Biography:
At 5’8”, Jett Williams was the shortest of the top prospects in the 2022 draft. The shortstop has the ability to field his position and could hold onto the role as he rises through the organization. His high school club won the state championship in Texas in 2021 and Williams was thought of as a team leader.
Reports are that when healthy, he has an above average arm at shortstop. He was a pitcher during his Freshman year which adds some credibility to arm strength. Williams has said that he likes to model his game off Houston Astros stars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, along with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar outfielder Mookie Betts.
Resume:
At 18 years of age the Mets gave Williams 32 at bats with their rookie level FCL organization. At that level he managed a .804 OPS. It should be noted his defensive numbers in his brief 8 game exposure at shortstop were less promising.
Hitting:
Contact:
Williams is not expected to be a high contact hitter or to have his batting average above .275 for most of his career. Instead, the smaller shortstop is expected to have a power hitter’s .250 batting average. The nice thing here is that Williams is supposed to have a pretty decent ability to take a walk and should see an OBP .100 points above his batting average. This ability to get on base by drawings walks will be a huge part of his possible success.
Power:
For someone considered small by baseball standards, Williams has a decent amount of power in his bat. These power numbers will be aided by his legs which could turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples.
Speed:
Williams played only 10 games for the FCL Mets and managed 6 stolen bases (with none caught stealing) in that time. The Mets organization does not have a ton of speedsters in it and Williams is instantly one of their better ones.
Fielding:
As mentioned in his scouting report his arm is supposed to be above average and his defense is supposed to be solid. The results in his brief minor league showing were poor (.905 fielding percentage) but eight games are few enough for anomalies to outshine ability.
Outlook:
I have Williams starting the year with Port St. Lucie but I could see him pushing for mid-year promotion based on his offensive potential. He will likely be the biggest name player on the St. Lucie squad to start the year.
Good report, David.
Eventually, do you see Williams as a second baseman or in the outfield?
Second Base probably makes the most sense. I wouldn’t worry about shifting him just yet as a lot can happen between where he is and the majors and while shortstop is covered for the foreseeable future, injuries and the unknown have a way of changing the best laid plans.
Guess I’m a bit surprised that you’re bearish on his future AVG. All of the scouting reports at draft time were talking about his bat speed and contact ability.
I’m a little leery about his size. He’s going to have to prove it to me.
Let’s just hope I’m setting myself up to admit I was wrong.
How could you go wrong with a baseball player named Jett. Let’s hope he develops into a good major league ready player.
It hearkens back to the old Madden Football games and me drafting any WR named Quick.
J- E-T-T. Jett. Jett. Jett.
Citifield fans are due for another player chant.
🙂
Love it! Will start practicing!
Dave, for a first-round selection and # 14 at that, it doesn’t sound from your review that he’s that great a prospect. I’ve been wondering if you could offer an opinion on why the Mets chose Jett instead of one of the high-up-side pitchers who either had or will have TJS? Thanks,
The Mets like the scouting on Williams that is more rose-tinted than what I reviewed. I didn’t like selecting Williams where they did but the team felt that he was a talent on the board that was better than filling an organizational need. The pitchers this past draft didn’t scream to me but after going with Parada I would have spent the next three picks on pitching.
Ultimately, I do see Williams being a major league player. So, don’t think I’m completely down on him either. Nick Morabito is another story and I was very unhappy with that particular pick.
Thank you. Would you mind sharing which pitchers you would have selected after Parada?
Williams was ranked pretty much where the Mets took him by Prospects Live and Prospects 1500, and Keith Law liked him too. They all mentioned his speed and his ability to make contact, noting that he didn’t swing and miss much even when playing against older competition. Of course what helped the appeal from the Mets brass point of view was that Williams was willing to sign underslot and that helped land Tidwell in the second round and of course left a little bit more for Perada.
Morabito was looked at as a tools pick and a bit of a project. Again pretty well liked, but he wanted more than slot too. Everyone does.