MLB Pipeline mock draft has Astros landing high school masher with big potential

When the Houston Astros are on the clock during 2025 MLB Draft, general manager Dana Brown will be tasked with restocking a farm system that lacks both depth and high-end talent. In fact, MLB.com ranked the Houston system just one spot from rock bottom before the season began, and that was before Cam Smith graduated from prospect status.

Building back up the minor league talent will be crucial as Houston tries to embrace a youth movement that will further thin out the upper levels and will require some real big swings to bring it back to its past glory.

Lest we forget, many key cogs from the Astros' run of dominance over the past decade were of the homegrown variety. Sitting at No. 21, Brown will have an interesting decision to make. Does he opt for a more polished college player who may provide a higher floor but lower ceiling? Or does he take the upside play and opt to pick a teenager fresh out of high school that will bring more boom-or-bust potential into the system?

The latest MLB Pipeline mock draft has Brown and the Astros taking the latter path, selecting high school third baseman Gavin Fien.

High school third baseman would bring incredible offensive potential into the Astros' system

Fien's older brother, Dylan, was a seventh-round pick out of high school for the division rival Athletics last season, showcasing the family's athletic prowess. Now, little brother has a chance to go much higher, and his ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 26 overall player in this draft class.

According to their scouting report, many believe that Fien is the best prep hitter in this class, and he's put on a show everywhere he's played. Standing at 6-foot-3, he has a mature body for his age that projects for him to add more muscle and become an even more powerful hitter than he already is.

A consistent line drive approach indicates that he has the potential to be a force at the plate beyond just the power. It would not be a surprise to see Fien wind up being someone who can hit for both a high average while being a consistent long ball threat, which should have Astros fans salivating.

Defensively, he has the arm to play the hot corner, though as he continues to fill out, a move to the outfield may not be out of the question. In either case, his youth means he'll require some time and patience to move through the system. This mock of Fien to the Astros is similar to last month's Baseball America prediction that forecast the Astros taking a similar high school bat in Xavier Neyens.

Projections like these make it clear that the industry believes Brown's philosophy to rebuild the farm is to look for the highest upside despite the risk. To that end, Fien fits the bill beautifully as potentially the top overall high school bat, even though there's a lot of risk associated with taking a player so young. The most important traits the Astros should be looking for are talent and upside, and those are two things that Fien provides in spades.

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