The Jett Seeks Clearance to Land at LaGuardia
I must admit, I was troubled when the Mets selected 5'6" Jett Williams in the first round in 2022 out of high school.
5'6" successful MLB hitters are rare.
Jose Altuve and Walt No Neck Williams (no relation) are two that come to mind. And Walt wasn't a star, although he was good for a while.
I mean, 5'6" - what about power?
Joe Morgan was a tad taller at just 5’7” and he was great, of course. Power, too.
I am thinking, now that the 2023 season is over, that my initial fears were misplaced.
Maybe Jett will emulate Joe Morgan and bank his future mega bucks at JP Morgan and own his own Jett.
THE JETT SIMPLY TOOK OFF THIS YEAR.
Jett Williams struggled for a bit early this year as a 19 year old with St Lucie, in terms of batting average.
He hit just .175 in May - uh oh. Bad pick?
Short guy seems in over his head?
He still got on base a lot, though. Even then.
Then, one day, he stopped struggling.
He soared, and ended up at .249/.422/.410 in 79 St Lucie games.
He got promoted to High A and, unlike so many, killed it playing for Brooklyn.
In 36 Cyclones games, .299/.451/.567.
Wow. Stunning jump. Still just 19.
Tearing it up in a place most hitters struggle in.
Jett > Cyclone.
Promoted to AA, he went 6 for 22 with 2 walks. Decent enough.
He did what he does best, and got on base 7 times in 4 AA playoff games.
13 HRs (so the power is there) and 43 total extra base hits.
On base via walk or HBP 119 times in 121 games - at age 19!
.263/.425/.451 for the season despite his May struggles.
His 51 of 58 in steals in 121 games in 2023 are close (on a steals-per-game basis) to a Ronald (and Luisangel) Acuna pace, too.
He made a bunch of errors in St Lucie at SS, but greatly reduced his error rate after being promoted from Florida, and played a handful of CF games in 2023 without error.
He just turns 20 in November.
He truly may be another Trea Turner.
Maybe he actually is the Mets’ best prospect.
Numero Uno. I think so.
Maybe he’ll even be an opening day position player for the Mets in April 2025. Heck, he’ll be an old man by then at age 20.
After all, Jetts in motion move up fast.
Plenty of Jett thrust.
This Jett will at some point in 2024 be on its final approach and ready to land at LaGuardia. Even at age 20.
He's my # 1 Mets prospect for doing all in 2023 that with no college and at the age of 19.
My initial fears? I was short-sighted regarding the short guy.
15 comments:
Not for Williams, but for everyone that wants to run Baty out of town:
https://www.mlb.com/news/alec-bohm-shines-on-defense-in-phillies-nlcs-game-2-win
Gus, it would be nice to see Baty’s defense similarly move from fizzle to dazzle. Is he as athletic as Bohm, though?
I'm more interested in what Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio can do as their bats showed more life than did Baty's.
No Tom I don’t believe you were short sighted at all… 5’6 should be immediately a pass for the first round.
I would suggest even if Jett (who I will admit I will live if he is this guy in the majors)
Lives up to his hype is compare him to who were the guys who were drafted after him and was it still a great select (noticed I said great not good) because for you to draft someone 5’6 he needs to be great. Otherwise the risk at that selection is not worth it.
(Off the top of my head I think I was thinking lesko)
But I do go back years afterwards to see who we should have selected.
Like with nimmo (good selection) but still was a reach when you should Alway select the best player available and there was Jose Fernandez. Jose was simply better and that was the time of the 5 aces…. Imagine what could have been from a trade perspective
Eddie
JD Davis had a tremendous defensive improvement… is there something we are doing or not doing in development. Same for Amed Rosario
Eddie, that Jose Fernandez non-pick really hurt. You wonder if he’d been picked by the Mets would he now be a huge star, and not, unfortunately, dead.
Jett seems truly driven…but we’ll see if he can tear thru AA and AAA like he tore thru Brooklyn. I’m thinking he will. I’m hoping he will.
Mauricio needs to put in the work on D all of this off season. Man, don’t let D weakness diminish your role.
Jose Fernandez said - if it was true - that he wanted to be a Marlin or he was going to college. He said if the Mets took him, he told them he was going to school.
Reese, I am hoping all 3 lagging Baby Mets spring forward next spring. All 3 seem to have flaws, but have a lot of playing time in already, so to not significantly progress in 2024 would be very disappointing.
Gus, didn’t know that about Fernandez. Good point.
Are Baby Mets, a lot is riding on them next season. Let’s hope they all improve.
I had similar concerns about Jett. He has proven us wrong so far. Hope he continues to do so!
I too thought Jett was a prop when they drafted him
Excited now
Fast tracking doesn't seem to be slowing him down either
Could arrive late 2024
When it comes to Fernandez why does nobody ever mention his coke problem ? That’s a issue that would have been a serious problem for any team drafting him
Mack and Paul, what impressed me most about Jett? In I think 18 Cyclones home games he hit well over .300, on base well over .400, and slugged about .670. The place where everyone else but Rhylan Thomas struggled in.
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