“Hey, I am going to be here next year, just so you know.”
Jett Williams, one of the Mets’ top prospects, said this to his agent his agent, Craig Rose, on September 28 outside of Citi Field. Williams was awarded his organizational Player of the Year award soon after saying this. Will Sammon detailed this, more of Williams’ goals, and what drives his desires in an article on The Athletic.
Jett Williams, Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Williams has been doubted by many over the course of his career. His 5’8” height has had many shaking their heads at some of Williams’ goals, and many of those doubters have been proven wrong over the course of his career, including in 2023 when he went from Low-A St. Lucie in April to Double-A Binghamton in late September. He now has his sights set even higher: Citi Field in 2024.
“I just see myself playing here,” Williams said optimistically. “Obviously, there’s a lot of work to do; that’s what we’re going to do this offseason. But just know I can see it,” said the 19-year-old shortstop out of Texas.
“If I prepare and do what I need to do in the offseason, I’m gonna be there next year.”
Starting the Year in St. Lucie
Williams, who Mets Minors have listed as their No. 4 prospect according to their end-of-season updated top prospects list, was drafted by the Mets in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft at No. 14 overall to the Mets. He began the 2023 season with Low-A St. Lucie and quickly found himself with Double-A Binghamton by mid-September.
Williams has a reason to be confident. His numbers throughout his first full year in the minor league system prove that if he continues to impress as next season gets underway, 2024 could be an accurate self-prediction by Williams, and he could make his big league debut if he continues to play well.
From April through July with St. Lucie, Williams batted .249/.422/.410/.832. He had 12 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 35 RBIs, was walked 69 times, and had an impressive 32 stolen bases (with just 12 times caught stealing) and 51 runs scored.
He started the season off slow and in a slight slump in May after trying something new with his swing, but after reverting back to a technique that proved successful for him in high school, Williams began hitting well again, hitting a triple and a home run in the first game of the season in which he used his old high school swing.
Slowly, he improved his numbers and, by the beginning of August, found himself headed to the Brooklyn Cyclones. He was there through the beginning of September.
Williams Makes it to Brooklyn… Then Bingo
During his time in Brooklyn, Williams continued to improve and put up impressive stats.
He batted .299/.451/.567/1.018 OPS. He had nine doubles, two triples, seven home runs, and drove in 18 RBIs with Brooklyn. He also had 12 stolen bases and 25 runs scored. He was caught stealing just once in High-A.
Cyclones manager Chris Newell told Williams, “You’re 19 years old trapped in a 28-year-old kid’s body,” when speaking about his competitiveness. He attributes this to his family.
Williams was then once again promoted on September 11 as the Mets assigned him to Double-A, where he would finish off the season in very impressive fashion.
Though he had just a .581 OPS with Binghamton in their final six regular season games (he walked four times in their two playoffs games, too), his rise to Binghamton—where he played with guys on average five years older than him—signified his improvement and increased expectations over the year.
Can He Make it to Citi?
Williams is a confident player with a strong drive to accomplish his goals. He got that from his father, who, when Williams was in high school, gave him the advice of writing down his goals and “if people aren’t laughing at your goals, then you’re not dreaming big enough.”
One of those goals was to be drafted in the first round of the MLB draft. He accomplished that. He now has a lofty goal (that, yes, some might say is crazy) to make a 2024 MLB debut just two years after being drafted out of high school. But with a drive and desire like Williams’, it can be done.
Williams spoke on what he expects New York to be like when he gets there:
“I know that New York is going to be crazy when I get there if I do really good or if I do bad. … And so for me, I’ve always felt like I’m going to do good. And I know that obviously there’s gonna be times where you’re going to struggle. But I know that if I don’t do something good, I am gonna get booed because it’s just how New York is. For me, the way I am, it’s just like if somebody boos me or says something that just kind of fires me up, like, OK, I’m going to show them differently.”
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Williams said.
