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", 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. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. 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. 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.

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, was elected to the Hall in . 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.

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. 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, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. 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. 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.

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

Picks

YearNamePosition School (Location)Pick Ref 1965 Shortstop Atwater High School(Atwater, California) 1966 Right-handed pitcher Wilson High School(Portland, Oregon) 1967 First baseman Northwestern High School(Detroit, Michigan) 1968 Catcher Hutchinson Technical High School(Buffalo, New York) 1969 Right-handed pitcher Lincoln High School(Ruston, Louisiana) 1970 * Right-handed pitcher Roosevelt High School(Fresno, California) 1971 Shortstop Arcadia High School (Arcadia, California) 12 1972 Outfielder South Houston High School(South Houston, Texas) 1973 Shortstop Longview High School(Longview, Texas) 20 1974 Outfielder Cabrillo High School(Lompoc, California) 15 1975 Right-handed pitcher Lipscomb University(Nashville, Tennessee) 14 1976 Left-handed pitcher Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 1977 Shortstop Montclair High School(Montclair, California) 14 1978 Right-handed pitcher University of Southern California(Los Angeles, California) 11 1979 Catcher Punxsutawney High School(Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania) 1980 1981 1982 Outfielder Grossmont High School(El Cajon, California) 15 1983 Catcher Oklahoma State University–Stillwater(Stillwater, Oklahoma) 1984 Right-handed pitcher Chapman University(Orange, California) 17 1985 Outfielder University of New Haven(West Haven, Connecticut) 12 1986 Right-handed pitcher Hanford High School(Hanford, California) 13 1987 † Catcher Seton Hall University(South Orange, New Jersey) 22 1988 Outfielder Plainview High School(Plainview, Texas) 1989 Right-handed pitcher Salem High School(Salem, Massachusetts) 12 Right-handed pitcher Jacksonville State University(Jacksonville, Alabama) 27§ 1990 Shortstop Edina High School(Edina, Minnesota) 21 Right-handed pitcher University of South Carolina(Columbia, South Carolina) 31§ 1991* Right-handed pitcher University of Florida(Gainesville, Florida) Shortstop Simeon Career Academy(Chicago)29§ Catcher East Hartford High School(East Hartford, Connecticut)40§ Third baseman Seton Hall University(South Orange, New Jersey)44§ 1992 Third baseman California State University, Fullerton(Fullerton, California) Right-handed pitcher University of Georgia(Athens, Georgia) 37§ 1993 † Left-handed pitcher Ferrum College(Ferrum, Virginia) 12 1994 Catcher Lino Padron Rivera High School(Vega Baia, Puerto Rico) 17 Right-handed pitcher Lamar High School(Lamar, Colorado) 25 Shortstop Louisiana State University(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)30§ 1995 Right-handed pitcher Arkansas High School(Texarkana, Arkansas) 22 1996 Right-handed pitcher University of Hawaii at Mānoa(Honolulu, Hawaii) 19 1997 First baseman Rice University(Houston, Texas) 16 1998 Right-handed pitcher University of Notre Dame(Notre Dame, Indiana) 17 Right-handed pitcher Green Valley High School(Henderson, Nevada) 37§ 1999 Outfielder University of Mississippi(Oxford, Mississippi) 42§ 2000 Right-handed pitcher El Camino College(Torrance, California) 27 2001 Second baseman University of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee) 10 2002 Right-handed pitcher Northeast Texas Community College(Mount Pleasant, Texas) 29 2003 2004 2005 Left-handed pitcher Tulane University(New Orleans, Louisiana) 24 Outfielder University of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee) 38§ 2006 Catcher Bishop Moore High School(Orlando, Florida) 23 2007 2008 '22 Catcher Stanford University(Stanford, California) 10 Right-handed pitcher Hartsville High School(Hartsville, South Carolina) 38§ 2009 Shortstop Bonita High School(La Verne, California) 21 2010 Outfielder Woodward Academy(College Park, Georgia) 8 Right-handed pitcher Minooka High School(Minooka, Illinois) 19 Catcher University of Minnesota(Minneapolis, Minnesota) 33§ 2011 '17 Outfielder University of Connecticut(Storrs, Connecticut) 11 2012 '17 Shortstop Puerto Rico Baseball Academy(Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico) 1 '17 '22 Right-handed pitcher Jesuit High School(Tampa, Florida) 41§ 2013 Right-handed pitcher Stanford University(Palo Alto, California) 1 2014 * Left-handed pitcher Cathedral Catholic High School(San Diego, California) 1 2015 '17 '22 Shortstop Louisiana State University(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 2 '22 Outfielder H.B. Plant High School(Tampa, Florida) 5§ Outfielder Eagle's Landing High School(McDonough, Georgia) 37§ 2016 Right-handed Pitcher Alamo Heights High School(Alamo Heights, Texas) 17 2017 Right-handed Pitcher University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(Chapel Hill, North Carolina) 15 2018 Outfielder Clemson University(Clemson, South Carolina) 28 2019 '22 Catcher University of California(Berkeley, California) 32 2020 2021 2022 Outfielder University of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee) 28 2023 Shortstop University of Nebraska(Lincoln, Nebraska) 28 2024 Catcher Sam Houston State University(Huntsville, Texas) 28 2025 Shortstop Mount Vernon High School(Mount Vernon, Washington) 21 2026 Outfielder Texas Tech University(Lubbock, Texas) 17 Right-handed pitcher University of Notre Dame(Notre Dame, Indiana) 28§

See also Houston Astros minor league players

Footnotes Through the 2012 draft, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offered arbitration to a player but that player refused and subsequently signed with another team, the original team was able to receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent left in this way, his previous team received a supplemental pick and a compensatory pick from the team with which he signed. If a "Type B" free agent left in this way, his previous team received only a supplemental pick. Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts. However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player. The Astros lost their first-round pick in 1980 to the California Angels as compensation for signing free agent Nolan Ryan. The Astros lost their first-round pick in 1981 to the Texas Rangers as compensation for signing free agent Dave Roberts. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1989 for losing free agent Nolan Ryan. The Astros gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1990 from the San Francisco Giants for losing free agent Kevin Bass. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1990 for losing free agent Kevin Bass. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1991 for losing free agent Danny Darwin. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1991 for losing free agent Dave Smith. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1991 for losing free agent Franklin Stubbs. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1992 for failing to sign their 1991 first-round pick John Burke. The Astros gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1994 from the San Francisco Giants for losing free agent Mark Portugal. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1994 for losing free agent Mark Portugal. The Astros gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1998 from the Colorado Rockies for losing free agent Darryl Kile. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1998 for losing free agent Darryl Kile. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 1999 for losing free agent Randy Johnson. The Astros lost their first-round pick in 2003 to the San Francisco Giants as compensation for signing free agent Jeff Kent. The Astros lost their first-round pick in 2004 to the New York Yankees as compensation for signing free agent Andy Pettitte. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 2005 for losing free agent Carlos Beltrán. The Astros lost their first-round pick in 2007 to the Texas Rangers as compensation for signing free agent Carlos Lee. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 2008 for losing free agent Trever Miller. The Astros gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2010 from the Detroit Tigers for losing free agent José Valverde. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 2010 for losing free agent José Valverde. The Astros gained a supplemental pick in 2012 for losing free agent Clint Barmes. The Astros lost their first-round pick as punishment for their role in the sign stealing scandal.

References General references