Astros projected to take HS arm with PPI pick in early 2026 mock draft

Jared Bloom

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Astros projected to take HS arm with PPI pick in early 2026 mock draft image

Over the years, Major League Baseball has pushed teams to bring up their top prospects sooner rather than later. To do this, the Prospect Promotion Incentive pick was created. 

If a team has a prospect on their Opening Day roster, and they go on to either win the Rookie of the Year or place in the top three of the MVP or Cy Young Award voting, that team is rewarded an extra first-round draft pick. 

Thanks to Hunter Brown's dominance this past season, the Houston Astros have been awarded the No. 28 pick to go along with their 17th overall pick. 

Astros projected to take HS arm with PPI pick in early 2026 mock draft

With the draft positions set, we can start thinking about what teams may be targeting which players. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently came out with his early mock draft, and in it, he believes Houston could take a flier on Florida high school pitcher Coleman Borthwick. 

Borthwick is a big 6'6" right-handed pitcher who recently committed to Auburn University. He really went up boards this past summer as he had a really good WSBC U-18 World Cup and East Coast Pro Showcase with Team USA. 

While he is a two-way player, his future lies on the mound. He can touch 98 mph with his fastball at just 17 years old, and he has a great pitch mix to go along with that. 

He has a great feel for generating rotations and relies on his slider to get outs. It has a sharp break and has the ability to miss bats at a good rate. 

Borthwick does have some things he needs to clean up, like staying on line, but he has time to do so. He is still developing and filling out his big frame.

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Staff Writer