Tomorrow, the Rule 5 Draft will commence. With players like Mason McCullough and Cale Coshow being available, the Mets may be able to add a reliever to compliment Anthony Swarak or possibly a player at another position to help complete the Opening Day roster. At the same token, other teams could look at the players the Mets left unprotected and very well decided one of those players is ready to contribute to their team in 2018.
Accordingly, in this week’s roundtable, our writers pick which Mets prospect is most likely to be selected by another team in tomorrow’s Rule 5 Draft:
Michael Mayer – RHP Mickey Jannis
Ernest Dove – RHP Adonis Uceta
There’s been a recent trend in taking teams scooping up young prospects from A-Ball and lower but I’d say Luis Carpio and Ali Sanchez are safe due to their recent injuries and performance. I’d say this year the Mets lose pitcher Uceta to the rule 5 draft. He’s only pitched 6 innings in Double-A, but the hard throwing 23 year old righty could likely stick somewhere hidden in a teams bullpen.
Josh Finkelstein – RHP Adonis Uceta
I think the Mets have a good shot to lose Uceta. He has a great fastball and really thrived last year in the minors through three levels. While he is still probably not ready, relievers are the easiest Rule 5 players to keep on a roster throughout a season as they can just be buried at the back end of the pen. Some team might feel like his arm is worth doing that for a year, but it would likely have to be a team that isn’t planning on contending next season.
Corné Hogeveen – RHP Adonis Uceta
Matt Mancuso – RHP Adonis Uceta
Although I am enamored with Mickey Jannis’s knuckleball, other teams may not want a 29-year-old that has just broken out this year. This reasoning led me to believe Adonis Uceta will no longer be in the Mets system come 2018. Last year Uceta, Uceta pitched to a 1.51 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP in 59.2 innings and played for the Fireflies, St. Lucie Mets, and Rumble Ponies in 2017. The Braves and other teams have been scouting Uceta in preparation for this upcoming draft.
Jacob Resnick – OF Jayce Boyd
I actually think the Mets will come out of the draft unscathed, but for an out-of-the-box answer, I’ll say Jayce Boyd. I think teams could be intrigued by a career .290 hitter that gets on base, strikes out infrequently, and showed a career-best power stroke in 2017. He’s not over the hill yet at 26, and his 1B/OF versatility is attractive. A rebuilding team would not lose anything by giving at-bats to Boyd next season.
Mets Daddy – LHP David Roseboom
As we saw with the Mets selecting Sean Gilmartin in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft, teams like to select left-handed pitchers who could be cheaper options to serve as a second left-handed reliever out of the bullpen. The Mets prospsect that best fits that mold is Roseboom. As luck would have it, he is also one of the Mets best left-handed relief prospects.
In 2016, Roseboom had a break out season in Binghamton going 1-1 with a 1.87 ERA, 0.902 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, and an 8.4 K/9. He would dominate both right-handed batters (.189/.256/.311) and left-handed batters (.141/.225/.205) alike. He carried that success forward with a dominant stint in the Arizona Fall League (0.79 ERA), and he impressed in Spring Training. Unfortuantely, that success did not carry into Las Vegas as he suffered a broken bone in his foot. Assuming he’s fully recovered, another organization may very well pick him to be a contributor in their 2018 bullpen and beyond.
Overall, our staff has mostly pegged Uceta as the pitcher to be chosen, which shouldn’t be surprising given the terrific season he just had. Still, there are other quality players who could very well be enticing to other teams. Do you agree with our assessment? We look forward to seeing your choices in the comments.
The Mets will lose no one listed here. The only player they could lose is Ricky Knapp, in the way Matt Bowman was swiped. As for Uceta, there is a ton of relief types available higher than the A ball Uceta with a little AA. I fact, he isn’t even mentioned by Jonathan Mayo as a player of interest on the Mets. Relax folks, he’s not a major piece.
Regarding the Boyd situation, you’re still misreading the rules. He is not eligible for [what you call] the AAA phase because he is already in AAA. he would therefore only be eligible for the major league phase. Also, as we’ve previously discussed, there is no longer any AAA draft. There is only one minor league phase of the draft for all players in AA and below. .