he’s the type of personality that he don’t care [where he plays]. He just wants to win.” -- USM coach Christian Ostrander

Nick Potter, RHP

• Round 5 (No. 156 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Wichita State
• Calling card: A reliever for the Shockers, Potter will be given the chance to be developed as a starter in the Astros system. He’s a combination of an explosive athlete with an explosive fastball that’s in the upper-90s.
• Quote: “He throws strikes with the fastball. He just needs secondary development. He doesn’t have a long track record in terms of innings volume, but we think our pitching development is primed to make him better. We’ll give him a chance to be a starter, and if that doesn’t work, as a fallback, we think he has a chance to be a really nasty reliever with that fastball and that athleticism.” -- Pendino

Gabel Pentecost, RHP

• Round 6 (No. 186 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Taylor University (Upland, Ind.)
• Calling card: The Astros are good at unearthing small-school pitchers, and they found one in Pentecost, who has good shape to his fastball with plus extension and feel for a sweeper he can command. He was throwing 84 mph in high school but got stronger in college and started hitting the mid-90s earlier this year, attracting attention from scouts.
• Quote: “The athleticism was always really good and he did a great job working with our pitching coaches. He just put on strength and they got him moving more efficiently and the velo jumped. We have Trackman, which all the teams have, and once he started showing some 95s, then they looked and saw that this guy throws four pitches for a strike and the strike percentage is really high.” -- Taylor coach Kyle Gould

Jase Mitchell, C

• Round 7 (No. 216 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/R
• School: Cape Henlopen HS (Lewes, Del.)
• Calling card: Mitchell has plus bat speed with a nice power swing from the left side. He’s been around big leaguers like Jackson Merrill and trained in the Philadelphia area with big leaguers. His catching aptitude as a high schooler has the Astros thinking he can reach the big leagues.
• Quote: “High school catchers are a risky demographic normally, and if we’re going to take a high school catcher you’ve got to check the boxes –intangibly, defensively and offensively. He checks all of the boxes.” -- Pendino

Kyle Walker, 2B

• Round 8 (No. 246 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Arizona State
• Calling card: High-energy 5-foot-9 second baseman who played at three colleges, including last season at Arizona State, where he slashed .352/.449/.546 with 22 stolen bases. He has a knack of getting on base and has good bat-to-ball skills and terrific speed.
• Quote: “It means so much having a lifelong dream come true. This is only the beginning of something I think is going to be special in the organization. I’m super excited to get ready to work with those guys and try to move up as quickly as I can.” -- Walker

Kellan Oakes, RHP

• Round 9 (No. 276 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Oregon State (Corvallis, Ore.)
• Calling card: Appeared in 20 games for the Beavers, starting four, but profiles as a starter in the pros. He features a mid-90s fastball and a sweeper, which is probably his best pitch, along with a split-changeup that’s a work in progress.
• Quote: “I was super stoked. They were one of the teams that I really liked when I was going through the interview process, so I was really hyped about that, actually. I was talking to a player development guy and a strength and conditioning coach, and I really like their philosophies and I think we agreed on a lot of things.” -- Oakes

Zach Daudet, SS

• Round 10 (No. 306 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Cal Poly State San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, Calif)
• Calling card: Daudet’s favorite position is shortstop, but he’s played all around the diamond and could be a utility player. He played all seven positions (except catcher and pitcher) at the Division I level and is a hard-nosed competitor with good bat-to-ball skills.
• Quote: “I couldn’t be more excited. I can’t wait to be an Astro. Super grateful and glad for the opportunity. I can’t wait. … I went to a workout before the Draft, so I knew they had some interest and had some phone calls with them. We were talking a good amount and the workout went really well. I loved the front office and all the scouts and people I talked to there. I think it’s a great fit.” -- Daudet

Justin Thomas Jr., CF

• Round 11 (No. 336 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)
• Calling card: A plus defender in center who can really run, Thomas has some pop. He played in 62 games with 54 starts (50 in center field, four in left field) and slashed .303/.438/.515 with nine home runs and 38 RBI while batting mostly ninth in a deep lineup that reached the College World Series.
• Quote: “I'm excited. This has always been a dream come true to me and the Astros have been one of my favorite teams growing up, going back to Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick. He’s close to where I’m from [Savanna, Ga.] and watching his style of play. I’m just really blessed with having the opportunity. I wouldn’t be in the position without God, my family and my coaches and teammates so I’m really blessed and honored.”-- Thomas

