Baseball season is inching closer and while the current Georgia Tech team is getting ready for their upcoming season in February, former Georgia Tech stars are getting ready for their next step.
Kevin Parada had a tremendous 2022 season and that resulted in him being picked by the New York Mets in the first round of the MLB Draft. MLB.com updated their top 2023 prospects list yesterday and Parada made the cut, coming in at No. 36.
Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada was selected 11th overall by the New York Mets
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
As the leader of one of the best offenses in college baseball in 2022, there was not a hitter in college that was as consistent as Parada was all season long among different categories. He set a new school record for home runs in a season with 26 and had a .360 batting average for the 2022 season. He ranked among the top five in multiple hitting categories in the ACC, which may have been the top conference in college baseball this past season.
These were marked improvements from his freshman season and that shows that Parada is only improving as an offensive presence. He likely could have been around a third-round pick when he was coming out of high school but decided to bet on himself to improve his draft position while at Georgia Tech.
Here is the MLB.com scouting report on Parada:
“Parada could have been a fairly high pick in the 2020 Draft but was insistent upon going to Georgia Tech, the alma mater of backstops Jason Varitek, Matt Wieters, and Joey Bart. The right-handed slugger took to the college game quickly with a .929 OPS as a freshman and then took off with a .361/.453/.709 line and school-record 26 homers as a Draft-eligible sophomore. Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Draft prospect, Parada went at No. 11 to the Mets and translated instantly to the pro game with a .455 OBP and 13/12 K/BB ratio in 13 games, mostly at Single-A St. Lucie, where he won a league title.
Part of Parada’s pre-swing setup includes a bat wiggle and a decent leg kick, but he has few issues covering the zone, making contact, and driving the ball to all fields. His exit velocity topped out at 105.5 mph in his brief FSL stay, but there should be more in the tank over a larger sample as he settles into pro ball. Repeating 20-plus homers isn’t likely to be an issue, even with a wooden bat, and his strong ability to marry average and power will drive his place towards the middle of most lineups.
Defense has long been a primary focus of Parada, and that’s notable considering he looked like he was wearing down with additional playing time at Georgia Tech and with Team USA in 2021. His caught-stealing rate gradually improved from his freshman to sophomore years, but his general arm strength still checks in at below-average. No matter, Parada’s potential with the bat is so good — and his defense generally fair enough — that he profiles as a future bat-first everyday catcher.”
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