James is one of those amazing draft stories that tended to happen during the rebuild. He was a 34th round pick - scouted by Jim Stephenson.
From 2007 ( the year after draft and follow ended) to 2019 (last year they drafted more than 20 rounds),only 7 pitchers drafted in the 34th round made it to the majors. The only one more successful than Josh James is Seth Lugo. The Astros accounted for two of the seven pitchers Josh James and Jordan Jankowski.