Photo: New Orleans
With the 150th overall pick and their final selection of the 2020 MLB Draft, the Mets selected RHP Eric Orze out of the University of New Orleans. Orze is listed at 6’3″ and 185 pounds.
Orze has a very inspiring story to root for. He has beaten cancer twice. The first time it was testicular and the second time it was melanoma. This article on Nola.com by Rod Walker does a good job of detailing the harrowing experience for Orze. Orze says, “A drastic change needs to happen to ensure I’m going to be able to do that if that’s really what I want. So cancer kicked me into overdrive.” I strongly recommend that you read that article because that small quote does not do any justice to how powerful his story is.
Orze has come back this spring and has shown some promising results. His fastball has touched 96 MPH and his splitter is a legitimate put away pitch. Here is some clips of Orze’s splitter in action:
Potential 2020 MLB draft pick Eric Orze splitter compilation from this season. #mlbdraft #mlbdraft2020 #mlbprospect #topprospect #splitter #splitfinger pic.twitter.com/HfpU2wc1Gh
— Brent Pourciau (@TopVelocity) April 20, 2020
Baseball America ranked him 497th on their Top 500 draft prospects. This is what they had to say about him:
Orze has already beaten cancer twice—first it was testicular cancer and then skin cancer. His 2018 season was hampered by abdominal pain that eventually led to the cancer diagnosis. He then missed all of 2019 recovering. Returning to action this spring, Orze showed an above-average, 92-95 mph fastball, an average slider and an above-average splitter. A starter at New Orleans, he’s more likely a reliever in pro ball because his stuff tails off pretty quickly. He had a 17-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12.2 innings this spring. He’s a potentially interesting senior sign but is very old for the class, turning 23 in August.
His story will make him very easy to root for and his arm has a lot of promise. This is their last pick of the 2020 draft for the Mets.
The final list of picks (in order) for the Mets: Pete Crow-Armstrong, J.T. Ginn, Isaiah Greene, Anthony Walters, Matthew Dreyer, and Eric Orze. The next order of business will be signing the un-drafted free agents. These free agents can sign for a maximum of $20,000. Keep following MetsMerized and Mets Minors for news and information on the Mets draftees and un-drafted signees. Thank you for following our coverage of the 2020 MLB draft.
