Mets draft catcher Kevin Parada, shortstop Jett Williams
Kevin Parada, left, shakes hands with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred after being selected by the New York Mets with the 11th pick of the 2022 MLB baseball draft, Sunday, July 17, 2022, in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Credit: Jae C. Hong
CHICAGO — On maybe the biggest draft day in the history of the franchise Sunday, the Mets used their pair of first-round selections to add premier talent at up-the-middle positions, choosing Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada at No. 11 overall and Texas high school shortstop Jett Williams at No. 14.
Those picks, plus Tennessee righthander Blade Tidwell (52nd) and D.C. high school outfielder Nick Morabito (75th) represented a significant infusion of potential into a Mets farm system mostly regarded as middling, though the true impact of this crop of players won’t be known for years.
The 2022 MLB Draft is especially significant for the Mets because they have five of the first 90 slots, which is a lot.
“This is a chance to reenergize the organization, reenergize the farm system, so we were super-excited,” said Tommy Tanous, vice president of amateur and international scouting. “As a team that’s competitive, we make a lot of trades, so we have to keep refilling that system. I think this year gives us a chance to kind of get ahead.”
The Mets received bonus picks at No. 11 as compensation for not signing their first-rounder last year, pitcher Kumar Rocker, after a disagreement stemming from his physical, and at No. 75 as compensation for losing Noah Syndergaard via free agency (to the Angels). Rocker wound up going third overall to the Rangers this year. The draft runs through Tuesday and lasts 20 rounds.
As always, and unlike their NFL and NBA counterparts, MLB teams do not choose amateurs based on current major-league need. So it did not matter that the Mets’ top prospect (Francisco Alvarez) is a catcher, for example, or that they have a shortstop under contract for a decade (Francisco Lindor). They liked Parada and Williams, so they took them.
In the case of Parada, a 20-year-old Los Angeles native, the Mets can imagine him and Alvarez coexisting. Tanous likened that call to 2016, when the Mets had Dominic Smith as a top first-base prospect but landed Pete Alonso in the second round anyway.
“If we did some overthinking and said, ‘Well, we already have a first baseman in the system,’ then we don’t get Pete Alonso,” Tanous said. “You never know how these things turn out. You get the best players and you infuse our system with the best talent and it figures its way out.”
Winner of both the Buster Posey Award and the Johnny Bench Award, each awarded annually to the top collegiate catcher, Parada had a monster sophomore season at 20 years old. He hit .361 with a .453 OBP and .709 slugging percentage, collecting 26 homers and 88 RBIs in 60 games. He had almost as many walks (30) as strikeouts (32).
“I’m obviously an offensive catcher,” Parada said. “But I’m working just as hard to get the defense up to par and continue to get better at both sides of the game.”
Georgia Tech has an impressive history of producing major-league catchers, including Jason Varitek, Matt Wieters and Joey Bart. Parada described that lineage as “a brotherhood like no other,” adding: “I know that if I need anything, I can definitely reach out to any of them and get some advice.”
Williams, out of Rockwall-Heath High outside Dallas, comes with a Long Island connection. His family lived in Port Jefferson for two years, beginning when he was 2, as his dad attended medical school at Stony Brook University.
At 5-8 and 175 pounds, Williams is on the small side, but he is considered to have impressive hitting skills, including some power. He is committed to Mississippi State.
Director of amateur scouting Marc Tramuta highlighted Williams’ defensive versatility — second, third and centerfield in addition to shortstop.
“There’s a lot of different ways, with Jett’s bat, that he gets on the field,” Tramuta said.
Williams also highlighted his hitting.
“I play the game the right way: play hard, play with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, just knowing that I’m kind of an undersized guy,” he said. “I feel like I always have to prove everybody wrong and do the little things right: run out ground balls, run out fly balls. Then I feel like my hitting is really, really good. I have really good plate-disciplined bat-to-ball skills. Ready to get to work.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
