New York Mets Go Collegiate Route To Begin 2025 MLB Draft

The New York Mets welcomed two new players into their organization on Sunday night during the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft down in Atlanta. With their first selection (38th overall), they took a two-way player out of Michigan in Mitch Voit. Later on in the evening, they went with UCF shortstop Antonio Jimenez in the 3rd Round (102nd overall).

When you look at Voit, he is a player who went from being a pitcher at Michigan to eventually playing second base full-time this past season.

At Michigan this year, Voit had a slash line of .346/.471/.668 with 14 home runs, 60 RBIs, 14 steals, and an OPS of 1.140. That success allowed him to be named to the D1 Baseball All-America 3rd team this year. He was listed as the 63rd best prospect by MLB Pipeline, who talked about the improvements he made in his swing this year.

“Voit has significantly improved his approach, making better swing decisions and barreling balls more regularly. His right-handed stroke can get rotational at times and he can get pull-happy, but he also hits the ball hard and has feel for launching balls in the air. His power plays from the left-field line to right-center and could produce 15-20 homers per season.”

Voit began his collegiate career as a third baseman and a closer (five saves in 19 appearances, 3.25 ERA). In 2024, he joined the Michigan rotation (5.49 ERA in 10 starts) in addition to playing first base and in the outfield. Before the 2025 season, he had to undergo internal brace surgery on his elbow, which caused him to solely focus on hitting this year as he moved over to second base.

One draft analyst who was high on Voit’s skills coming into the MLB Draft was Tyler Jennings of Just Baseball.  He mentioned that a big key for the junior this year was that he cut down on his strikeout rate and increased his walk rate, which is a great sign in his development as a hitter.

Mitch Voit will be the pick for the Mets at 38.

I’ve been hyping him up all week. He’s such an underrated bat. pic.twitter.com/yaXIGEZmnw

— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 14, 2025

One of the things that will help Voit in his transition to professional baseball is his ability to play different positions. He told Baseball Prospect Journal back in June that his versatility is something he is very proud of.

“My versatility as a position player is really important…Whatever team I’m on, it helps everybody. My dependability with the bat is a strength, especially in important moments when you need a spark or need someone to come through in the clutch.”

Voit echoed those thoughts in his post-draft meeting with the media, where he viewed himself as a winning player.

“I’m a winner plainly put. Do anything that it takes for the team to win. I just go out there and love the game, enjoy the game, and play to win. That’s my goal and everything else falls in line. 

“I have so many things that I use to help me win at any given moment, whether it’s the ability to slow my heart rate down in a big situation and come through for the team, or whether it’s always being a spark in the lineup, or always being a lockdown defender. Something I got to showcase a lot more of this year is my ability to run the bases and use that to my advantage.” 

With Voit looking to be more of a hitter at this stage of his career, it will be interesting to watch how his power tool emerges to go with the potential he has in wreaking havoc on the bases. The slot value listed for this pick is $2.57 million.

In Round 3, the Mets would stay in the infield by going with Jimenez. He just finished his sophomore year at UCF after transferring from Miami (Florida). The 21-year-old does still have two years of draft eligibility left. With the Mets having the second-lowest bonus pool ($5,465,900), they must think they have a great chance of landing a player of Jimenez’s talent. The slot value for this pick is $752,000.

With the Golden Knights this past season, Jimenez shone in Big 12 play. In 55 games, he had a slash line of .329/.407/.575 with 11 home runs, 51 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, and a .982 OPS. As our own Jack Ramsey wrote, Jimenez’s strong swing gave him the ability to get extra bases at a consistent rate.

“Jimenez has a sweet swing from the right side, posing a legitimate power threat while being able to utilize his speed to generate extra base-hits where there otherwise might not be. Overall, he tallied 27 total extra-base hits in 55 games for UCF. Jimenez also shows a willingness to use the entire field, including the opposite field.”

As for his best tool, MLB Pipeline (172nd-ranked prospect) says that it is Jimenez’s defense that stands out at shortstop.

“Jimenez’s standout defensive tool is his easily plus arm that works from anywhere on the infield. He has decent actions and a chance to stick at shortstop with an overall improved defensive game, though he can get a little too flashy at times.”

The Mets’ director of amateur scouting, Drew Touissaint, spoke after Night 1 and talked about how they believe Jimenez can stick at shortstop as he progresses in his professional career.

Mets director of amateur scouting Drew Touissaint on third-round pick Antonio Jimenez:

“He was a real exciting player. We think he has a chance to stick at shortstop, a chance to be an above-average defender… Plus power, raw power, plus arm strength.”

— Mojo Hill (@mojohill22) July 14, 2025

On Monday, the MLB Draft resumes with Rounds 4-20. You can watch the draft on MLB.com or MLB.TV. Keep it right here on Metserized and Mets Minors for all of the latest on the 2025 MLB Draft.

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