Baseball America announced their 2nd mock draft for the upcoming draft in June. Lets take a look at the two picks they project for us in the first round.

#19: Alex Kirilloff, OF, Plum (PA) HS: So far, the Mets have been linked to a few prep bats, and this one looks to be a good one. According to some scouts, Kirilloff makes a ton of hard contact. He has some length to his swing, but he has above-average bat speed and quick wrists. While his long swing adds plenty of loft, it actually helps add to his power as well. He hasn’t been exposed to high-level pitching, but eventually picked it up with a nice showing towards the end of the summer.

Scouts project him to move to first base at some point, but he shouldn’t have to move though, because he has an exceptional arm according to some. He has solid-to-average raw speed as PBR timed him 4.26 down the line, and 6.70 in the 60. He has played some center field, however, he’s most likely poised for a corner outfield role.

He has a very nice story as he the son of a hitting coach, so any flaws he has can be easily improved. He has the solid makeup to be a nice major league player, and I wouldn’t be disappointed in this pick.

#31: Robert Tyler, RHP, Georgia: This could possibly be another Mike Pelfrey, but the stuff is definitely there. Tyler just needs to put it all together. He has the stuff to become a number three starter, but he could see a bullpen role or a closer role in the future. He has tantalizing stuff. When he’s starting, his fastball sits at 92-95 MPH though in shorter roles it flashes at 96-98 mph. His changeup is another great pitch as it comes from almost exactly the same arm slot and speed as his fastball.

Unfortunately for him, his curveball is his worst pitch. It could make him or break him. On a good day, it’s an above average pitch that has decent rotation on the ball, but on an off day, it’s a mess and looks more like a slurve. Scouts also say that Tyler has the tendency to rush. He tries very hard to get to the strike zone in a hurry, which makes him miss up and out of the strike zone. He looks to definitely see relief time, and will be an interesting project.

Final Thoughts:

I think these would be two solid first round picks. The best part about Kirilloff is that he wants to make a name for himself. He says “I don’t want to be the guy that wants to be the next so and so, I want to be the next Alex Kirilloff, not the next whoever”. That comment spoke volumes to me because it shows how hard he could work. It’s players like this that could be freaks of nature because they have such a good work ethic.

Robert Tyler could be an interesting pick if he can figure it out. The stuff is there, and if he’s coachable, could be very good. It would be great for him to work with Dan Warthen, the king of helping young pitchers develop sliders, as his curve is more slurvey. If he can develop three A+ pitches, he could be a solid relief piece to the Mets’ thin relief depth. I would like that pick just to see how he pans out.