List of Houston Astros first-round draft picks

A man in a white, pinstriped baseball uniform with "ASTROS 7" on the chest and a black batting helmet stands on a base with both hands raised.
Craig Biggio (1987) is the only first-round draft pick of the Astros with over 3000 career hits.

The Houston Astros, originally called the "Colt .45s", are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Houston, Texas. They play in the American League West division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Astros have selected 57 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft",[1] the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, and the team that had the worst record receives the first pick.[1] In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.[2] The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1961 expansion draft in which the Astros initially filled their roster.

Of the 57 players picked in the first round by Houston, 24 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 21 of these were right-handed, while 3 were left-handed. Ten catchers were selected, while nine outfielders, nine shortstops, two first basemen, and two third basemen were taken as well. The team also selected one player at second base.[3] Thirteen of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, while Texas and Tennessee follow with five and three players, respectively. They have also drafted two players from outside the United States: Carlos Correa (2012) and Ramón Castro (1994), both from Puerto Rico.[3]

The Astros won their first World Series title in 2017 with three of their first-round picks on the World Series roster—Correa, series MVP George Springer (2011), and Alex Bregman (2015). One Astros first-round pick is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Craig Biggio (1987), who played his entire 20-season MLB career (1988–2007) with the Astros and became a member of the 3,000 hit club,[4] was elected to the Hall in 2015.[5] Carlos Correa is the only Astros first-round pick to have won a Rookie of the Year award, joining Jeff Bagwell (1991, originally drafted by the Red Sox) as the two Astros to win ROY. No Astros first round pick has won a Most Valuable Player award or Cy Young Award with the team. Brad Lidge (1998) won the Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2008 with the Philadelphia Phillies, his first season after leaving the Astros.[6]

The Astros have made 12 selections in the supplemental round of the draft. They have made the first overall selection in the draft five times; in 1976, 1992, 2012, 2013, and 2014.[3][7] They have had 16 compensatory picks since the institution of the First-Year Player Draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the prior off-season,[2][8][V] or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year.[9] The Astros have failed to sign three of their first-round picks. First, pitcher Randy Scarbery (1970) did not sign though the Astros received no pick in compensation.[10] John Burke (1991) and Brady Aiken (2014) also did not sign. The Astros were given the 37th pick of the 1992 draft and a pick in the 2015 draft in compensation for Burke and Aiken, respectively.[3]

Year Links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball Draft
Position Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play
Pick Indicates the number of the pick
* Player did not sign with the Astros
§ Indicates a supplemental pick
† Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
'17 Player was a member of the Astros' 2017 championship team
'22 Player was a member of the Astros' 2022 championship team
  1. ^ a b "First-Year Player Draft Rules". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  2. ^ a b McCalvy, Adam. "Brewers offer three arbitration". Brewers.MLB.com. Milwaukee Brewers. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d "Baseball Draft: Houston Astros 1st Round Picks in the June Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  4. ^ "Craig Biggio Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  5. ^ Snyder, Matt (January 6, 2015). "Baseball Hall of Fame: Johnson, Martinez, Smoltz, Biggio elected". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  6. ^ "Brad Lidge Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  7. ^ "Baseball Draft:First overall picks in the June Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  8. ^ "First-Year Player Draft FAQ". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
  9. ^ "MLB, MLBPA reach five-year labor accord". MLB.com Players Association. October 24, 2006. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  10. ^ "First-Year Player Draft Draft Report: 1970s". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2009.