Bats: R, Throws: R, 6’2″ 225, DOB:  December 7, 1994

The Mets started their night off by taking right-hander Justin Dunn from the Boston College with their first pick and 19th overall. They followed that pick up by taking lefty Anthony Kay from Connecticut with the number 31 pick, aka the Daniel Murphy compensation pick. Both pitchers are from Long Island and Kay is from the same high school, Ward Melville, as Steven Matz.

With the 64th pick and their final selection of the night the Mets selected Florida first baseman Peter Alonso.

Scouting report from Prospect Junkies –

In a draft short on college pop, Alonso’s raw power stands out.  There is natural loft in Alonso’s swing, which when coupled, great arm extension and a powerful lower half produces light tower power when the ball is barreled.  Sometimes power is zapped in the short term following a hand injury, but Alonso has been hot since his return from being hit on the hand.

Scouting Report from Baseball Prospectus’s Draft Handbook:

Alonso missed time at the beginning of the year with a broken foot, but came back to be one of the best players on one of the best teams in college baseball. He has plus raw power thanks to his strength and a swing that possesses plus bat speed, capable of taking the ball out to left center and right. His long swing makes it unlikely that he hits for a high aver-age, but there’s enough patience here to suggest that he’ll compensate with some walks. He’s a quality de-fender at first, and if a team hits the “feeling lucky” button on Google, his solid arm might allow him to play third base. Playing third would increase his value substantially, and as a potential backup corner infielder with power, he still has a chance to go in the first 100 picks.

Baseball America had the power hitting first baseman ranked as the 139th player coming into the draft.

Injuries have dogged Alonso the last two seasons–he missed 30 games in 2015 with a broken foot and later broke his nose, and in May 2016 he missed time with a broken left hand. He nevertheless has been the Gators’ most consistent power bat in that span and was leading the ’16 Gators in batting and homers when he got hurt. Alonso didn’t show much power in the Cape Cod League last summer with Bourne after hitting 18 the previous summer during an MVP turn in the Northwoods League. Alonso has plus raw power, hitting the first-ever home run to center field at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha during the 2015 College World Series. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Alonso does it with strength rather than bat speed and is a poor runner who likely will be limited to first base, but his righthanded power is his carrying tool.

MLB.com #64

As a high school third baseman at Plant High School in Tampa, Alonso went undrafted. After three years at the University of Florida, that won’t happen again, as he was swinging a hot bat at the right time as the Draft approached.

Alonso was making consistent, hard contact for the Gators as his junior season progressed. He’s always had raw power, but didn’t always look like he could tap into it consistently. Lately, however, he’s shortened his swing and begun to use the whole field more effectively, showing extra-base pop to the opposite field. Much of his success stems from a more open stance which has helped him get his hips through more consistently. He’s a first baseman only with well below-average speed, though his hands and footwork at the corner infield position should be adequate.

As a right-right first baseman, the bat is really going to have to play. Offensive college performers tend to do well in the Draft, and Alonso’s raw natural power was giving him some helium as the spring progressed.

We’ll give you signing status as soon as we know, but we believe he will be the first baseman in Brooklyn.