Astros '26 first-rounder puts power, contact to good use in red-hot start to pro career
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When the Astros' scouting department met for an early meeting in January, Logan Hughes immediately got circled on the short list of candidates for the organization’s first two picks in the July Draft.
The former Texas Tech outfielder popped up on Houston's radar throughout his sophomore season and then in the Cape Cod League.
The Astros sent multiple personnel members, including Midwest senior scouting supervisor Jim Stevenson, to see Hughes across the past year. The slugger's arrival for a pre-Draft workout in Daikin Park led to the final stamp of endorsement.
"I think he really impressed and opened a lot of people's eyes," Stevenson said. "This guy's super comfortable in his own skin, super comfortable in the cage and super comfortable in a big league ballpark."
That homefield visit sealed the deal for the Astros. They saw how he engaged with the staff and watched him put together a "tremendous" batting practice session with homers into the second deck. And that led to Houston selecting MLB's No. 42 Draft prospect with the 17th overall pick.
"This is definitely a consideration at 17 and a definite if we get to our next pick with him," Stevenson said. "Then the Draft starts and the chips start falling, and we thought he was the next best player on the board."
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The left-handed hitter impressed the organization with bat-to-ball skills and hints of more power to come. The Astros' No. 3 prospect sports a 50-grade power tool, according to MLB Pipeline. And that talent helped him compile a .333/.443/.605 slash line through 21 games in his first assignment to Single-A Fayetteville.
Hughes, who hasn't played since Thursday due to a lower-body injury, has at least one hit in all but one of his 21 games in his professional debut. He rode an 18-game hitting streak in August, posting a 1.073 OPS with 12 extra-base hits, 25 RBIs and eight stolen bases over that span.
At 5-feet-11 and 197 pounds, critics wonder whether Hughes has enough power to stick at left field or first base, but Stevenson has noticed trends of prospects not needing to have the biggest bodies to get the ball over the wall.
"The floor is really high and there's still a very high ceiling here," he said. "He's a short-arm guy, high-contact bat, with less room for swing-and-miss error."
Stevenson has noted Hughes' ability to respond to mistakes and make adjustments in his game. After an 0-for-4 performance to start the month, the outfielder quickly turned a corner and displayed both his power and an improved plate approach.
"This guy walked back to the dugout positive," Stevenson said. "There was never poor body language. He just waited his time. He's gonna get his pitch sooner or later, and that's what I think this guy really brings to the table. … I just think that this guy has that gift where in the big moments he's going to bring something special to the team and to the organization at whatever level he's at."
Stevenson also said internal evaluations consider Hughes to be a much better defender than those done outside the organization. The latter gave the outfielder below-average grades for fielding and throwing, but Stevenson has seen evidence of the athleticism in multiple positions, including first base, where Hughes has made his most pro starts (nine).
"His jumps are good. His reads are good. He catches everything. He gets in the gaps," Stevenson said. "The defense at first base is really good. It's as good as you'll find in a college guy. … We feel that way as an organization."
"It's allowed him to find some comfort," Astros Minor League field coordinator Micheal Thomas added about Hughes playing first base. "The biggest thing for us was it allowed us to get him into more games earlier and not overexpand the dynamic of what the workload looks like early on in his career."
When Thomas went to see a handful of players who made their pro debuts with the Woodpeckers, he raved about Hughes' personality. The 21-year-old prospect wore a smile "90 percent" of the time.
"From a character standpoint, a makeup standpoint, he's a guy who's going to give you everything every day," Stevenson added. "He's in a good mood all the time. He's got a super-positive mindset."