2021 Mets Draft profile: Jack-Thomas Wold

Born in Henderson, Nevada, Jack-Thomas Wold attended Basic Academy of International Studies, where he lettered all four years he attended. While he played, the Wolves won a three league titles from 2014-2016 and back-to-back Nevada 4A State Championships in 2016 and 2017, the first championship their first in three decades. Wold himself was a big reason why, as he hit .460 with 10 home runs in his senior year and was named to the All-Southern Nevada and All-Sunrise First Teams and was the All-Sunrise Region Player of the Year in 2017.

He went undrafted at the end of his high school career and attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He started 56 of the 57 games he played in, appearing in 48 games as the Rebels’ DH and 6 as their first baseman, and hit .307/.369/.448 with 6 home runs, 19 walks, and 35 strikeouts. He played for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League that summer and then returned to UNLV in 2019 for his sophomore year. Appearing in 32 games at first base and 9 as the designated hitter, Wold hit .331/.398/.494 with 6 home runs, 16 walks, and 28 strikeouts, winning Mountain West Player of the Week twice in back-to-back weeks in the last week of March and first week of April. That summer, he played for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League but struggled with a wood bat, hitting .243/.263/.387.

Wold appeared in 17 games for the Rebels before the NCAA ended the season due to COVID-19, and then went undrafted in the abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft. He supplemented the minimal time he played with UNLV by returning to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters that summer. Now a senior, Wold played in all 33 games the Rebels played and hit an astounding .429/.491/.793 with 12 home runs, 19 walks, and 14 strikeouts and was named to the Mountain West All-Conference First TeamIn total, he ended his four-year career at UNLV a cumulative .340/.408/.542 hitter in 148 games, with 25 home runs, 62 walks, and 89 strikeouts.

Though only 5’10”, Wold packs a powerful punch. Short and stocky, the 220-pound Wold is built like a linebacker. At the plate, he stands tall with a wide, open stance, wrapping the bat behind his head. He closes up and stands square as he takes his swing stride. The movement of his lower half sometimes does not sync up with his upper half, as his legs will be moving towards third base while his torso and hands will be uncoiling and moving towards first. He swings with a hacky, upper-cutty swing with a lot of upward plane. At first glance, he would appear to be vulnerable to the strikeout, but thus far in his baseball career, he has not. He has shown a strong feel for barreling the ball and making contact. Against collegiate pitching, he has also shown a discerning eye, with a cumulative 9.3% walk percentage over the course of his time playing at UNLV.

Defensively, Wold profiles best at first base, though undersized for the position. He is athletic and moves with a graceful fluidity that a man his size normally wouldn’t, with a smooth glove and soft hands. He played a little right field in 2021 with the Rebels and was athletic enough to not be a liability, and even though he has the arm for right, his long-term future is almost assuredly in the infield only.