John Sickels, SB Nation’s minor league expert, provided his review and summary of the picks made in last week’s MLB draft by all the teams currently residing in the National League East. He gave us some insight on the selections from the rest of the division, and the article is definitely worth a read. Here are the picks he highlighted for the New York Mets:
- Pick 11: Dominic Smith, 1B, Serra HS, Gardena, CA
- Pick 48: Andrew Church, RHP, Basic HS, Henderson, NV
- Pick 76: Ivan Wilson, OF, Ruston HS, LA
- Pick 84: Casey Meisner, RHP, Cypress Woods HS, Cypress, TX
- Pick 116: L.J. Mazzilli, 2B, Connecticut
- Pick 146: Jared King, OF, Kansas State
Sickels also pointed out some later selections made by New York:
- 7th round: Matt Oberste, 1B, Oklahoma
- 8th round: Ricky Knapp, RHP, Florida Gulf Coast
- 9th round: Patric Biondi, OF, Michigan
- 10th round: Luis Guillorme, SS, Florida HS
- 15th round: Colton Plaia, C, Loyola Marymount
Sickels defined the Mets’ draft as a “mixed class,” taking on more risk early with the upside of high school players, but then balanced it out in the later rounds with more refined college players. He liked the selection of Smith, and feels his bat and glove can handle staying at first base.
The next three picks of Church, Wilson, and Meisner were all solid selections due to their athleticism, but Sickels said the Mets would likely have to be patient as they development. However, the late round picks help level out the risk.
Personally, I’ve never followed the MLB draft very closely until this year, and I still came late to the party for last week’s event. From what I’ve been able to read up in that short amount of time, I’m a fan of the selections made by the Mets. Smith has a sweet swing, and even though Church, Wilson, and Meisner will likely need some patience, they’re young and athletic enough where it’s worth it.
I don’t mind seeing New York take some risks with their early picks because that’s where the potential is. There are solid players they took late that certainly add to the depth of what’s becoming an increasingly deep farm system.
There will be more in depth analysis coming later today on the top three picks by Teddy Klein.
What are your thoughts on the selections the Mets made last week?
I know that the Met scouts know a lot more more about these kids that I do but I was disappointed that the Mets passed on Austin Wilson in the second round. I’ve heard that Andrew Church, threw hard in the workouts before the draft and could turn out to be a good reliever someday. Austin Wilson is the kind of big (6 foot 6), powerful, athletic, talented rightfielder that the Mets could have used now or in the near future. He’s already in college and he probably will rise fast through the minors. Would have loved to have an asset like that in the minor leagues for the Mets.
Austin Wilson would have been a nice pick, but he’s also have been a costly overslot. The mets would have had to say goodbye to 2 or 3 guys they signed just to make up the money Wilson would have cost. That’s the mathematics of the new draft. Wilson cost 1.7 million. Church 0.85 million. The mets had just under 7 million to spend and they spent 6.9 of it. Signing Wilson, would bring their spending up to 7.75, which means, picking Wilson wouldn’t have just cost Church, but another few hundred thousands of signings as well.