Kevin Parada was the Mets first round pick in 2022 and immediately made noise in the minor leagues, causing him to sky rocket up prospect lists. Before the start of the season last year Kevin Parada was listed as the third best prospect in the Mets system by Keith Law behind Francisco Álvarez and Brett Baty.
The noise was warranted. In two seasons for Georgia Tech he hit .341/.420/.636 which an amazing 2022 where he hit .361/.453/.709. The Mets had him play in 13 games between their Florida Coast League team and the St. Lucie Mets where he hit .275/.455/.425.
Last season had ups and downs for Parada. He hit well in Brooklyn, playing in 87 games (382 PA’s) hitting .265/.340/.447. For a catcher this was pretty good, but the expectations were so high for Parada. The Mets bumped him up for 14 games to Binghamton and the struggles set in. Over 60 plate appearances his stats dropped to .185/.250/.389. Overall, last year was a step backwards. Going into the season Keith Law has Parada listed at the 7th best prospect in the Mets system.
Kevin Parada is still the Mets best catching prospect in the system, however there are two additional catchers behind him that are drawing attention, that were not in the Mets system during spring training last season. The Mets acquired Ronald Hernandez in the David Robertson trade last year. Hernandez is only two years younger than Parada. The Mets also signed 17-year-old Yovanny Rodriguez, possibly the top catcher in this year’s international free agency pool.
Ahead of Parada on the depth chart Francisco Álvarez. All of this puts Parada in an interesting position this year. There is pressure on the depth chart behind him, but both of those catchers are much farther away from the majors than Parada. Ahead of Parada is Álvarez, who should be the Mets starting catcher for the foreseeable future. This takes the pressure off of the Mets to push Parada quickly through the system.
This spring we’ll be looking for Parada to get back to his 2022 form. That means hitting for power, getting on base at a higher clip, and an improvement to his defense.
