Los Angeles — Major League Baseball drafts aren’t about name recognition or immediate satisfaction. No prospect played a bowl game or broke a bracket in March. Even the best option, minor league dimming lights await.
But on Sunday, the draft started with a familiar and unusual gust. Two decorated outfielder sons of the 2000s, Matt Holliday and Andrew Jones, were taken on the first two picks, followed by pitchers rejected by Mets last year.
Baltimore Orioles used the first pick of Jackson Holliday, a shortstop from Stillwater High School in Oklahoma. Arizona Diamondbacks chose Drew Jones, an outfielder at Wesleyan High School in Georgia, before the Texas Rangers grabbed a right-handed Kumar Rocker.
Lockers have been a phenomenon for years. As a freshman at Vanderbilt University in 2019, he threw a no-hit no-run into the NCAA tournament on his way to the College World Series title. In three seasons, he went 28-10 with 2.89 ERA, averaging 12.2 strikeouts per 9 innings. Mets placed him in 10th place overall last summer.
Concerns about Rocker’s right arm diminished their interest, and he had a minor shoulder surgery afterwards, but this season he was well pitched for an independent league team. He is in a position to financially benefit from the trials. The slot value for the third pick in this draft is $ 759 million, about $ 3 million more than last year’s draft slot value.
Mets received an eleventh comprehensive pick as compensation for not signing the locker on Sunday and used it at Kevin Parada, a sophomore catcher at Georgia Institute of Technology. Right-handed batter Parada hit .361 with 26 home runs in 2022 and won the Buster Posey Award as the top college catcher in the United States.
“I want to win, I’m a leader, I can hit,” Parada said when asked to describe himself as a player. He said he wanted to be like JT Realmuto of Posey and Phillies, his most admired catchers.
“I grew up as a catcher,” he said. “I’ve played multiple positions throughout my career, but catching was my home.”
Parada said he also played in the outfield and infield corners. That variety can help Mets. Mets’ leading candidate is also a 20-year-old catcher, according to MLB.com. Francisco Alvarez is currently in Class AAA Syracuse.
Mets was a 5-foot8 right-handed shortstop from Rockwall-Heath High School on the outskirts of Dallas, using 14th place overall, the usual first-round option. Williams said he was excited to be selected by Mets, modeled on similarly smaller stars such as José Altuve, Mookie Betts and Alex Bregman.
“I actually lived in New York when I was two to four,” said Williams, who lived on Port Jefferson’s Long Island when his father was studying at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. “I’m happy to go home and can’t wait to go to work.”
In the first five rounds, Mets chose two pitchers, three infielders, an outfielder, and a catcher. Four were college students and three were drafted after graduating from high school.
The Yankees’ first round pick was Spencer Jones, a 6-foot-7 left-handed junior outfielder from Vanderbild, who finished 25th overall. Jones hit .370 in 2022 with 12 home runs, 1.103 on-base plus slugging percentage and 14 stolen bases.
After Spencer Jones, the Yankees chased advanced weapons and chose college pitchers in the second, third, fifth, and sixth rounds. The winning streak was only interrupted when he stole outfielder Anthony Hall from Oregon in the fourth round (130th pick overall).
In addition to Holiday and Druw Jones, the middle of the first round included two other players whose father played in majors. The Philadelphia Phillies was number 17, and the Cincinnati Reds used the next pick of Camcollier, a third baseman and left-handed batter at Chipola College, a junior college in Florida. Crawford’s father, Karl, was a four-time All-Star, and Collier’s father, Lou, played eight major seasons.
“You have a better understanding of what you expect at the next level,” said Justin Crawford. “That’s the biggest thing I could take away. I know it’s not easy, but I think I’ve stepped up a bit because I was with my dad.”
18-year-old Jackson Holiday Regulars around the Colorado Rockies When his father played there, he gained some fame around the clubhouse for imitating his batting stance. Matt calls his name — Jim Edmonds, Nomar Garcia Para, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols — and Jackson entertained visitors with a spot-on impression. He was three years old at the time.
“At the age of three, while imitating a big leaguer, Matt’s father, Tom, said in 2007,” Obviously you’re a pretty good showman. “
Holiday teammate Josh Fogg predicted that Jackson Holliday would one day be the first draft choice. That day came on Sunday when he was chosen earlier than anyone else.
