For all the turnover the Houston Astros experienced this offseason, getting Isaac Paredes was certainly beneficial.
Paredes was part of the Kyle Tucker trade. He, along with pitcher Hayden Wesneski and outfielder Cam Smith, joined the Astros for the slugger.
Tucker has produced like an MVP in Chicago. Paredes not only had that shadow to deal with, but also had to replace Alex Bregman at third base, who bolted for the Boston Red Sox as a free agent.
So far, Paredes has been just fine. In his first 61 games in Houston, the 26-year-old slashed .252/.347/.474 with an .812 OPS, with 14 home runs and 37 RBI. His career highs in home runs and RBI were 31 and 98 in 2023. There’s a good chance he could pass one of those milestones this season.
Paredes is under team control until 2028. That was part of the reason the Astros wanted him.
So, who might replace him? Well, it’s possible the Astros could find that replacement in July’s MLB draft.
In MLB.com’s most recent first-round mock draft, Jonathan Mayo had the Astros selecting Gavin Fien, a third baseman out of Great Oak, Calif.
That’s an intriguing position to try and lock up now. He wouldn’t need to be ready for a few years, which gives him time to develop. Yes, he’s a high school player and that comes with a different set of expectations when it comes to development. But Mayo made it clear why some team will take him in the first round.
“… many considered him to be the best pure high school hitter on the summer showcase circuit,” he wrote.
The Astros selected Sam Houston catcher Walker Janek in the first round of last year’s draft. He’s the starting catcher at High-A Asheville with the hopes of moving up to Double-A Corpus Christi later this year.
Houston’s 2023 first-round pick was Brice Matthews, a Houston native who played his college baseball at Nebraska. He has already ascended to Triple-A Sugar Land and is seen as a player that could make their MLB debut this year.
The Astros selected outfielder Drew Gilbert out of Tennessee in the first round of the 2022 draft. Gilbert was included in the Justin Verlander trade with the New York Mets in 2023.
Houston did not have first-round selections in the 2020 and 2021 MLB drafts, which were surrendered due to the electronic sign-stealing scandal that emerged after the Astros’ World Series victory in 2017.
The 2025 MLB draft will be held Sunday and Monday, July 13-14, during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.
