ATLANTA — Mitch Voit described himself neither as a pitcher nor infielder nor hitter, but a “winner” who “will do anything that it takes for the team to win.”
After the University of Michigan star was selected by the Mets — with a late first-round selection that had been weakened by the club’s past aggressive spending and a strong 2024 season that ended in the NLCS — he thought he landed in the right place.
“They’re winners,” he said on a Zoom call Sunday, “and I think I fit real good in with that kind of program and organization.”
The Mets made Voit the No. 38 overall pick with a selection docked 10 spots because the club exceeded the CBT threshold by more than $40 million last season. They did not have a second-round pick because they signed Juan Soto, who had been tagged with a qualifying offer.
Charged to do more with less — their $5,465,900 pool to shell out to draft picks trails every team except the Yankees — the Mets hope they can maximize their haul beginning with an athletic player announced as a two-way guy but who will at least begin as a position player.
“We’re thrilled Mitch was still on the board there,” vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross said. “Explosive, athletic. Believe he stays on the dirt.”
Voit had pitched and hit in his first two seasons with the Wolverines before undergoing internal brace surgery in July 2024. The righty thrower and hitter returned this season as primarily a second baseman and watched his bat and baserunning take off, posting a 1.140 OPS with 14 steals in 56 games.
The hitting tool is what most attracted the Mets — “The bat really stood out” in his first season as solely a hitter, Gross said — but Voit at least will keep the faint idea of pitching alive.
“I will do absolutely anything to make it to the big leagues as a New York Met,” Voit said, “so you can’t rule anything out.”
A 20-year-old out of Whitefish Bay High School in Wisconsin — the same high school as now Cubs manager Craig Counsell, whose family he is friends with and to whom he referred to as “Mr. Counsell” — Voit said he began chatting with the Mets, notably scout Chad Langley, last fall.
He knew he and the club had a good relationship but he was not sure what to anticipate as the first round went along.
“I’m stoked,” said Voit, who said he likes moving around defensively but feels best at second base.
The Mets’ scouting minds clearly have valued athleticism, taking athletes announced as two-way players now three years straight. Nolan McLean, a 2023 third-round pick, tried doing both professionally before shifting his focus solely on hitting midseason last year. Last year’s first-round pick, Carson Benge, gave up pitching as he turned pro.
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With their third-round pick, the Mets took another athlete (albeit purely a position player) in Antonio Jimenez, a shortstop out of the University of Central Florida.
“Real exciting player. We think he’s got a chance to stay a shortstop,” Drew Toussaint, the director of amateur scouting, said of Jimenez, who slashed .329/.407/.575 last season. “A chance to be an above-average defender. He has a couple pluses — plus power, raw power, plus arm strength.”
After sitting around for over three hours waiting to make their first selection, the Mets were happy with the pair of players they came away with in a draft that is a larger challenge than most.
“We’re looking to get creative,” Gross said. “And [Monday] we’ll continue to explore different avenues … to capitalize on where we’re at.”