No. 2: Jett Williams, SS/CF
B/T: R/R Age: 21
Ht: 5’6″ Wt: 175 lb
ETA: 2025 2024 Rank: 1
Acquired: 2022 1st Round Draft Selection
Stats: .215/.358/.298
Jett Williams was drafted by the Mets in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft with the 14th selection. Williams would get into 10 games with the Rookie League Mets where he slashed .250/.366/.438 with one home run, six RBI and six stolen bases. However, his 2023 season was what really put him on the map in Mets prospect circles and had fans potentially looking at the next star in Flushing.
In 2023 Williams skyrocketed through three levels of the minors in his first exposure to full season ball that saw him slash .263/.425/.451 across two levels of Single-A and a 26 plate appearance stint in Double-A to end the year. Williams hit 13 home runs, stole 45 bases and drew 104 walks, putting him second in all of minor league baseball behind Pittsburgh Pirates prospect TeMarr Johnson. Unfortunately, nothing went as planned for Jett in the 2024 season.
After struggling early on in his first full season in Double-A, Williams played through a wrist injury that would inevitably require surgery and have him miss May, June, July and did not return until August 21st. Upon his return, he seemed to be shaking off the rust in Double-A and received a late season call up to Syracuse where he got a hit in all but one game. Williams looked to supplement the missed at bats with a stint in the Arizona Fall League where he played 11 games at shortstop and 11 games in center field. Williams would slash .225/.376/.388 with two home runs, seven stolen bases and a 17/30 BB/K rate. While the other counting stats were fine, it was a surprise to see Williams strike out at such a high rate considering his approach at the plate.
What Williams offers at full health is speed, great plate discipline, some surprising pop and the potential to be a plus defender in the outfield. While he has been playing primarily at shortstop, his clearest path to the New York Mets will be in the outfield. Similar to Ryan Clifford, he is very selective at the plate and he may benefit from being a little bit more aggressive at the plate which will help raise his batting average and potentially bring his strikeouts down. Jett may never offer huge pop due to his swing path and his lack of size, but he gets extra-base hits and turns singles into doubles with his above-average speed.
Defensively, Williams has been splitting his time between the infield and the outfield, but he has more defensive upside than Luisangel Acuña in center field. He has an above-average arm, but like all shortstop prospects in the upper minors for the Mets, he is blocked by Francisco Lindor. Williams played five games at second base in Binghamton and most Mets prospects seem to be funneling into the second base/outfield mix.
He will look to start the 2025 season looking to get into a groove and he has only amassed 157 at bats above Single-A so whether he will begin in Double-A or Triple-A is still up for debate. Of all of the Mets prospects who are in the upper minors and have yet to make their MLB debut, Williams is the most likely to appear in the 2025 season. His rare combination of speed, plate discipline and positional versatility give him something that the other prospects don’t offer.
