Kevin Parada, Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

With the 11th overall pick, the New York Mets take Kevin Parada, a catcher out of Georgia Tech. This is the Mets’ pick as a result of not signing Kumar Rocker, who went third overall to the Texas Rangers tonight, in last year’s MLB Draft. Parada is definitely an offense-first catcher with some questions about his defense. Regardless of that, Parada is a consensus Top-5 prospect in the draft.

His sophomore year with Georgia Tech he slashed /361/.453/.709 and totaled 26 home runs and 88 RBI. He only struck out 32 times in 258 at-bats. He was ranked fourth by Kiley McDaniels’ of ESPN and seventh by Keith Law of the Athletic.

Parada was the recipient of the Johnny Bench Award. He was ranked

Here is what MLB Pipeline wrote about Parada:

“Parada doesn’t try to do too much at the plate, keeping his right-handed swing under control and lashing line drives all over the park. He has good feel for the barrel, makes repeated hard contact against all types of pitching and he’s showing increased power to all fields this year. He projects as a potential .280-.300 hitter with 20-25 homers per season who could fit into the middle of a big league batting order.”

Keith Law of The Athletic wrote the following about him:

“His plate discipline and pitch recognition are both advanced for an amateur and he’s shown some ability to make adjustments in-season already. Behind the plate, he’s adequate as a receiver with fringy arm strength, good enough to stay there because he hits so well.”

Baseball America had this to say about Parada:

“Between his contact ability, newfound power and production in a strong conference, Parada’s offensive package is as complete and proven as anyone’s in the 2022 class. Defensively, it’s less glowing, though Parada has made strides to improve as a receiver and thrower this spring. He’s a good athlete and runner for a catcher, but could improve his lateral mobility and blocking, as well as his arm strength, which is cited as fringe-average currently.”