METS SIGN INF COLIN HOUCK AND RHP BRANDON SPROAT
FLUSHING, N.Y., July 14, 2023 – The New York Mets today announced that the club has signed first-round selection (32ndoverall) INF Colin Houck and second-round selection (56th overall) RHP Brandon Sproat. Both players will begin their professional careers at the Florida Complex League in Port St. Lucie, FL.
Houck, 18, was named the 2022-2023 Georgia Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after leading Parkview High School to the Class 7A State Finals in 2023. The Lilburn, GA native batted .487 with eight home runs, 50 RBI, 16 stolen bases and posted a .587 OBP this past season. The No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and the No. 21 prospect according to Baseball America, Houck became the fourth-ever player from Parkview High School selected in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft joining 12-year veteran OF Jeff Francouer (2002, 23rd overall), All-Star 1B Matt Olson (2012, 47th overall) and INF Josh Hart (2013, 37th overall).
The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder is also a three-star quarterback recruit and received several offers from Power 5 programs after throwing for 2,189 yards and 24 touchdowns during his senior season. Prior to signing with the Mets, Houck was committed to play baseball at Mississippi State.
Sproat, 22, was previously drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft. The No. 54 prospect byMLB Pipeline and the No. 56 prospect by ESPN, Sproat was a Second Team All-SEC selection in 2023 after recording 134 strikeouts over 106.1 innings and held opposing batters to a .222 average. The Pace, FL native struck out 28 batters in four postseason starts this year, including 14 over two starts in the College World Series. In 56 career games over four seasons at the University of Florida, Sproat went 19-8 with a 4.27 ERA (106 ER/223.2 IP) and 242 strikeouts.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder was the third Gator taken in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft joining OF Wyatt Langford (fourth overall) and RHP Hurston Waldrep (24th overall).
In addition, the Mets have also signed the following players: RHP Austin Troesser (4th round, University of Missouri), RHP Jack Wenninger (6th round, University of Illinois), RHP Noah Hall (7th round, University of South Carolina), INF Boston Baro (8th round, Capistrano Valley HS (CA), INF Nick Lorusso (9th round, University of Maryland) and Catcher Christian Pregent (10th round, Stetson University).
