The Mets have officially signed Michael Paez, their fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com. The deal is worth $446,500, which is the slot value of the 130 overall pick. Paez will be assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Paez is coming off his junior year at Coastal Carolina University, where he led them to the College World Series title, securing the first national championship in any sport in school history. In eight games in Omaha, Paez hit .172 (5-29) with a double, a triple, four walks, and three runs scored. In 706 career at-bats for the Chanticleers, he hit .283 with 25 home runs, 117 runs batted in, and 43 stolen bases.
The scouting report on Paez is that his bat is able to generate significant power, even though he stands at 5’9″, 165 lbs. Although Paez played shortstop in college, he is projected to shift to second base in pro ball. Doing so will give the Cyclones an infield comprised entirely of 2016 draft picks with Paez, Peter Alonso, Colby Woodmansee, and Blake Tiberi.
The Mets have also signed 36-round pick Garrison Bryant. He is a 6’4″ right-handed pitcher from Clearwater, FL.
Now we just have to sign Kay and we can see how many of the HS kids they can get to sign. I’m surprised Kay hasn’t signed yet. I hope the Mets can sign Planck, but I’m not optimistic about then signing him. I really like Matt Cleveland as well and hope they can sign him. Already throwing in the mid-90s and still has a lot of projectability
I’ve been following the Mets draft for years. Why draft Kay, unless he will sign at /or below slot, when Hudson and Okey were still on the board. Same goes for paez and tiberi, they passed a lot of higher (better all round) ranked players to over draft and pay slot for these two picks. I like the selections of the Alfonso and Woodmanse, at the draft slots.
Lastly, pick up the dfa catcher fryer, bring up Rivera and Taijeron and sign gurriel. LGM! New ownership would be nice too!!