2022 Draft - Mets Pick - 1.11 - C - Kevin Parada

 

Kevin Parada 

C 6-0 200 Georgia Tech

 

2021 GT stat line - 52-G, 220-AB, team leading .318, 9-HR, 42-RBI, 41-K

2022 GT stat line - 60-G, 258-AB, .360, 26-HR, 88-RBI, 32-K, .998-OPS

 

5-6-22 - https://masonmcrae.medium.com/breaking-down-the-top-22-draft-prospects-analytically-5b8ff678d009  

Kevin Parada, Georgia Tech 

Parada is a catcher in a world where we’re expecting robot umps, making his position an offensive one. But because the entire profile revolves around the offensive tools, it probably doesn’t affect him as much as his peers. His arm is below-average, and he’s a below-average receiver. 

Parada’s approach is aggressive, as a result he swings at a lot of good pitches, as well as some of the bad ones. The positive is that his bat-to-ball skills allow for some decision-making error, and he can get away with poor swings. On pitches in the zone, he rarely whiffs. Parada has some low hanging fruit in the profile on the player development side as any pro staff should be able to cut down the chases, limiting the majority of his whiffs, while also helping him keep that aggressive backbone.

 As you’d expected for a player with 20+ home runs in the ACC, Parada’s batted ball numbers are good and he’s exceptionally well at creating the ideal attack angles to match pitches in order to connect with the bottom portion of the ball. Even if he’s a 1B/DH — I don’t think he is, my pick would be LF — this is still an electric offensive profile worth a top-15 pick. 

 

5-1-22 - Prospect Live - 

Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 

After becoming the Division 1 home run leader with a pair of long balls on Friday, Kevin Parada extended his lead over the rest of the country with a grand slam in the second inning on Sunday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets’ backstop took a first-pitch breaking ball from North Carolina RHP Kyle Mott and drove it over the scoreboard in left-center field. This came just an inning after he smoked a 3-0 fastball into right-center for a base hit. Parada has a unique pre-swing stance, but his plate discipline, bat speed and barrel control make him one of the most dangerous hitters in college baseball. 

Behind the dish, he showed modest athleticism with average receiving, blocking and framing skills. He certainly won’t be drafted for his glove, but there is nothing to indicate that he can’t stick at the position at the next level.