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Draft Day News: Newcomb Rising, Experts Split On Mets Pick

By Fan Shot

June 5, 2014 No comments

Michael-Conforto-Oregon-State-Beavers-College-World-Series-1

Experts now seem to be leaning back towards Conforto with the Mets selection.

Happy Draft Day everyone!

With the draft just hours away, many of the experts are finishing up their mock drafts. In previous installments it appeared that the Mets seemed destined to pick Hartford left-hander Sean Newcomb. However, as of 8:30am today that no longer appears to be a lock. Here’s how the mock drafts shake down for the Mets:

Keith Law (ESPN)- Sean Newcomb, LHP (Hartford University)

John Manuel (Baseball America)- Michael Conforto, OF ( Oregon State)

Jim Callis (MLB.com)- Sean Newcomb

Chris Crawford (MLB Draft Insider)- Bradley Zimmer, OF (San Francisco)

Jon Heyman (CBS Sports)- Trea Turner, SS (NC State)

Ryan Fagan (Sporting News)- Michael Conforto

Perfect Game– Michael Conforto

Unsurprisingly, they all have the Mets taking college players, as many have predicted the Mets will target.

The two most common names you hear are Newcomb and Conforto. In his most recent personal rankings, Keith Law had Newcomb ranked seventh and Conforto ranked eighth while Baseball America had them eleventh and eighth respectively.

Newcomb On The Rise

Speaking of Hartford ace Sean Newcomb, ESPN‘s Greg Rosenstein spoke with the southpaw about his emergence, and his thoughts heading into the draft.

“It’s exciting and feels a little surreal,” Newcomb tells ESPN. “But I’m not going to get too caught up in [playing professionally] until it actually happens.”

Newcomb, who had just one scholarship offer (Hartford), came out of high school topping out in the mid-80’s with his fastball and struggled with command according to Rosenstein. However, the projection was there, and Hartford coach Justin Blood liked what he saw.

“He definitely went under the radar, but I don’t think anyone who saw him then would have said ‘he’s going to be a first-round draft pick,'” Blood said. “By the time he stepped on campus, he had already become a different animal.”

Since then Newcomb has filled out, and along with some mechanical tweaks as well as hard work, he’s turned himself into a potential top-10 pick this evening.

Rosenstein spoke to an NL scout, who also liked what he saw in the big left-hander:

“He’s a big, physical kid with a power arm,” an NL scout said this week. “He has a decent feel to throw four pitches for strikes. The physical size and arm strength is appealing right away.

“Newcomb has been a consistent performer all spring, and the one thing that he’s improved on is his control. He’s throwing strikes more consistently and getting ahead of hitters more than he had in his first year. He’s made the strides that you want to see guys make.”

(Photo credit: Jaime Valdez – USA TODAY SPORTS)

 

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