New York Mets 2022 MLB Draft: Picks, bonus pool, slot values

The 2022 MLB Draft is in the books and the New York Mets made 22 picks. The Athletic has comprehensive live coverage of the 20-round, three-day event, including top-100 prospect rankings, mock drafts, prospect profiles, team-by-team analysis and much more. Find out how the Mets fared in the draft and much more…

How did the Mets do in the draft?

The Mets had an extra first-round pick this year after they declined to sign Kumar Rocker last year, and used that selection to take Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada (1), my pick for the Golden Spikes Award this year. He’s a bat-first catcher, hitting .361/.453/.709 this year with almost as many homers (26) as strikeouts (32). It’s an unusual start, with the bat slung over his right shoulder, but he gets it to the zone on time and makes very loud contact. He’s a fringy defender, with some scouts questioning whether he can stay there, but I think he will and the bat will quiet a lot of those concerns anyway. Three picks later, they took fun-sized Texas high school shortstop Jett Williams (1), who has a clean, efficient swing and rarely swung and missed anywhere as an amateur. He’s an above-average runner who’ll probably move to second base or center in the long run. Despite his size (5-8), he should get to average or better power as he fills out.

Tennessee right-hander Blade Tidwell (2) had first-round stuff and might have gone there had he not started the season on the sidelines with a shoulder injury. He apparently came back healthy, running it up to 99 mph with a solid-average slider, but struggled with command and control. He has a huge range of potential outcomes, from above-average starter to late-game reliever to a guy who tops out in Triple A because of command. Nick Morabito (2A) was one of my gut feel guys in this draft, a Washington, D.C. high school shortstop who won’t stay at the position but is a 70 runner and shows plus power in batting practice. I’d put him in center and let him go, as he has the speed for it and his bat will certainly profile there as long as he continues to hit. Florida right-hander Brandon Sproat (3) has first-round stuff and seventh-round command, touching 100 mph, working at 94-98 mph, showing a plus changeup, and getting hit harder than he should. He finished very strong this spring, though, mostly against SEC lineups, giving some hope that he can throw enough quality strikes to stay in the rotation. Jacob Reimer (4) is a high school shortstop from the Yucaipa, Calif., alma mater of Matt Davidson. Reimer is very strong and has good ball/strike recognition, projecting to hit for power down the road with hard contact now. He’s not a shortstop, and will have to move to third base and prove he can stay there, but he has 55 hit/55 power upside.

USC shortstop D’Andre Smith (5) has some bat speed but struggled badly in Pac-12 play this year with a .262/.326/.421 line, with too much propensity to chase offspeed stuff out of the zone. He’s a fringe-average runner who probably moves to second base. Right-hander Tyler Stuart (6) is listed at 6-9, 250 pounds, pitching mostly in relief and in non-conference games this year for Southern Miss. He works mostly with his fastball, sitting 94-96 mph, but gives up more contact on the pitch than he should, possibly because he throws it too often. The delivery is surprisingly coordinated for someone his size, though. Right-hander Jonah Tong (7) has an athletic delivery with good ride on his low-90s fastball, up to 95 mph, and some feel to spin a breaking ball. He comes from a very high slot to get more depth on the curveball, and still has some projection left. He was born in Canada, went to high school in Georgia and was committed to North Dakota State. Arkansas reliever Zebulon Vermillion (10) has the best name in the draft and a mid-90s fastball, with enough of a slider that he might end up a middle reliever. He’s a fifth-year senior, so he’s probably also a money-saving pick. And I hope if Kentucky infielder Chase Estep (9) plays for Brooklyn at some point that they play “Hey Baby” as his walkup music.

