Minor League Mondays: Jett Williams off to fast start in his pro career

The New York Mets received plenty of accolades for their haul in the 2022 Draft, which has helped reshape their farm system into a unit ranked as the eighth-best in the majors by Baseball America. Having two picks in the first and second rounds helped add a serious injection of top-flight talent into the system with perhaps the most intriguing prospect of the bunch being high-school shortstop Jett Williams, who the Mets took with the 14th pick in this year’s draft. Williams will be the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.

Although a bit short at 5-foot-8, Williams drew the attention of scouts for his elite hit tool. Williams made plenty of contact during showcase events in the leadup to the draft while also demonstrating the potential for solid power production as a middle infielder. Perhaps the best tool in Williams’ arsenal is his speed, which is rated as a 60 on the 20-80 scale and should allow him to both steal plenty of bases as well as cover plenty of ground defensively. The Mets signed Williams to a $3.9 million dollar deal, which was under slot value for the 14th pick in the draft, and assigned him to the rookie-level Florida Complex League to begin his professional career.

Williams has done fine in his first few weeks as a pro, hitting .214 with a triple, home run and five RBIs in his first 28 at-bats. The Mets also have to be happy that Williams is demonstrating his trademark speed by racking up six stolen bases in nine games while also working four walks. Starting in the FCL makes sense for Williams, who is just 18 years old and can get his feet wet there this season before moving up to Low-A St. Lucie at the start of next year.

It will be interesting to see where Williams ends up long-term since most scouts have doubts that he can stay at shortstop due to questionable arm strength. The presence of Francisco Lindor also makes shortstop an unlikely big league option but Williams is athletic enough that he should be able to transition to either second base or center field in the long haul. Williams’ hitting ability should be his ticket to the major leagues and it will be exciting for Mets fans to see how he progresses in the coming years.