MLB Draft: Mets select Michigan's Mitch Voit with 38th overall pick, UCF's Antonio Jimenez with 102nd pick
Michigan's Mitch Voit plays during an NCAA baseball game on March 11 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Credit: AP/Al Goldis
The Mets went for athleticism and versatility with their first pick in the Major League Baseball Draft when they selected the University of Michigan’s Mitch Voit, a second baseman and pitcher, with the 38th overall pick on Sunday night.
Voit, 20, has college experience playing at second base, third base and in the outfield. The righthander has been both a reliever and starting pitcher, though he did not pitch this past season as a junior after an elbow injury that required internal brace surgery.
His primary position this past season was second base, his likely destination with the Mets.
“I’m a winner — plainly put, I’ll do anything that it takes for the team to win,” Voit said in a Zoom interview. “I love that the [Mets are] winners and I think I fit real good with that kind of organization . . . and the competitiveness of the New York Mets just makes me that much more excited to be able to come there.”
“It’s a short, compact, explosive swing — he can impact the ball,” Mets vice president for amateur scouting Kris Gross said. “We really think he can affect the game in numerous ways. It’s a plus run tool, so when you’re scouting him, you sit there and you start to check all the boxes. He checked them all.
“So ecstatic to get him there at 38 . . . and he seems very polished for his age,” Gross added.
Voit was selected in competitive balance round A after the first round. The Mets would have had the 28th overall pick had they not gone over the competitive balance tax (or luxury tax) by having a payroll of about $347 million. Teams that exceeded the luxury tax by more than $60 million in 2024 — the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers — were penalized 10 spots in the draft.
The 6-foot, 201-pound Voit is considered to have base-stealing speed and excellent arm strength and was twice selected to the All-Big Ten first team.
He first met with Mets scout Chad Langley last fall and said of his contact with the Mets, “Every time I’ve spoken with them, it’s always just been real great [and] you can see that we have a good relationship.”
In 56 games as a junior this past season, Voit had a .346/.471/.668 slash line with 14 home runs, 60 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.
Asked about having played many different positions at Michigan, Voit said that if he had to choose, it probably would be second base. But he added, “I’m comfortable basically anywhere I have to be . . . For me to be able to fill our team’s needs in a spot where we don’t have someone I think brings great value.”
Asked what he considers to be his best attribute, Voit replied: “I’d say my biggest tool as a player is the collection of all my tools. I have so many things that I use to help me win at any given moment, whether it’s the ability to just slow my heart rate down in a big situation . . . [or] being a spark in the lineup or always being a lockdown defender out there. And something that I got to showcase a lot more of this year was my ability to run the bases and use my speed to my advantage.”
The Mets also did not have a pick in the second round; it was forfeited when they signed Juan Soto in free agency. They got the 102nd overall pick in the third round and chose shortstop Antonio Jimenez from the University of Central Florida.
The righthanded-hitting Jimenez played in 55 games this past season and had a .329/.407/.575 slash line, 11 home runs, 51 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
“He was a real exciting player,” Gross said. “We think he’s got a chance to stay at shortstop, chance to be an above-average defender. He has a couple pluses: plus-power, raw power, plus-arm strength.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
