Pic via Grand Canyon University
With the 569th pick in the 19th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, the Mets selected Jackson Lovich, a shortstop out of Blue Valley West HS in Kansas. Lovich is the sixth high schooler selected by the Mets this year and the second high school shortstop after first-round pick Jett Williams.
Intrigued by 22' Blue Valley West (KS) SS Jackson Lovich (6-4, 185). Long, angular frame with a high waist. He's going to add a ton of muscle. Bat speed is present. Tons of torque and T-spine flexibility. Some phys. similarities to Colson Montgomery. Probably shifts to 3B or COF. pic.twitter.com/GH8GPiQKtc
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) May 9, 2022
The 6’4, 180 pound Lovich was Gatorade’s Kansas Player of the Year this season, leading his team to a state title with impressive performances both at the plate and on the mound. MLB Pipeline notes that he has a “quick right-handed stroke and a lot of projectable power,” while Prospects Live, which has him ranked #298, projects him to have “above average power with an above average arm on the dirt.”
One hole in Lovich’s game is his swing path, which leads to a lot of strikeouts, and he still has a ways to go before fully growing into his frame. He is likely to be moved to third base or a corner outfield spot as he makes his way towards higher levels of competition, but the athleticism will play at just about every level.
Lovich is committed to Missouri, where his brother Ross Lovich currently plays as an outfielder. At this low in the draft, it is unlikely that Jackson Lovich will sign with the Mets, but if he does this would be a great bet on a bat that has the potential for a ton of pop.
With the 599th pick in the 20th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, the Mets selected Eli Ankeney, a redshirt junior left-handed pitcher out of Grand Canyon University. Ankeney is a 6’0, 200 pound southpaw reliever who shined in his first full season of pitching at GCU, posting a 2.68 ERA across 29 appearances (40 1/3 innings) and collecting 61 strikeouts.
LHP Eli Ankeney (Jr.) showed intriguing stuff out of the pen. Clean operation down the mound. Short arm action hides the ball. FB sat 88-91 mph w/ ASR. Pairs it w/ a sweeping SL capable of generating whiffs @GCU_Baseball @PGCollegeBall pic.twitter.com/oHFuKme6RH
— Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) April 6, 2022
Ankeney also made five appearances in the MLB Draft League, where he recorded a save and pitched to the tune of a 3.38 ERA. Ankeney is by no means a flamethrower, with a fastball that tops out in the low-90s, but he has a hard slider which has the ability to make a lot of bats miss.
The Mets used seven of their final 10 picks in the draft on pitchers, but Ankeney is the only lefty out of that group. The organization appears to believe that the best value at the bottom of this draft is in relievers, and Ankeney joins a long list of new prospects with great strikeout stuff.
