Mack's Mets Draft Player Profile- Andrew Heaney- Pick #12- New York Mets

We have a series going in which we are profiling players who have been directly linked to the Mets in the June draft, project to be picked around where the Mets are selecting, or are players that look intriguing and should be around for our early selections.

Previous player profiles:

Marcus Stroman

Nelson Rodriguez

Jose Orlando Berrios

Mets 2012 Draft- Andrew Heaney- LHP- Oklahoma State University

John Sickels projection: Pick 12- Mets

Jonathan Mayo projection: Pick 15- Indians

Keith Law: Pick 13- White Sox

Matt Grabusky: Pick 31- Red Sox

Mets select: 12.

In a draft lacking significant college talent and very few lefties, Andrew Heaney of Oklahoma State has put together an unbelievable junior season and finishes the year with one of the more impressive stat lines in all of division one:

Check these numbers out: 15 starts, 118 IP (nearly 8 innings per start on average). 74 hits and 22 walks allowed against 140 strikeouts to the tune of a 1.60 ERA. He also hurled three shutouts and six complete games in those 15 starts.

2^nd in all of Division I with a 0.81 WHIP.

8^th in all of Division I with a 1.60 ERA

11^th in all of Division I with a 6.36 K/BB ratio, one spot ahead of control specialist and fellow first rounder Michael Wacha.

6 complete games, tied for 9^th nationally, 4^th in hits allowed, only 4 homers allowed in 118 innings, top 20 in Ks/9…the list goes on. It is staggering how effective Heaney was this spring.

You can check out Heaney’s delivery here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JytqYmEbt9w

Many believe Heaney is a #3 pitcher or perhaps a #2 at best but I think the southpaw has yet to come close to his full potential and could wind up as an ace someday for a contending team if all goes well

Andrew Heaney is a name I have seen on a few mocks and a player who would be intriguing in the Mets system. While the thought is that the Mets will go for a bat again after passing on a plethora of college arms last year in the middle third of the first round, Heaney could add a much-needed lefty into the Mets system.

Heaney has been rocketing up draft boards after his fantastic spring. A wiry kid out of high school and still relatively small (6’2” 175), Heaney worked on his strength this past year and it paid off in a big way. He was able to maintain his low-90s fastball late in starts, pitch deeper into games, and keep his delivery and composure late in starts. If Heaney continues to grow and improve (and add a couple of ticks to his fastball), he could be a front-end starter within a few years.

Heaney would be quick to the majors and while he does not quite have the dominating arsenal of Max Fried, he is much further along in the process. If the Mets have their heart set on a lefty and Fried is gone, I believe they will look at Heaney (if the A’s don’t pick him before we do, that is).

According to Jay’s Journal (a great draft resource, by the way), Heaney throws three pitches: a fastball at 89-92 and can touch 95, a “slurve” at 80 MPH that some consider a slider or a screwball, and a change thrown at the same speed as the slurve but with good late break.

Opinion: I like Heaney a lot. If the first 11 picks get selected thus that Hawkins, Almora, Fried, Zimmer, and Giolito are off the board (a situation that is possible, albeit not likely, but would be unfortunate for the Mets), Heaney might be the pick here (and a good one at that). He turns 21 two days after the draft and, if this season was any indication, could develop into one heck of a pitcher.

LGM