Keith Law’s National League report card

The Athletic selects the most intriguing draft pick from each team

Mets draft bonus pool

$13,955,700 — third-largest bonus pool in this draft
Source: MLB.com

Mets draft picks with top-10 round slot values

(bonus amounts from MLB.com)

Round 1, Pick No. 11: Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech (signed: $5,019,735 / pick slot value: $4,778,200 — pick for not signing 2021 first-round pick Kumar Rocker)
Scouting Report: Parada has been one of the best hitters in college baseball this year, tying for sixth in Division 1 with 26 home runs while walking nearly as often as he struck out on the season (32:30 K:BB), and does so despite one of the more bizarre setups you’ll see in a hitter and while handling the most difficult position on the diamond. Parada sets up at the plate with the bat slung over his shoulder like a bag of golf clubs, but gets the bat to the zone on time, even against better velocity. 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. With 20-25 homer power and a potential 60 hit tool at a position of permanent scarcity, he offers some of the best pure value in the draft class.

• Parada improved his defense to become a likely top-10 pick

Rd. 1, Pick No. 14: Jett Williams, SS, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) High (signed: $3,900,000 / pick slot value: $4,241,600)
Scouting Report: Williams is the other 5-8 high school shortstop in this draft class, behind Termarr Johnson because of the latter’s elite hit tool … but how far behind, really? He’s a right-handed hitter with a clean, efficient swing, and his hand-eye coordination rivals Johnson’s; Williams almost never swung and missed last summer on the showcase circuit and didn’t show any trouble with velocity when he faced it. He’s an above-average to plus runner, quick enough for shortstop but lacking the arm strength or footwork for the position in the long term, so it’s more likely he’ll move to second base or possibly centerfield. There’s always some trepidation around undersized high school hitters, but I remember a similarly sized right-handed high school shortstop who rarely struck out and hit everything hard — Alex Bregman.

Round 2, Pick No. 52: Blade Tidwell, RHP, Tennessee (signed: $1,850,000 / pick slot value: $1,474,400)
Scouting Report: Tidwell started the year on the shelf with what the team termed a “significant shoulder injury,” but returned to the mound in late March and made several starts for the Vols, showing the kind of stuff that made him a potential top-10 pick before the shoulder issues. Tidwell has been up to 99 and regularly sits 94-97 with a solid-average slider that’s 81-87, short but often with tight enough break to elicit chases out of the zone. His command and control are both below average, and he’s had more trouble as he’s gone deeper into games, with 10 walks in 17 innings over his last five SEC outings. Tennessee has used Tidwell judiciously, never pushing him past 14 outs, but that also leaves the question of his durability unanswered. If you think he can start, and that the shoulder issue is not serious, he’s a clear first-rounder, maybe even landing in the top half of the round.

Free agent comp., Pick No. 75: Nick Morabito, OF, Gonzaga College High (signed: $1,000,000 / pick slot value: $873,300 — for losing Noah Syndergaard)
Scouting Report: Morabito was a pop-up guy in the mid-Atlantic this year who ended the spring with scouts asking if he was this year’s James Triantos, a second-round pick by the Cubs last year who is already showing a plus hit tool at age 19 in A-ball. Morabito is cut of a slightly different cloth, as he’s a 70 runner with plus raw power that hasn’t always appeared in games, with bat speed to get to fastballs but some breaking ball recognition questions. He played shortstop for his high school, but lacked the arm or footwork to stay there; second base is the easy answer but he has the speed for center and did play there at the end of the spring. He doesn’t offer a ton of physical projection at 5-11, 180 pounds, but the Virginia Tech commit has untapped power that could make him a strong regular in center if some team helps him get to it.

