As we all know by now, the Mets rescinded their contract offer to Kumar Rocker in 2021 over a medical dispute and wound up handsomely rewarded in the 2022 draft, where they got to pick at both #11 and #14. With the third largest bonus pool of any club, they where able to pull off numerous above slot signings, including three that signed for more than $250,000 above their slot value and a fourth that went more than $125,000 over. Many would argue that they landed three first round talents because second rounder Blade Tidwell likely would have gone in that range if he had been fully healthy this spring. Interestingly, I noticed they targeted short hitters and tall pitchers. They didn't draft a single position player over 6'2" until the nineteenth round, including the 5'8" Jett Williams and the 5'11" Nick Morabito within their first four picks and the 5'9" D'Andre Smith a few picks later. Meanwhile, they drafted seven different pitchers that were 6'4" or taller, led by absolute giants like Paul Gervase at 6'10" and Tyler Stuart at 6'9". Many of those pitchers also come from high slots, putting steep angle on their pitches.
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1-11: C Kevin Parada, Georgia Tech. My rank: #7.
Slot value: $4.78 million. Signing bonus: $5.02 million ($239,035 above slot value).
The Mets immediately flexed their financial muscles early in the draft, floating Kevin Parada out of the top ten picks despite him being connected to teams within the top five. Parada was a famous draft name in the 2020 high school class, where he could have gone in the second round had he been signable, but he was one of the top talents to reach campus instead and that has worked out extremely well for him. After announcing his presence with a strong freshman season, he further built his stock with a massive sophomore campaign that saw him slash .360/.452/.709 with 26 home runs and a 32/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 60 games for Georgia Tech. He has always been an extremely professional hitter, taking great at bats with a keen ability to make adjustments and find something good to hit. Despite an unorthodox setup in which he holds his hands high above his head with the bat pointed down his back, similar to Paul Goldschmidt, he's consistently in a good hitting position when the time comes and he shows exceptional feel for the barrel. Parada's power has continually improved, and now looks at least plus with some throwing plus-plus grades on it. He can crush pitches all over the zone and send the ball out to all fields, giving him a chance to be a perennial 30 home run bat if he reaches his ceiling. Add in the high on-base percentages that will come from his plus hit tool, and he could rival Adley Rutschman as the best catcher in baseball if it all breaks right. However, he is not nearly the defender that Rutschman is and it's no guarantee he sticks back there. While the Los Angeles-area native has worked hard on his defense, he's still not a great athlete behind the plate and needs to work on his mobility. His arm has improved, but he's not going to shut down the running game like some other guys, especially if MLB implements some of the new base stealing rules they're trying out in the minors. Of course, he has the bat to profile anywhere on the diamond, whether that's behind the plate, at first base, in left field, or even as a DH. The guy just hits.
1-14: SS Jett Williams, Rockwall-Heath HS [TX]. My rank: #13.
Slot value: $4.24 million. Signing bonus: $3.9 million ($343,800 below slot value).
This is another great pick for the Mets, who save over $300,000 on a guy who I think could be a top ten player in the class. Jett Williams is undersized at 5'8", but that's about the only knock on his game and more and more evaluators have realized that as he's continued to play with his hair on fire. He has tremendous feel for the barrel from the right side, consistently hitting the ball hard against quality pitching both on the showcase circuit and at home in the Dallas area with little swing and miss in his game. Despite his smaller stature, he taps average raw power for now and could grow into above average raw power in time. It all comes from a sweet right handed swing with natural bat speed, whip, and loft, making for an excellent all-around package at the plate. Williams played shortstop in high school and it looks like the Mets will give him an opportunity to continue there in pro ball, with enough arm strength to make it work there. He's a plus runner with the springy actions necessary to play the position, though he could also profile well in center field if that ends up being his long term position. In all, Williams could hit 15-20 home runs a year with high on-base percentages and good defense if it all breaks right, and I think he has a higher likelihood of reaching his ceiling than most kids his age. He had been committed to Mississippi State but the nearly $4 million signing bonus rendered that moot. Meanwhile, he's getting his feet wet in the Florida Complex League and is slashing .273/.370/.500 with one home run and four strikeouts to three walks through seven games.
2-52: RHP Blade Tidwell, Tennessee. My rank: #40.
Slot value: $1.48 million. Signing bonus: $1.85 million ($374,900 above slot value).
