Mississippi State shortstop commit Colin Houck has been selected by the New York Mets with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Houck is an 18-year-old shortstop out of Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview High, where he was also the starting quarterback for the football team. He was ranked as a three-star quarterback in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview has produced some notable big leaguers over the past few decades such as former Gold Glover winner Jeff Francoeur and MLB All-Star first baseman Matt Olson.
Both Francoeur and Olson were first round picks when they were chosen in the draft. Francoeur was also a two-sport athlete who could have played football at the college level.
Houck entered the draft as the No. 12 overall prospect in the draft, according to MLB.com’s prospect rankings.
“Houck’s combination of strength and bat speed give him plus raw power, and the right-handed hitter already shows a propensity for driving balls in the air to his pull side,” MLB.com’s scouting report on Houck reads. “He does swing and miss and chase pitches more than is ideal at times, though there’s optimism that he can improve as a hitter once he concentrates solely on baseball.”
More on the 2023 MLB Draft, what’s next for Colin Houck
The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.
This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.
While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.
Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.
In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.
Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players like Colin Houck will have until August 1 to sign a contract.
More must-reads: