The Mets drafted Joe Genord with their ninth pick in the draft. The 6’2″, 200 pound catcher/first baseman hit .333/.446/.618 with 13 homers as a 22 year old.
Fish Stripes had this writeup on Genord:
” He has a ton of raw power and can be a middle of the order hitter at the next level. He’s a sound defensive first baseman with a high school background at catcher. Joe Genord has an opportunity to hear his name called on the second day of the draft. “
The Mets love their college sluggers and he fits the mold and will help them save money for their other picks. Genord doubled off Blake Snell in Spring Training to add to his resume.
Their tenth round selection was University of Illinois-Chicago, outfielder, Scott Ota. Ota has been a high contact outfielder the last few years but this year, he started hitting home runs. He slashed .356/.451/.761 with 20 homers, granted he was also older than most people in his league. Ota is not a big guy and won’t be growing anymore so it remains to be seen about how big his recent power surge really was.
That said, the Mets like their college guys who make put it in play a lot and hope that some of them learn how to launch with power. Ota looks like he can do damage in leagues where pitchers throw slower. The swing is definitely very compact and allows him to do damage.
Scott Ota was a high school teammate of Hunter Bishop and actually performer nearly as well as Bishop this year. Their builds and tools are a lot different of course. He makes excellent contact and had a power explosion this year to the Mets.
— jeff ellis (@jeffMLBdraft) June 4, 2019
The overall trend the Mets have is draft the big guys early and then save money. Their last seven picks today were all college seniors. Draft resumes on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. ET.
