Mets Agree To Sign First-Rounder Kevin Parada
The Mets have reached a deal with 11th overall pick Kevin Parada, MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis reports (Twitter link). Parada will receive $5,019,735, an overslot bonus that exceeds the recommended $4,780,700 price for the 11th selection.
It was perhaps a slight surprise that Parada was still available when the Mets were on the board, as pundits had the catcher solidly within the top 10 on pre-draft rankings. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel had the catcher as the fourth-best prospect in the entire draft class, while Fangraphs, Baseball America, and Pipeline all rated Parada sixth, and The Athletic’s Keith Law was right behind in slotting Parada seventh.
Defense could be the reason for Parada’s drop, as there is some question whether or not he’ll be able to stick behind the plate, or if he could become a first baseman or even DH-only player. The onus would then be on Parada to hit well enough for such a role, though there is broad consensus that Parada is one of the best hitters of the 2022 class, with Pipeline and BA each going into the 60-grades on his power and hit tools. Parada is an all-fields hitter who consistently makes hard contact and also developed more power over his time at Georgia Tech, all while using a unique batting stance.
When the Mets and tenth overall pick Kumar Rocker didn’t reach an agreement last year, New York earned the 11th pick in this year’s draft as compensation. As a result, the Mets had both the 11th and 14th overall selections on this year’s board, and both players have already been signed. Since 14th overall pick Jett Williams signed a below-slot deal, the Mets ended up signing Parada and Williams for a total of $8,919,735 — less than the $9,024,500 combined slot prices for the two picks.
2022 MLB Draft, First Round Results
The 2022 MLB Draft is underway, and here is the full list of each team’s selections from the first round. The Dodgers are the only team without a first-rounder, as their top pick (originally 30th overall) was dropped 10 places to 40th overall (the first pick of the second round) as part of their punishment for exceeding the highest luxury-tax tier in 2021. However, there are still 30 picks in the first round proper since the Mets have both the 11th and 14th overall picks — for not signing 10th overall pick Kumar Rocker last year, New York was given a compensatory selection in the 11th overall spot this year.
This year’s draft will again be 20 rounds long, and split over three days. The first 80 picks will be made tonight — the first two official rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, and the two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents). Rounds 3-10 take place on Monday, and rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
Under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2023 draft will have several differences, including a lottery to determine the top six picks, a revamped process for deciding the Competitive Balance rounds, possible extra picks for teams due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive rules, and possibly the end of the qualifying offer system as we know it should an international draft be implemented.
For one final year under this draft format, however, let’s dive into the picks. More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
The selections….
- Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater High School (OK)
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Druw Jones, OF, Wesleyan High School (GA)
- Texas Rangers: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt (played in independent Frontier League in 2021)
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Termarr Johnson, SS, Benjamin E. Mays High School (GA)
- Washington Nationals: Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy (FL)
- Miami Marlins: Jacob Berry, 3B/OF, LSU
- Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton, RHP, University of Oklahoma
- Minnesota Twins: Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly
- Kansas City Royals: Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech
- Colorado Rockies: Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga
- New York Mets: Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
- Detroit Tigers: Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech
- Los Angeles Angels: Zach Neto, SS, Campbell University
- New York Mets: Jett Williams, SS/OF, Rockwall-Heath High School (TX)
- San Diego Padres: Dylan Lesko, RHP, Buford High School (GA)
- Cleveland Guardians: Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison University
- Philadelphia Phillies: Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman High School (NV)
- Cincinnati Reds: Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC (FL)
- Oakland Athletics: Daniel Susac, C, University of Arizona
- Atlanta Braves: Owen Murphy, RHP, Riverside-Brookfield High School (IL)
- Seattle Mariners: Cole Young, SS, North Allegheny High School (PA)
- St. Louis Cardinals: Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State University
- Toronto Blue Jays: Brandon Barriera, LHP, American Heritage High School (FL)
- Boston Red Sox: Mikey Romero, SS, Orange Lutheran High School (CA)
- New York Yankees: Spencer Jones, OF, Vanderbilt University
- Chicago White Sox: Noah Schultz, LHP, Oswego East High School (IL)
- Milwaukee Brewers: Eric Brown Jr., SS, Coastal Carolina University
- Houston Astros: Drew Gilbert, OF, University of Tennessee
- Tampa Bay Rays: Xavier Isaac, 1B, East Forsyth High School (NC)
- San Francisco Giants: Reggie Crawford, LHP/1B, University of Connecticut