Elijah Farley, OF

• Round 12 (No. 366 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/R
• School: Navarro High School (Navarro, Texas)
• Calling card: Astros scout Kevin Hart was looking at a pitcher for the opposing team and discovered Farley, who has premium bat speed from the left side. He has power and he can run, but is very raw.
• Quote: “We think we can help him, but it’s a really toolsy kid. He can dunk a basketball and do some crazy things athletically, and we think it's the type of athlete that we put in our system and see what happens. It's the type of dart throw we do in Houston and I think has paid off for us in the past. We’re really excited to take Elijah.” -- Pendino

Aubrey Smith, RHP

• Round 13 (No. 396 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: University of North Carolina at Wilmington (Wilmington, N.C.)
• Calling card: Athletic kid with a good feel for pitching while throwing from a low slot. He can manipulate his breaking ball. He threw 52 1/3 innings this year, mostly in relief, and struck out 44 batters with 11 walks while posting a 3.10 ERA.
• Quote: “We think we can help him with his fastball to throw harder, add strength and polish up his entire repertoire." -- Pendino

Josh Wakefield, OF

• Round 14 (No. 426 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/L
• School: Grand Canyon University (Phoenix)
• Calling card: Contact-oriented bat with some underlying bat speed that will allow him to hit for average. The Astros will give a chance to play center fielder after he played in right this year for Grand Canyon. He announced a transfer to Oregon State.
• Quote: “I think he's the type of guy who will do well with professional coaching. Another high makeup kid that we’re excited to land in the 14th.” -- Pendino

DJ Newman, two-way player

• Round 15 (No. 456 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio)
• Calling card: A pitcher and hitter in college, the Astros primarily like him as a bat more than a pitcher. He appeared in only 25 games this year because of injury, but hit for a high average and is a proven strike-thrower as the Friday night starter. He recently announced his intention to transfer to Tennessee.
• Quote: “We’re going to explore all avenues there [positionally]. It’s a really athletic kid who performed a little bit at Bowling Green and we’ll see if we can come to an agreement.” -- Pendino

Chase Call, OF

• Round 16 (No. 486 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: UC-Irvine (Irvine, Calif)
• Calling card: Big bat speed performer with power who slashed .315/.472/.582 with 11 homers and 49 RBIs as the Anteaters’ starting right-fielder.
• Quote: “It’s big-boy juice for a nice senior sign. We got some power this Draft. There’s no donut about it.” -- Pendino

Grayson Saunier, LHP

• Round 17 (No. 516 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/R
• School: University of Texas (Austin, Texas)
• Calling card: He was trending upwards in the Cape Cod League this summer. The Astros like the changeup and will help him improve getting lefties and righties out. A two-year starter at Ole Miss, he threw 25 2/3 innings, mostly in relief, this year for the Longhorns and posted a 3.86 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 10 walks.
• Quote: “We think we can polish up the entire arsenal and help him continue to take the next steps in terms of delivery and repertoire, but we like the value there and are excited to take Grayson.” -- Pendino

Landon Arroyos, SS

• Round 18 (No. 546 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.)
• Calling card: A long-term development project, Arroyos has real shortstop action and hands defensively, but needs to get stronger and faster. He’s committed to Georgia State.
• Quote: “The offensive outlook, we’re intrigued by, but he’s going to need to get stronger. We know that. We’re buying a really good shortstop and you can always use that.” -- Pendino

Joey McLaughlin, CF

• Round 19 (No. 576 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/L
• School: Harrah High School (Harrah, Okla.)
• Calling card: Really athletic, toolsy center-fielder and a left-handed bat with some power. He’s committed to Arkansas State.
• Quote: “The swing has come a long way over the last year and we’re impressed with the adjustments he’s been making.” -- Pendino

Curtis Hebert, RHP

• Round 20 (No. 606 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: University of Portland (Portland, Ore.)
• Calling card: A native of Alaska, he was a shortstop and pitcher at Portland and was a good athlete on the mound, which is where the Astros will keep him. He could move quickly with an expanded arsenal.
• Quote: “We think we can help him in terms of arsenal refinement. He hasn’t had a ton of pitch design work necessarily, but we think it’s a good athlete with a chance to throw harder and clean up the entire arsenal.” -- Pendino