Rd. 3, Pick No. 90: Brandon Sproat, RHP, Florida ($691,000)
Scouting Report: Sproat was a top 100 prospect in 2019, but slipped to the Rangers in the seventh round that year, turning down their over-slot offers to go to the University of Florida, where he’s bounced in and out of the rotation and posted a 6.65 ERA as a sophomore last year. He made 16 starts for the Gators this year, finishing very strong, including two excellent starts in the tournament where he punched out 13 batters with just three walks and two runs allowed in 15.1 innings. He’s 94-98 mph as a starter, touching 100 mph, working with four pitches, led by an upper-80s changeup with some late tailing action that is effective against left- and right-handed batters. He takes a huge step toward the plate that generates great arm speed, and his release point is consistent enough, so whatever is keeping him from average command, it’s not something obvious in the delivery. It’s never been a question of stuff with Sproat, however, but of command and control; he has the arsenal of a top-20 pick, but his track record and history of throwing strikes don’t support that.

Rd. 4, Pick No. 119: Jacob Reimer, 3B, Yucaipa (Calif.) High (signed: $775,000 / pick slot value: $507,500)
Scouting Report: Reimer is a strong right-handed hitter with good ball-strike recognition and at least average power right now. His bat speed is solid, not plus, but he has very good hand-eye and gets the bat to the ball consistently. He can over rotate and swing uphill, which he doesn’t need to do given his above-average power. Reimer has played shortstop in high school, but is going to move to third base in pro ball, if not a corner outfield spot. He’s committed to Washington and I could see him putting up big numbers in college if he doesn’t sign.

Rd. 5, Pick No. 149: D’Andre Smith, SS, USC (signed: $379,400 / pick slot value: $379,400)

Rd. 6, Pick No. 179: Tyler Stuart, RHP, Southern Mississippi (signed: $220,000 / pick slot value: $288,900)

Rd. 7, Pick No. 209: Jonah Tong, RHP, Bill Crothers SS (Ontario) (signed: $226,000 / pick slot value: $226,000)

Rd. 8, Pick No. 239: Dylan Tebrake, RHP, Creighton (signed: $136,425 / pick slot value: $181,900)

Rd. 9, Pick No. 269: Chase Estep, 3B, Kentucky (signed: $125,000 / pick slot value: $161,900)

Rd. 10, Pick No. 299: Zebulon Vermillion, RHP, Arkansas (signed: $20,000 / pick slot value: $152,400)

Round 11, Pick No. 329: Rhylan Thomas, OF, USC (signed: $180,000 / $55,000 counts towards bonus pool)

Round 12, Pick No. 359: Paul Gervase, RHP, LSU (signed)

Round 13, Pick No. 389: Dylan Ross, RHP, Georgia (signed)

Round 14, Pick No. 419: Cameron Foster, RHP, McNeese State (signed)

Round 15, Pick No. 449: Jackson Jaha, 3B, Clackamas High School (OR)

Round 16, Pick No. 479: Jimmy Loper, RHP, Duke (signed)

Round 17, Pick No. 509: Connor Brandon, RHP, Toledo (signed: $200,000 / $75,000 counts towards bonus pool)

Round 18, Pick No. 539: Chris Santiago, RHP, Saint Mary’s College (signed: $125,000)

Round 19, Pick No. 569: Jackson Lovich, SS, Blue Valley West High School (KS)

Round 20, Pick No. 599: Eli Ankeney, LHP, Grand Canyon University (signed: $100,000)

Mets general manager Billy Eppler (left) takes on his first draft with the organization. (Alejandra Villa Loarca /Newsday RM via Getty Images)

Dates, location and times

The 2022 MLB Draft is a three-day event spanning Sunday through Tuesday of MLB All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. The Sunday evening kickoff includes the first two rounds and will be held live with representatives from each team on hand, as well as several potential draft picks and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

When: July 17, at 7pm EST; July 18, at 2pm EST; July 19, at 2pm EST
Where: Los Angeles
TV: MLB Network (first 80 picks) and ESPN (first round)

Top prospect rankings and mock draft

Druw Jones leads Keith Law’s latest top-100 prospect ranking.

Will the Orioles go with best player available for the top pick? How will the Mets approach their two top-15 picks? The Athletic’s MLB staff weighs in with a first-round mock draft.

Get all of our latest draft coverage here.