Walker Payne Janek (born September 24, 2002) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

in the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

organization. Janek was selected as the 28th pick in the first round of the

2024 MLB Draft The 2024 Major League Baseball Draft took place on July 14–16, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The first six selections were set via a lottery, with first round picks ...

for the

Amateur career

Janek grew up in

Portland, Texas Portland is a city primarily located in San Patricio County with some water bodies extending into Nueces County in the U.S. state of Texas. Its population was 20,383 as of the 2020 United States census. Current population calculated by the Ci ...

and attended

Gregory-Portland High School Gregory-Portland High School is a high school in Portland, Texas, and is a part of the Gregory-Portland Independent School District in southeastern San Patricio County. In addition to Portland, the school also serves the city of Gregory as wel ...

. Janek committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

. Janek batted .308 with seven home runs and 33 RBI during his freshman season with the

Sam Houston Bearkats The Sam Houston Bearkats are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange (colour), orange and white. Sam Ho ...

. As a sophomore he hit .301 with 17 doubles, 13 home runs, and 65 RBI. Janek was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023

Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament The Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Western Athletic Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Cha ...

. After the season, Janek played

summer collegiate baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. In 2024, Janek won the

Buster Posey Award The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Wichita Sports Commis ...

. Over 58 games as a junior, he batted .364 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI.

Professional career

Janek was selected by the

in the first round with the 28th overall pick in the

2024 Major League Baseball draft The 2024 Major League Baseball Draft took place on July 14–16, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The first six selections were set via a lottery, with first round picks ...

. On July 26, 2024, Janek signed with the Astros on a $3.1 million contract. Janek was assigned to the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

to begin his professional career.

References

External links

Sam Houston Bearkats bio
2002 births Asheville Tourists players Living people Baseball players from Texas Baseball catchers Sam Houston Bearkats baseball players Sportspeople from San Patricio County, Texas People from Portland, Texas Falmouth Commodores players 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-catcher-stub