New York Mets prospect Jett Williams entered the 2023 season having just 10 games of pro experience with the Florida Complex League Mets after being drafted in the first round out of high school. Williams would also play the entire 2023 season at only 19 years old. All he did was finish the season with a Double-A team that made the league championship, posting a .425 on-base percentage and stealing 45 bases along the way.
Williams was named the Mets Player of the Year and was at Citi Field on Thursday to receive his award. Steve Gelbs interviewed the Texas native during the game to talk about his goals for the 2024 season. “My goal is to be a September call-up next year, if not sooner,” Williams said.
The right-handed hitter walked 110 times this year, including six in the playoffs for the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies. He was the first teenager since David Wright in 2002 to lead the Mets minor league in walks. Only Tigers’ minor leaguer Justyn-Henry Malloy (110 walks) had more than Jett’s 104 regular walks in Minor League Baseball this year. Malloy had those six more walks in 77 more plate appearances than Williams. 16 of 599 minor leaguers with at least 400 plate appearances this season had an OBP of at least .425, with Williams and Orioles blue-chip prospect Jackson Holliday as the only two players younger than 22 years old in the group.
Bronson Harris of Binghamton Rumble Ponies
The offensive game for Williams goes beyond just walking, too. His 45 steals (7 caught stealing) led the Mets minor leagues and was tied for 30th among those 599 minor leaguers. He stole those 45 bases in 121 regular season games. Williams showed off his power as the season went on as well. After hitting five home runs in his first 78 games with Low-A St. Lucie, Williams hit one in his last game with the Mets and then hit five in his first 22 games with High-A Brooklyn. The South Atlantic League and, more specifically, Brooklyn are generally known as challenging places for young prospects to show off power, but that didn’t stop Williams from breaking out.
Williams finished his last stretch in Brooklyn with two triples and two more home runs over seven games. In total, Williams hit .299/.451/.567 with nine doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 12 stolen bases (1 CS), and more walks (33) than strikeouts (32) in 36 games with Brooklyn.
The 5-foot-6, 175-pound Williams struggled slightly in his limited taste in Double-A Binghamton, with a .580 OPS in six regular season games. In the first game of the postseason, though, Williams hit a big-time three-run homer that gave Binghamton a 6-1 lead in a game they ultimately won. He walked once in the game and again in the Game 2 series clincher. Williams walked four times in the Rumble Ponies Game 1 loss in the Eastern League Championship Series, an impressive feat for a 19-year-old in a Double-A playoff game.
While Williams has played shortstop primarily in his pro career, he played 21 games this season in center field as the Mets looked to improve his versatility and eventually increase his chances of making a big league roster with star Francisco Lindor locked in at shortstop for a long time. Williams told Jorge Eckardt of The Wave that he’s comfortable playing center and short. “As long as I’m playing, I’m fine,” Williams said. “I’m a hitter, so I mean, I can play any position. The main thing is whatever best helps the team.”
Williams will likely start the 2024 season in Double-A, though he could force a promotion similarly to what he did in 2023, and then he’s just one step away from the big leagues. “He’s got it,” Brooklyn manager Newell told The Wave. “And if people want to say there’s more than six tools, if there’s 15, he’s got every tool in the f—— bag, I can promise you that.”