Two years ago, the Mets selected injured Mississippi State sophomore J.T. Ginn with the 52nd overall pick and signed him to an above slot deal, and they did nearly the exact same thing this year with the same pick. Like Ginn, Blade Tidwell quickly established himself as a premier SEC arm upon arriving on campus, and as a draft-eligible sophomore like Ginn, his name was thrown around right in the middle of the first round. Ginn went down with Tommy John surgery in his draft year, while Tidwell missed significant time early in the season with shoulder problems before coming back healthy in April. Tennessee handled him carefully throughout the season, only once allowing him to complete five innings, and he finished with a 3.00 ERA and a 51/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 39 innings. Tidwell is a power arm through and through, sitting in the mid 90's and getting up to 99 at his best. Previously a straight pitch that lacked deception, he's worked hard to add life to the pitch and it now features nice carry up in the zone with high spin rates. The southern Tennessee native adds a plus, power slider with late bite, serving as his best offspeed, while also adding in a curveball and changeup that flash above average as well. It's a first round arsenal when he's healthy, and he pounds the strike zone with conviction so as to limit his walks. His control is ahead of his command, but with stuff like his, it's not a huge deal. The 6'4" righty is very physical on the mound and looks durable now that he's past his shoulder woes, but shoulders are scary and he still hasn't really been stretched out this year aside from one 7.2 inning start against Alabama State in the Knoxville Regional, where he threw a season-high 93 pitches. If Tidwell's shoulder holds together, there should be nothing stopping him from becoming a mid-rotation starter or better. He has gotten into two games so far, one in the Florida Complex League and one for Low A St. Lucie, tossing 2.2 shutout innings with two strikeouts to two walks.
2C-75: OF Nick Morabito, Gonzaga HS [DC]. My rank: #78.
Slot value: $873,700. Signing bonus: $1 million ($126,300 above slot value).
The Mets went back into the high school ranks to grab Nick Morabito here, a spring riser out of the Washington, DC prep ranks that has earned comparisons to James Triantos a year ago, having grown up just one town over. While he's not quite as short, Morabito is also a moderately similar player to first rounder Jett Williams. He has a lightning quick, compact right handed swing that has helped him barrel up everything he's seen lately, helping him potentially solid average power in time despite his 5'11" frame. Unlike many of today's hitters, that swing plays very well up in the zone and he frequently does damage up there, showcasing his strong plate coverage. A shortstop in high school, the Mets drafted Morabito as an outfielder, where his plus speed and weaker arm will fit well. The Northern Virginia native is very old for a high school senior, having turned 19 in May, but the Mets have had success with older preps before (as I write this paragraph the day of Brett Baty's debut) and he already has a very advanced all around game. I'd put a ceiling of 15-20 home runs per season with high on-base percentages and some stolen bases to boot, though the Virginia Tech commit is off to a .125/.176/.188 start in the Florida Complex League with eleven strikeouts to one walk in four games. Not great, but it's just a start.
3-90: RHP Brandon Sproat, Florida. My rank: #131.
Slot value: $691,300. Signing bonus: did not sign.
For the second year in a row, the Mets failed to sign a highly touted SEC righty, though this one isn't nearly as high profile as Kumar Rocker. Brandon Sproat, who is coming off a breakout year with Florida, will return to Gainesville for the 2023 season to build off that success and hopefully patch up the last few holes in his profile. Sproat has always had arm strength, but he was unrefined and struggled to a 6.65 ERA as a sophomore reliever in 2021. He jumped into the rotation this spring and was much better, especially late in the year, finishing with a 3.41 ERA and an 82/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 89.2 innings. The Pensacola-area native sits in the mid 90's with his fastball as a starter and has hit triple digits in relief, though the pitch is fairly straight and lacks deception. He works off a solid curveball that flashes above average as well as a very advanced changeup that flashes plus, giving him a full arsenal that will work as a starter. Previously wild, he threw significantly more strikes in 2022 and that enabled him to stay in the rotation, along with his athletic, strong, 6'3" frame. However, despite the improved command and power stuff, Sproat didn't miss nearly as many bats as you might expect, running a 21.5% strikeout rate that was the second lowest of all college pitchers on my draft board, ahead of only Georgia's (now the White Sox') Jonathan Cannon at 20.9%. He could probably use a more consistent breaking ball to miss more bats in pro ball, but overall he does need to create more deception somehow to miss more bats. Doing that will be on the docket for his senior season in Gainesville, where he will turn 23 shortly after the 2023 draft.
4-119: 3B Jacob Reimer, Yucaipa HS [CA]. My rank: #101.
Slot value: $507,700. Signing bonus: $775,000 ($267,300 above slot value).
The Mets came out with yet another over slot signing in the fourth round, adding one of the better all-around hitters on the West Coast in Jacob Reimer. He consistently hung around that third to fourth round range throughout the draft cycle, building his stock a bit with a strong showing at the National High School Invitational in the spring. Reimer is a power hitter, with very strong feel for the barrel and the ability to cover the whole plate with authority. He packs a ton of strength into his 6'2" frame, and he loves to get his arms extended and drive the ball. You can't quite call him power over hit, because he's also a disciplined hitter that has handled the bat well in his looks against high quality pitching, such as at the NHSI. Together, that's a chance to hit 25-30 home runs per season with high on-base percentages if it breaks right, though of course the Southern California kid needs to continue to develop physically and refine his approach to get there. Drafted as a third baseman, he's a bit clunky over there and will have to work on refining his actions, and if he can't, he may be destined for first base where his fringy speed will be a better fit and the pressure will increase on his bat. He had been committed to Washington but instead is hitting .286/.412/.643 with one home run and just two strikeouts to three walks through four games in the Florida Complex League.
