Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
With their first selection in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the New York Mets selected RHP Alex Valverde from the Tampa Bay Rays. Valverde was the Rays 2017 22nd round draft pick out of Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus.
Valverde, 25, made 10 starts and 20 relief appearances in Double-A last season. He was 2-5 with a 4.88 ERA, three saves, a 1.361 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, and an 11.5 K/9.
Would love to see some of the metrics on these sliders from Alex Valverde, picked today by the #Mets in the MiLB Rule 5 Draft, which induced some silly swings.
He had above-avg whiff #'s while being younger than lg. average.
Interesting stuff coming out of a unique arm slot. pic.twitter.com/9vYur0j0Cy
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) December 8, 2021
With their second pick, the Mets selected RHP Carlos Ocampo from the Chicago Cubs organization. He was signed as an international free agent from Columbia in 2016.
Ocampo, 23, made 29 relief appearances for Single-A Myrtle Beach. He was 4-0 with a 5.85 ERA, three saves, 1.280 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, and a 12.7 K/9.
Mets select right-hander pitcher Carlos Ocampo with their second (and final) pick of the minor league Rule 5 Draft.
High ERA this season, but 67 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 47 innings in A-Ball in the Cubs organization.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) December 8, 2021
With both selections, it is apparent the Mets like how both pitchers had the ability to strikeout batters. It is a similar approach the Mets took last season when they drafted Adam Oller in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Notably, Oller was protected from the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft this season.
While the Mets did gain two right-handed relief prospects in the draft, they would lose to other arms. The Atlanta Braves drafted RHP Allan Winans with the sixth pick in the third round, and with the very next pick, the Seattle Mariners drafted Tommy Wilson.
Winans, 26, was the Mets 2018 17th round draft pick out of Campbell University. In 2021, he made 26 relief appearances between Brooklyn and Binghamton going 2-3 with a 1.72 ERA, three saves, a 0.809 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, and an 8.6 K/9.
Wilson, 25, was the Mets 2018 19th round draft pick out of California State University. In 2021, he made 10 relief appearances for Binghamton going 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA, 0.978 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, and a 10.6 K/9.
