Prospering Tigers prospect makes scuffling NY Mets first round pick look even worse

With the 32nd pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, the New York Mets selected shortstop Colin Houck. A .218 since going pro with only 15 home runs in nearly 1,000 plate appearances, Houck has done little to justify the selection.

The positive spin on his career is that he finally managed to figure out Single-A pitchers, hitting .252 for St. Lucie this past year. However, upon joining Brooklyn, some of those same struggles returned. He batted just .198 there and continued to pile up strikeouts.

He has struck out in just over a third of his plate appearances with 334 of them thus far. It’s a pick that hasn’t aged well. Five selections after, the number two prospect in all of baseball who plays the same position went to the Detroit Tigers. Three pitchers and an outfielder went between Houck and Kevin McGonigle.

The Mets picked the wrong high school kid in the 2023 draft

McGonigle is the same age as Houck and has developed much differently. He’s batting literally about 100 points higher in the pros at .308. In 818 plate appearances, he has 84 strikeouts. Houck has about three times as many strikeouts in less than 200 more plate appearances.

Adding to the allure, McGonigle found his power stroke in the minors this past year. He hammered 19 long balls while playing about half of his time in Double-A. Fast-tracking his way to the major leagues, the Tigers can smell his presence a year or two away.

It can get nitpicky to criticize draft picks. This one feels connected. The Mets went with the Georgia kid who most assuredly grew up an Atlanta Braves fan while the Tigers snatched someone from the suburbs of Philadelphia who more than likely rooted for the Phillies as a kid.

The 2023 Mets Draft has been far from a failure, though. Brandon Sproat went in round two. They gained Nolan McLean in round three. Several other well-known and productive prospects were taken later such as A.J. Ewing and Jack Wenninger. It’s that first pick alone where we can shake our heads in disgust.