Astros nab Texas Tech outfielder Logan Hughes with No. 17 pick

ARLINGTON -- Logan Hughes, a left-handed hitting outfielder who batted .375 with 18 home runs and 71 RBIs and showed a good eye at the plate last season for Texas Tech, was selected by the Astros with their first pick Saturday in the first round (No. 17 overall) in the MLB Draft.

The Astros, who have their biggest bonus pool since 2015 and have four picks inside the Top 100 in the Draft, took Notre Dame right-hander Jack Radel with the No. 28 pick, a Prospect Promotion Incentive pick they received for Hunter Brown finishing third in the 2025 AL Cy Young voting.

Hughes grades as a 55 hit and power tool on the 20-80 scouting scale by MLB Pipeline. He spent two seasons at Tech after transferring from Stetson University in Florida, which is where he grew up. He hit 37 homers in two seasons with the Red Raiders and continued to control the strike zone and hit the ball hard in the Cape Cod League last summer, earning all-star accolades and helping Bourne win its third title in four years.

He's an offensive-minded left fielder who draws comparisons to Rusty Greer and Athletics 2025 second-round pick Devin Taylor. Hughes was the No. 42 Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Hughes scores well analytically because he makes good swing decisions and a lot of contact against all types of pitches, producing a lot of hard line drives. He has a pretty left-handed swing that's compact and quick, and he possesses plus raw power. With his hitting ability, he should be able to make adjustments to allow him to launch balls to his pull side more frequently and get to 20-25 homers per season.

His 37 homers in two seasons in Lubbock were second all-time in Texas Tech history and he drew 50 walks and struck out only 33 times. He scored 68 runs in 55 games.

Radel, a 6-foot-5 right-hander from Sioux Falls, S.D., went 8-4 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and .206 batting average against in 87 2/3 innings last season for Notre Dame, with 116 strikeouts and only 22 walks. He was the No. 44 Draft prospect.

He has added a couple of ticks of velocity and picked up a cutter as a junior, allowing him to miss more bats than ever and giving him a chance to become Notre Dame's first pitching first-rounder since Aaron Heilman in 2001.

Radel's riding fastball now sits at 93-95 mph and touches 98 while holding velocity deep into games. He's doing a better job of locating a mid-80s slider with depth that has become a solid offering, while his new upper-80s cutter elicits plenty of chases. He lands his 78-82 mph curveball for strikes and mixes in an upper-80s changeup with fade and sink against left-handers.

Though Radel doesn't have a true plus offering and his pitch shapes are fairly ordinary, he succeeds because of his pitchability and competitiveness. Combining a high release point with good extension gives batters a different look and he pounds the strike zone. He's a high-floor starter who could fit into the middle of a rotation.