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Baseball America Projects Big Arms For Mets In First Mock Draft

By Doug M

February 11, 2022 No comments

We may not be out of the doldrums of winter just yet, but with a welcome reprieve from the cold this week, the college baseball season set to begin next week, and negotiations for a new major league labor agreement in a slow and steady game of toss back and forth, perhaps a little bit of a delightful thaw has begun to creep in.

Let’s keep that thaw’s momentum going, and thanks to Baseball America‘s first official mock draft, we have two important names to talk about as potential Mets picks in this summer’s draft.

With the 11th overall pick in their mock, the Mets landed perhaps the best combination of present and projectable velocity for a starting pitcher in the entire draft in Michigan prep product, Brock Porter.

Porter, who will be close to 19-years-old on draft day, is listed at a strapping 6’4, 200 LBS. He still has ample room to add even more strength, which only helps add faith and excitement for the ultimate projection of his already huge fastball.

Already sitting in the mid 90’s and cresting with some 8’s and 9’s on occasion, Porter’s fastball also has bat-missing carry from a high 3/4 slot. His delivery features both plus arm speed and premium athleticism, resulting in significant hip-hinge and subsequent hip-shoulder separation. Porter stays on balance well despite such a open stride, allowing for both premium velocity and adequate control. Watch it in slow-motion.

Porter’s 2500+ rpm four-seamer may be the life of the party here, but his changeup is the show-stopper. Porter sells it well out of his hand and already shows advanced command and feel for the upper 70’s offering that gets both huge fade and tumble, as well as velocity separation off of his fastball. Scouts comfortably project it with at least plus grades.

Porter rounds out his arsenal with both a mid 70’s curveball and a harder, curt slider in the low 80’s. Feel for his breaking pitches are not as advanced, but Porter’s feel to execute his slider glove-side has come along and the pitch flashes solid-average.

The level of consistency Porter finds with his breaking stuff will ultimately determine how rabid the enthusiasm to draft him will get, but this is an unmistakeable first round draft talent in an area of need in the Mets top tier of minor league talent.

Speaking of an arm with unequivocal first-round talent, the Mets landed a second one with the 14th overall pick in the mock in Mississippi State star, Landon Sims.

Sims caught plenty of attention last spring as he helped propel the Bulldogs to the national title, absolutely dominating in a multi-inning role to close out games.

The 6’2, 200 LB Sims has a starter’s build with a sturdy lower half, and he’ll get the chance to do exactly that as he transitions to the top of the Bulldogs rotation this spring.

With Sims, it’s possibly the most electric and major league ready two-pitch mix in the draft. First, the heater.

This is heat with explosive, riding life, with all of the modern desirable secondary traits that enable an extremely flat approach angle. Sims is able to locate it well in the upper quadrants of the zone, exactly where he needs to let it eat. The only thing he executes with even greater glove-side precision is his wipeout slider.

https://twitter.com/JTillinghast27/status/1369850625563914248?t=PRXqTlWJ6d8j4MdKCGtKHA&s=19

The incredible depth and bite that Sims gets on his low 80’s slide piece plays extremely well off of his fastball, and the pairing has brought Sims name to the very front of college arms in this draft class.

Sims will be given the opportunity to show scouts he can sustain the 92-96 mph velocity band he succeeded with last year over longer outings. Scouts will also be looking to see his seldom-used changeup more often. The grades he gets on this third pitch will go a long way in determining how high in the first round Sims will hear his name called.

These are two premium arm talents in Porter and Sims. For that there is no doubt. With the Mets top four prospects being position players, and then the depth of high-end arm talent behind Matt Allan and J.T. Ginn widely being called into question, we can expect to keep seeing this same refrain of the Mets looking at arms in the coming draft, both early and often.

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Written by Doug M

My fate to bleed the blue and orange for life was laid out before me in 1997. My first Mets prospect I remember getting pumped up about was David Wright, as he just tore through the FSL and Eastern League with ease. Since then, my interest in minor league development has only grown. I hope to grow that interest further here at Mets Minors.

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