5-149: SS D'Andre Smith, Southern California. My rank: #203.
Slot value: $379,400. Signing bonus: $379,400.
D'Andre Smith was a well-known prep prospect coming out of San Dimas High School in Southern California, and his stock has more or less held steady after two years at USC. In 2022, as a draft-eligible sophomore, he slashed .286/.380/.471 with eight home runs and a 44/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 games. Undersized at 5'9", he shows the ability to do a lot of things well even if he lacks a true carrying tool. Smith has a loose operation at the plate, showing solid gap power to all fields with the ability to really drive it to his pull side, so you can feel comfortable putting him down for fringe-average power. He makes a lot of hard contact and has kept his strikeout reasonably low, but he can be susceptible to breaking balls and it's hard to put better than an average hit tool on him for now. The Mets drafted him as a shortstop, where his fringy arm might be a little bit stretched, but he's very fluid out there in the field and could be above average at second base. I don't think the profile is loud enough to play every day, but he could flirt with double digit home runs and post solid on-base percentages at the major league level, a very strong reserve profile. Additionally, teams reportedly loved his makeup and work ethic, so the Mets are full believers that he'll maximize his natural talent and continue to get better in their system. In his first game in the Florida Complex League, he went hitless in three at bats but did pick up a walk.
6-179: RHP Tyler Stuart, Southern Miss. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $288,900. Signing bonus: $220,000 ($68,900 below slot value).
Tyler Stuart redshirted his freshman season at Southern Miss in 2019, then missed 2020 with Tommy John surgery and pitched just 16.1 innings in 2021. Finally in 2022, he got his opportunity to pitch regularly, and he finished the season with a 3.38 ERA and a 38/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 40 innings, mostly out of the bullpen. He sits in the mid 90's with his fastball and can touch 98, coming in with hard sinking action from a high release point. His slider shows potential as an average pitch, while he doesn't use his changeup as much, instead relying on the sinker/slider combo. Standing 6'9", he towers over hitters and puts steep angle on his pitches, adding to that sinker/slider profile, and generally does a pretty good job of throwing strikes. He'll likely continue to be a reliever in pro ball, where he won't need to develop his changeup as much and can continue to just pound the zone with velocity. If he can get up to New York quickly, even Tylor Megill will have to look up at somebody, but he'll have to beat twelfth rounder Paul Gervase out of LSU, who stands 6'10". Following the same game plan as Blade Tidwell, he has pitched one game each in the Florida Complex League and at Low A St. Lucie, allowing one run over 2.1 innings while striking out five.
7-209: RHP Jonah Tong, Georgia Premier Academy [GA]. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $226,000. Signing bonus: $226,000.
Jonah Tong represents an interesting mid round gamble, as he has a long way to go but comes with considerable ceiling. Formerly a Toronto-area prep, he came down to the Georgia Premier Academy this year and took a step forward, especially in the spring. Tong sits in the low 90's with his fastball and can get up to 96, coming in with a high, over the top arm slot from a crossfire delivery that puts tough angle on the ball. Throw in the riding action he puts on the pitch from that slot and it's a fairly unique look for hitters. He works in a big spinning curveball with plenty of depth, though he needs to get more consistent with it to miss more bats in pro ball. It does show potential as a potential plus pitch down the line with significant refinement. Standing at 6'1", he has long arms and legs to appear taller, though he's still learning to repeat his delivery and needs to get much more consistent with his command. Between his athleticism, projection, tough angle, and feel for spin, there is significant upside here if the Mets can get everything more consistent and help him add a changeup, but there is a long way to go especially for a kid who already turned 19 in June. He had previously been committed to North Dakota State as one of their best recruits in a long time.
13-389: RHP Dylan Ross, Georgia. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: unspecified.
Dylan Ross was one of the better JuCo arms available last spring out of Northwest Florida State, but he made it to campus at Georgia and brought with him big expectations. He tossed five innings of one run ball against Albany in his season debut, but left his second start of the season against Wofford with an arm injury and underwent undisclosed surgery that ended his season right there. The final line – six innings, two earned runs, six hits, four walks, six strikeouts. Fortunately, scouts do have plenty of history with Ross given his draft eligibility a year ago, and the Mets liked what they saw then and are willing to bet on him going forward. Everything here is about power. The South Georgia native sits in the mid 90's with his fastball, hitting 99 last year with NWF from a steep slot. He adds a hard slider that looks above average when he locates it, and his hard splitter plays well off his fastball, again when he locates it. Ross does struggle with command, with a high effort delivery that can be difficult to keep in sync. With a big, 6'5", 250 pound frame, he's plenty physical enough to start but at this point has a classic relief profile, where he could touch triple digits and make for extremely uncomfortable at bats. If the Mets do want Ross to start, beyond refining his command they'll need to help him incorporate something softer into his arsenal so that he can more effectively change speeds and stay in control of at bats. Personally, I think they'd be better off just fast tracking him in that relief role once he's healthy, and that could be the plan anyways.
