An eighth round selection in the 2018 draft, Corey Julks was quickly a popular follow amongst Astros fans thanks to his alma mater- The University of Houston- but wasn’t really on the national radar. He was a very accomplished college hitter, slashing .324/.408/.497 across three seasons with the Coogs while stealing 28 bases and socking 17 home runs in 690 plate appearances, but middling secondary tools (just a .107 ISO on the Cape with wood) and outfield tweener status pushed him into the middle round range.
The Astros secured his services for a $140k bonus, and for much of his minor league career his performance fell in line with what he did at the college level.