MLB Draft expert provides hint to Astros’ plans after the first round

The 2025 MLB Draft is just a few days away and the Houston Astros clearly have a type of player they have been connected to most. Looking at most (but not all) mock drafts, Houston seems to be targeting mostly college bats with their first round pick with names like Xavier Neyens and Jace LaViolette being among the more prominent bats mentioned.

According to ESPN draft wizard Kiley McDaniel's latest MLB Draft notes, nothing has really changed in terms of what the Astros are looking for. He did add a new name to the mix in prep shortstop Tate Southisene who is slightly undersized, but his high baseball IQ allow him to get the most out of his tools and he also would be a bit off script for the Houston. However, where things get more interesting are with some names that he mentioned for later draft picks.

Draft expert gives insight into Astros plans for the middle rounds of the 2025 MLB Draft

Southisene is a really interesting name as a high school shortstop that hasn't gotten much traction as a first round candidate period in recent mock drafts. He is highly regarded, but has generally been ranked in the 40's in this class, but there could be a method to the Astros' madness in terms of their interest in him.

According to McDaniel, one of the Astros' strengths as an organization is their ability to find big leaguers in the middle rounds of the draft. In that spirit, Kiley named RHP Micah Bucknam and Matt Ferraro as options that fit the bill of diamonds in the rough that could get picked in rounds 3 or 4 who won't put a beating on Houston's bonus pool.

If Southisene is truly a first round target and the interest in Bucknam and Ferraro are real, we could see the Astros trying to get creative with their bonus pool. That could be tough given that they have the fourth smallest draft bonus pool in 2025 at $7,181,500 and there are a lot of teams wanting to pay players in later rounds with more money to do that, but don't be surprised whatsoever if we see Houston pull a rabbit out of their hat in round two for a player that, at first glance, it doesn't look like they can afford to pay. Sometimes, planning ahead with your slots can pay big dividends.

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