The 2025 MLB Draft officially got underway on Sunday, with the first three rounds taking place during the last day before the MLB All-Star Break.
Heading into this year’s draft, there was a lot of intrigue on what would happen at the top of the board, as there wasn’t a clear-cut favorite to go No. 1 overall. However, Houston Astros fans did not have to worry about that.
The Astros had the 21st overall pick in the first round, along with the No. 95 overall pick in the third round. As we know, a lot of these guys being selected will not be in the majors for at least a few years.
That said, if you can find the next Hunter Brown, who was a fifth-round pick in 2019, you could change the trajectory of your franchise or keep that contending window open. Nonetheless, with the No. 21 overall pick, the Astros took high school shortstop/third baseman Xavier Neyens out of Mount Vernon HS in Washington State.
New Astros Infielder Xavier Neyens Reacts to Being Drafted by Houston
After the pick was made, Neyens went to social media to express his excitement about joining the organization, tweeting “LETS GO!!”
LETS GO!! https://t.co/WdKppBGc53
— Xavier Neyens (@XNeyens) July 14, 2025
In the days leading up to the draft, the latest mocks had Neyens being selected between No. 25 and 30, so the Astros saw something that they liked about the kid’s game. In ESPN’s live draft tracker, Dan Mullen pointed out that if everything goes right with Neyens, he’s an enticing prospect.
However, Mullen also cautioned that Houston will need to be patient with the left-handed hitting infielder.
"The everything-goes-right-version of Neyens is a very enticing prospect -- a true left-handed slugger with game-altering home run power. But, at the very least, it's going to take some time and patience from the Astros in waiting for Neyens, who hasn't faced a whole lot of top-end talent as a Washington prep prospect and comes with some serious questions about his contact ability, to put it all together."
As we said earlier, Stros fans won’t see Neyens with the big league club at least for a few years, as he’s coming straight out of high school. That said, it's good to see the kid’s dream come true as he’ll begin to take the next steps in his career.