Houston Astros Select Jacob Melton, Andrew Taylor in Second Round of MLB Draft

The Houston Astros took outfielder Jacob Melton in the second round before the club grabbed righty Andrew Taylor with its compensation pick.

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Astros second-round pick (#64), OF Jacob Melton from Oregon State, told FOX 26 Sports he has a verbal agreement in place with the @astros and is “excited” to join the Houston organization “watching the way they develop players.”

— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) July 18, 2022

After taking Tennessee's Drew Gilbert in the first round, the Houston Astros went back-to-back with college outfield selections Sunday in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Selecting Jacob Melton from Oregon State in the second round with the 64th pick, the Astros reportedly received a verbal agreement from Melton he would sign with the organization, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.

Single-A pitching prospect Bryant Selgado was the most vocal member of the franchise in support of the pick on social media. Selgado played at Oregon State with Melton.

“He's a great player, I was talking to one of our guys here that I would've took him with our first-round pick," Selgado told Inside the Astros. “The guy is top notch, he helps the next hitter in anyway he can, and in the weight room, he's always trying to get the best out of the next guy.”

Melton played three collegiate seasons for the Beavers and was named the Pac 12 Player of the Year and a Golden Spikes Semifinalist in 2022. In 261 at-bats last season, the lefty slashed .360/.424/.670 with 22 doubles, 17 home runs and 26 walks to 51 strikeouts.

"He's an all-around player," Selgado said. "His arm is his weakest tool but he's fast, athletic, has power and can hit to all parts of the field. He has good barrel control and knows the zone better than most guys I've faced in that level.”

Former Astros outfielder Michael Bourn announced Melton's selection on behalf of the franchise in Los Angeles.

With the 80th pick in the Draft, the Astros selected right-handed pitcher Andrew Taylor out of Central Michigan. The pick was given to the Astros as compensation for losing shortstop Carlos Correa in free agency to the Minnesota Twins.

Andrew Taylor said he had "some pretty good conversations" with the Astros in pre-draft

"They're very tech savvy and use a lot of metrics and analytics I haven't used in the past. If I go in and have this carry fastball, it can only get better from there."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 18, 2022

Throwing low-90s on his fastball, the righty lived by high spin rate and high carry at the collegiate level. Taylor described the Astros as "tech savvy" with approaches to make his fastball even better, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

Taylor broke Central Michigan's strikeout record twice — the second time snapping his own mark set the season prior. In his last two seasons with the Chippewas, the righty struck out a combined 251 batters.

Day two of the MLB Draft starts at 1 p.m. Monday, streaming exclusively on MLB.com. Rounds 3-10 will be conducted as the Astros start the day with the 103rd pick. 

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