Isaiah Greene (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
MLB wrapped up their unusual, drastically shortened draft on Thursday with rounds two through five. After picking high school outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong with the 19th pick in the first round on Wednesday, they had picks 52, 69, 91, 120, and 150.
With the 69th overall pick in the second round, the Mets picked J.T. Ginn, a right-handed pitcher from Mississippi State University. Ginn was drafted by the Dodgers in 2018 but elected to go to college instead, and unfortunately had to undergo Tommy John surgery this spring. Still, he has been reported to reach up to 96 mph on his fastball, with a plus slider and impressive control.
Here’s some video of the Mets’ latest second round pick:
With their Compensation Round B pick that the Mets got for Zack Wheeler,, which was the 69th pick overall, the Mets went for Isaiah Greene, their second high school outfielder of the draft. Greene is known for his elite speed and athletic build, and springs a smooth left-handed swing to the table. He’s still young and has the potential to grow more into his frame, so he still has some power projection left in him.
In the third round, the Mets went for a redshirt college junior shortstop named Anthony Walters. This was a more curious pick, and was likely done as a money-saving tactic more than anything. Still, Walters is someone who’s shown versatility and on-base ability.
In the fourth round, with the 120th overall pick, the Mets took a college catcher named Matthew Dyer. Dyer has shown great on-base ability in the past and is also said to be solid behind the plate, though some wonder if he will be able to stick there with his tall, slender frame. He does have experience at multiple infield positions though. So overall, this wasn’t really a bad pick.
Matthew Dyer extends his hitting streak to 20 games with this first inning base knock! He is the 7th player since 1998 to have a hit streak of 20 games or more. #MLBTrainingGround pic.twitter.com/KyYUU9JFds
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 5, 2019
In the fifth and final round of this unusual draft, the Mets picked Eric Orze as the 150th overall selection. This guy, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of New Orleans, is a great story just from the fact that he’s beaten both testicular and melanoma cancer. On top of the drive that these life-threatening experiences have given him, he has a fastball that tops out at 96 mph and a unique splitter that works as an out pitch. He also had a 17-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12.2 innings this year.
The only real downside is that he’s a little older at 23 already, but this was still a very strong way to finish off this draft.
So overall, obviously this draft was unlike any we had ever seen before, and it certainly is disappointing that we didn’t get the full 40 rounds of talent. However, the Mets still did what they could with what they had and made the most of this five-round draft, acquiring some very impressive talent that has a very strong chance to make an impact down the line.
