What 1st-Round Pick Jett Williams Brings to New York Mets
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The New York Mets selected infielder Jett Williams from Rockwall-Heath High School in Heath, Texas in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
After selecting catcher Kevin Parada from Georgia Tech with the No. 11 pick – a compensation pick the Mets were awarded after failing to sign Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker in the first round of the 2021 draft – they turned around and selected the 18-year-old Williams at No. 14 to top off a strong first round.
Williams was surrounded by half his high school team, as well as family, friends and coaches at 7AR Academy, run by his hitting coach Aldrey Rincones, when he was selected.
Williams said he didn’t know he was being selected by the Mets until he saw his father get a phone call from his agent and walked away from the group.
“I kind of knew when my dad and agent were talking on the phone and my dad stepped away and so I thought ‘OK, I’m probably going here pretty soon,’” Williams told Inside the Mets. “I had a good feeling I was going to New York because of all the mocks. It was either them or the Padres I was going to, so I started to get ready for it.”
Williams clocks in at just 5-feet-8 inches and 175 lbs., but MLB Pipeline notes his power, saying he has strong contact skills (he rarely walks) and is a good gap hitter. They also project that he could be a 15+ home run guy.
“I’m a pretty hard nosed guy and am going to give you everything I got. The way I play, I’m pretty incredible,” Williams said. “I feel like I do a lot of things right. Run out ground balls, even though I’m a first round pick, I’m not going to stop running out ground balls or fly balls.
“I’m going to do everything I can to help the Mets win a World Series one day.”
As a player, Williams likes to model himself after other smaller stature players like Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, but also appreciates the “swag” of players such as Fernando Tatis Jr.
“I have a little bit of swag too,” Williams said. “So I’d say Tatis and all them, I kind of look at their swag. But I’d say Mookie, Bregman and Altuve mainly.”
Primarily a shortstop, Williams said he is open to playing wherever the Mets need him as he embarks on his professional career.
Williams, who initially committed to play college ball at Mississippi State prior to the draft, told Inside the Mets this week that he plans to sign his deal with the Mets on Friday.
“I feel like I can be a big league shortstop,” Williams said. Now that I’m drafted and I’ll be playing everyday under great coaching and a great staff, all and all, I feel like I can get better each day as a shortstop.
“It doesn’t really matter though. If they want to put me in center or at second base, I’m fine as long as it helps the team.”
For Williams, being drafted by the Mets is a homecoming of sorts, as he lived on Long Island from 2-years-old to 4-years-old when his dad relocated their family there for work.
He has further New York ties, as one of his brothers went to the State University of New York at Stony Brook and was part of their lacrosse team. Williams said that the Mets are a great fit since both he and his family are familiar with the lay of the land.
Not turning 19-years-old until November, Williams has a lot of time to develop through the Mets system, and is excited to meet and chat with some of the Mets stars such as fellow shortstop Francisco Lindor, first baseman Pete Alonso, pitchers Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, and fellow Texas high school product and one of the Mets’ top prospects, Brett Baty.
“Lindor, I can’t wait to meet him and hopefully play with him,” Williams said. “Pete Alonso, Brett Baty. For the big league guys, Scherzer and deGrom as well, getting to meet those guys and talk to them, see how they like the organization. See what their opinion is on MLB, and get their feedback, especially Lindor since he’s also a shortstop.”
MLB Pipeline recently gave the Mets the No. 1 draft haul of all 30 big league clubs. Williams will be a big part of that and Mets fans will likely get to see him get some pro experience this summer.
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