What to expect from first-round pick Jett Williams

Jett Williams began his professional baseball career this week for the Mets’ Rookie class affiliate in the Florida Complex League. The New York Mets selected the 18-year old shortstop with the 14th overall selection in the 2022 draft. And he has made some noise on the field in the Sunshine State out of the gate in his first three professional games. 

Williams already has an RBI in each game he’s played, has four stolen bases (including three in yesterday’s game), and three hits in 9 at-bats, with two walks. He has already flashed his speed, as his name suggests. 

So what should we expect from Jett Williams, in terms of both what he can be as a major leaguer, and when we think he’ll reach the major league level?

Mets prospect Jett Williams has the ability to be a game wrecker as he develops more gameday power and a better glove

At 5’8”, Williams was the shortest of the top prospects in the draft, but he embraces the role of shortstop he played at Rockwell-Heath High School in Texas because he embraced his role as a leader and difference maker. His high school club won the state championship in Texas last year, which probably helped raise his draft stock to the point where the Mets took him 14th overall despite his height. 

Reports were that when healthy, Williams has an above average arm at shortstop, thanks to him pitching in his freshman year of high school. He is a player that desires to win and is locked in, and that would fit in nicely with the culture that is now established under Buck Showalter, one that rewards hard-nosed, mentally tough players. 

At the plate, he has terrific plate discipline and a good eye, as he hit .411 this season at Rockwell-Heath, and his ability to make contact is terrific, with his gap-to-gap hitting ability. 

Williams has said that he likes to model his game off Houston Astros stars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, along with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar outfielder Mookie Betts.  

I look at Williams and see a lot of Starling Marte in a Mets uniform. Marte is a contact hitter, has a lot of speed, and possesses dynamic playmaking abilities on the field, just like Williams is now.

MLB.com currently doesn’t have a ranking yet for Williams, but Fangraphs.com has Williams as the team’s No. 7 prospect, so the expectations are already pretty high for him with a first-round investment placed upon him. 

At 18, it will take a while for his game to develop into that of a major leaguer, and Fangraphs.com placed a projected debut year of 2028, although I’d expect him to be ready before that, like in 2026 or 2027, since he has that raw speed already that can change games, something that only a handful of prospects across all of baseball have. Williams can project to rapidly rise in the ranks once he acquires gameday power.