MMN Top 30 Prospects: No. 11 Colin Houck

No. 11 Colin Houck, SS/3B

B/T: R/R
Age: 19 (9/30/2004)
Height: 6’2
Weight: 190 lbs
Acquired: 1^st round of 2023 Draft from Parkview HS (Lilburn, GA)
Previous Rank:
2023 Stats (FCL Mets): 9 G, .241 BA, .699 OPS, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 7 BB

Colin Houck was the Mets’ lone first-round pick of the 2023 Draft, selected 32^nd overall given the Mets’ draft position penalty for exceeding the luxury tax. Houck was committed to Mississippi State for baseball and even had several Power 5 offers to play college football, but the Mets were able to entice him to sign with an above-slot contract offer.

Houck was drafted as a shortstop and has started most of his games in the organization at that position, although he has also seen time at third base and second base. He projects to have a plus arm with solid hitting and power tools, an all-around skill set that could help him slot in at just about any defensive position if the bat is there.

Unfortunately, the bat has not been there to start his professional career. He showed a strong eye at the plate in limited action in 2023, drawing seven walks in nine games in the Florida Complex League, but he had just seven hits and only one went for extra bases. In 16 games to start the 2024 season for St. Lucie, he is hitting just .186 with a .288 slugging percentage. His walk rate has been similarly impressive with 14 walks in those 16 games, although he has struck out 23 times.

Houck is still looking for his first professional home run, a feat that will hopefully help him gain some confidence at the plate. His fielding has also been a work in progress, recording seven errors across 18 professional games at shortstop.

There’s obviously still a lot of room to grow for the 19-year-old Houck. Still, it is important to remember that he is only 19 and playing older competition at the Low-A level. He is also focusing full-time on baseball without the pull of being a multi-sport athlete, so there is optimism that this commitment to baseball skill development will lead to more encouraging outputs as the year progresses. It’s still early on and tough to pass judgment on such a small sample size, but Houck will need to pick things up significantly by the end of the 2024 season to reignite the optimism the Mets felt upon initially drafting him.

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