HOUSTON -- For the second year in a row, the Astros won’t have a pick in the first or second round of the MLB Draft as part of the punishment handed down by Major League Baseball last year in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal, meaning the heart of Houston’s selections will come on Day 2.

Though the Draft begins on Sunday, the Astros’ first selection will occur with the No. 87 overall pick in the third round on Monday. The Astros did get a compensation pick for losing George Springer to the Blue Jays in free agency, with pick No. 132 at the end of fourth round.

• MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 250 list

“In any year, we’re focused on getting the base talent we have,” Astros amateur scouting director Kris Gross said. “We don’t really do it to a level where you’re looking to fill a need. We’re looking to get the best prospects and two, three, four years down the road they show up in whatever capacity, whatever position they play.”

• The Draft begins at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday (ESPN/MLB.com)
• The Astros’ first pick is No. 87 overall (third round)
• The Astros’ bonus pool is $2,940,600

The Astros have one of the smaller scouting staffs to begin with, which meant they didn’t have to make any drastic alternations to their amateur scouting methods during the pandemic. The challenge is finding out what high school and college players have been up to the past two months since their seasons ended. That wasn’t the case when the Draft was held in early June.

“Everybody is going to be getting ramped up a little different and will be monitored a little different and stuff like that,” Gross said.

This year’s Draft is full of quality high school position players, though the Astros have drafted college heavy in recent years. There is also a wealth of pitching velocity that will go deep into the Draft.

“A lot of college guys who didn’t fit in the top round last year, some of those guys made strides this year and are throwing the ball a lot better,” Gross said. “I think college pitching depth is one of the things that stands out with this Draft.”

Day 1 of the 2021 Draft will take place live at Denver’s Bellco Theatre on Sunday. It will feature the first 36 picks and will air on MLB Network and ESPN at 6 p.m. CT. Day 2, which will span rounds 2-10, begins at noon CT on Monday. The Draft will conclude with rounds 11-20 on Tuesday, starting at 11 a.m. ET. MLB.com will simulcast MLB Network’s broadcast and provide live coverage on all three days.

To view when teams pick, the Top 200 Prospects list, mock drafts from analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, scouting video and more, visit MLB.com/Draft. Follow @MLBDraft and @MLBDraftTracker on Twitter to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying and to get each pick as it’s made.