Colin Houck, Photo by Dale Zanine of Gwinnett Daily Post
With their first selection in the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft, the Mets selected SS Colin Houck out of Parkview High School (GA), making him the 32nd overall selection. Houck, 18, stands in at 6’2″ and 190 lbs. Houck is currently committed to Mississippi State. The slot value for this pick is $2.61 million.
SS Colin Houck (Parkview HS (GA), 2023) smokes one into the gap for an RBI standup double. Highly athletic tooled up prep bat, potential first rounder if he gets buy in on the glove at SS. Mississippi State commit. pic.twitter.com/pPMqFGrUHS
— Will Hoefer (@whoeferbaseball) February 20, 2023
Houck was the 2023 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year. Naturally, with winning the award, he put up an impressive senior year at Parkview with a 1.446 OPS, while also playing on the school’s football team. His profile is an athletic one that gives him the ability to grow into more power as he gets older.
Speaking to a scout who has looked at Houck closely raved about his ability to hit velocity well, while also having a good deal of raw power. He should stay at shortstop for a decent chunk of the start of his career, but there is some concern over whether or not he will stick at shortstop long-term, with moving to another infield position, likely second or third base, as a possibility.
2023 GA SS Colin Houck legs one out here. Even when his contact isn’t ideal, he always maintains quality posture and connection. Game power will come with time; has been one of the best hitters in Georgia for three years now.
Athlete ✅
Makeup ✅
Pure Bat ✅ pic.twitter.com/honZf1rkef— Hudson Belinsky (@hudsonbelinsky) October 8, 2022
Houck ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 12th best prospect in the draft, Perfect Game’s 13th, and The Athletic had him at number 21. Keith Law of The Athletic noted the possibility of Houck moving off shortstop, but said it is possible that he stays on the infield. He also mentioned that if Houck “develops some pitch and ball/strike recognition the Mets may have gotten a top-15 talent without having a first round pick.”
Keith Law has him at 21 and said "there’s no way a swing this good should end up in [college ball]." https://t.co/EFzbEmI4CX
— Dan Lewis (@DanDotLewis) July 10, 2023
Houck fell in the draft partially due to sign-ability concerns. As previously noted, he’s already committed to Mississippi State.
While being a two-sport athlete, football wasn’t a concern. When discussing balancing the two sports with rivals.com, he said that “It was just a decision that me and my family made,’ said Houck. ‘I just to decided to kind of become the best baseball player I can be. That’s what I wanted. I’m pretty set on doing baseball, but I will be playing football my senior year of high school,'”
Now taken at the 32nd pick, Houck was rumored to have dropped due to sign-ability, mainly an asking price that teams in his initial range were not said to be comfortable meeting. Those concerns led to him dropping to the Mets, who now have to decide how much of their $8,440,400 bonus pool to allocate to Houck.
