Technically, this is NOT a list of the Mets’ Top 20 Prospects going into the 1964 season, but rather a list of 20 prominent prospects who were signed by the Mets between 1962 and 1964, before the first Amateur Draft in 1965. It does not include players drafted or acquired from other organizations. As with most prospect lists, some went on to be stars, others had some level of major league success, and some had just a cup of coffee in the big leagues either due to injury or because they just weren’t good enough. Only one “got away”, Paul Blair, who was drafted by the Orioles out of the Mets’ organization, and only two never made it to the big leagues at all, Hank McGraw (Tug’s older brother and considered a far better prospect) and Paul Alspach.
In future posts, I’ll take a closer look at some of the lesser known of this group, but for now, here’s a list in approximate order (just my opinion) of ultimate major league value.
2. Paul Blair
3. Cleon Jones
4. Tug McGraw
6. Ed Kranepool
7. Dick Selma
8. Ron Swoboda
10. John Stephenson
11. Dick Rusteck
12. Kevin Collins
13. Dennis Musgraves
14. Grover Powell
15. Danny Napoleon
16. Jim Bethke
17. Ron Locke
19. Hank McGraw
20. Paul Alspach
(Photo: Getty Images)
