Round 14, Pick 412: LHP Nathan Lavender – Illinois
Lavender pitched to a 4.11 ERA over 57 innings for Illinois in his sophomore campaign. The lefty struck out 79 batters and walked only 15 during his season, and pitched to a 7-2 record.
IL: LHP Nathan Lavender (El Paso-Griffey) up to 92 at the #Super60 pic.twitter.com/MzqafxBOfS
— PBR Illinois (@PBRIllinois) February 4, 2018
“4.11.18 – Illinois commit, currently ranked No. 5 in the Illinois’ 2018 class. 6-foot-2, 195-pound, left-handed pitcher with a thick lower half. Started on the mound for El-Paso Gridley. In six innings of work, gave up one hit, one unearned run, struck out 13 and walked five. Side-step delivery, works across his body, inconsistent timing. Clean, unobstructed arm action; works loose and extremely quick out front from a high-3/4 slot. Fastball jumps out of his hand, lacked command, worked mostly straight with occasional cutting action; sat anywhere from 86-90 mph throughout, majority being 88-89, touched 92 one time. Curveball, slows arm action at times, 1/7 shape, depth and occasional bite, 71-73 mph. Did not see a changeup in game. Talented left-handed pitcher with a high-upside.” -Prep Baseball Report
Round 15, Pick 432: SS Wyatt Young – Pepperdine
The Mets took undersized shortstop Wyatt Young out of Pepperdine in California with their 15th pick. The Hawaiian born shortstop hit .332 for Pepperdine in his junior season. D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers had praise for the shortstop, saying “The Mets take one of my favorites in Pepperdine Baseball’s SS Wyatt Young. Young doesn’t have a lot of pop of extra-base potential, but quality hitter and a strong, strong, steady defender.”
Young only struck out 23 times on the season, and walked 22 times, continuing the trend of the Mets selecting players that control their strikeout numbers and walk at high clips. This was reflected in his .402 OBP his junior season. As Rogers noted, Young recorded 15 extra-base hits in 190 at bats in 2021 competition.
“Young is a player who understands his physical limitations and plays to his strengths. He has good hands and a swing that stays short to the ball; he also showed a willingness to further shorten up with two strikes and grind ABs. Plate discipline and hand eye coordination are strengths. With these skills coupled with his size, Young does not look like a guy who will swing and miss much. Power (20-grade) will never be a big part of his game, but he makes a good amount of contact and is capable of peppering gaps. Defensively, he is sure-handed and takes a lot of small, quick steps. His path to the ball is direct, and he is an instinctive defender with good anticipation.”- Prospects Live’s take of Young after his 2019 Cape Cod League stint.
Round 16, Pick 462: RHP Trey McLoughlin – Fairfield
In just five appearances, McLoughlin pitched to a 4.94 ERA over 23.2 innings. The Connecticut native stands in at 6’2″ from the right handed side,
In an interview with the Shelton Herald, Fairfield pitching coach Jordan Tabakman said that McLaughlin “On the field, in the weight room, in the classroom Trey is second to none; his work ethic is impressive. Trey is the first one to arrive and last one to leave every single day. He thinks long term, but he has short-term goals he is always trying to achieve.”
The article would continue that “Tabakman said: ‘Trey is a leader on the team. Guys look up to him. All the possible distractions from the pandemic to the draft, he’s got a good head on his shoulder, clear vision. He is doing a good job controlling what he can control to get ready for this coming season.'”
https://twitter.com/Stags_Base/status/1132414763168870402?s=20
McLoughlin was named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team for the 2019 tournament after a dominating, 14-strike out performance in an elimination game against Canisius.
With their sixteenth selection in the 2021 draft, the Mets seem to have picked a pitcher with a great mindset and a solid grasp on the mental side to the game, and one that is a pleasure to have in the clubhouse.