DRAFT RESULTS SINCE 2009 - Tom Brennan

DRAFT RESULTS SINCE 2009 - Tom Brennan

Lots of guys get drafted each year. Most sign; few have success in the bigs.

The Mets since 2009, the year Steve Matz was drafted, have done exceptionally well in their drafts. Why did I start with 2009? It was a weak year, except for Stevie, so I said what the heck, and started there?  You gotta start somewhere, right?

I thought an overall, categorized summary of these draftees might make that quite evident. You might think I am being too generous, or you may feel I overlooked someone.  Lots of talent. Let me recap roughly 50 guys who are still here or departed via well-targeted trades:

4 Current or Soon-to-be Major League Stars - hopefully all 4 are frequent All Stars:

Steve Matz – 2009 – 2^nd round

Matt Harvey – 2010 – 1^st round

Jake deGrom – 2010 - 9^th round

Michael Conforto - 2014 - 1st round

(Plus Noah Syndergaard, Zach Wheeler, and Travis d'Arnaud acquired via trades, too)

4 Guys with a Great Chance to be Bona Fide Major Leaguers:

Brandon Nimmo -2011 - 1st round - his hype exceeds his performance so far

Gavin Cecchini – 2012 - 1^st round - great 2015 season, hitting .317

Kevin Plawecki – 2012 - supplemental first round - may not be Travis d'Arnaud, but darned good

Dominic Smith – 2013 – 1^st round - lousy first month, .330 the rest of the way, needs more HRs

18 Guys Who Might Well Become Fine to Borderline Major Leaguers (yes, 18):

Darrell Ceciliani – 2009 – 4^th round - .345/.398/.581 in AAA - always dealing with hamstring issues.

Matt den Dekker - 2010 - 5th round - traded to the Nats.

Akeel Morris - 2010 - 10th round - fine year with a burp in the middle. Majors in 2016?

Eric Goeddel - 2010 - 24th round - it all depends on the elbow.

Josh Edgin - 2010 - 30th round - it all depends on how the elbow heals.

Logan Verrett - 2011 - 3rd round - homer-prone, but has made strides.

Jack Leathersich - 2011 - 5th round - it all depends on how the elbow heals.

Christian Montgomery - 2011 - 11th round - a brilliant relief season, but for a few really bad games.

Robert Gsellman - 2011 - 13th round - hit some turbulence at AA, but he's young.  Show us in 2016.

Matt Reynolds - 2012 - 2nd round - an off season and some elbow issues - which Matt in 2016?

Paul Sewald – 2012 – 10th round - sub 2.00 ERAs every level in relief - superb 2015 season in AA.

Chris Flexen - 2012 - 12th round - back strong from Tommy John - at least to AA in 2016.

LJ Mazzilli – 2013 – 4^th round - lost 50 games set him back - only 1 HR in AA in 91 games. on to 2016.

Matt Oberste – 2013 – 7^th round - cracked .300 mark in St Lucie - a solid hitter, need more HR pop. 

Luis Guillorme – 2013 – 10^th round - MVP of S. Atlantic League. Fine offense, low power, great glove.

Jeff McNeil – 2013 – 12^th round - similar to Luis, but a level higher in St Lucie (+ a cup o' Joe in AA).

Milton Ramos - 2014 - 3rd round - .340 after July, shows he's got some juice. Lots of SS competition.

Eudor Garcia -2014 - 4th round - hit really well - possible starting major league 3B by mid-2017? 

8 Talented Pitchers Traded Away:

Michael Fulmer – 2011 - suppl. 1st round – for Yoenis Cespedes (int'l signee Luis Cessa also dealt)

Cory Mazzoni - 2011 - 2nd round for Alex Torres

John Gant – 2011 – 21^st round – for Uribe and Johnson

Rob Whelan – 2012 – 12^th round – for Uribe and Johnson

Matt Koch – 2012 - 3^rd round – for Addison Reed

Casey Meisner - 2013 3rd round - for Tyler Clippard

Brad Weick - 2014 - 7th round for Alex Torres

Those 8 are quite a collection - would have the makings of a strong major league staff in a few years.

6 Guys Who May Still Break Through and Have a Solid Career:

Tyler Pill - 2011 - 4th round - AAA was a nightmare for Tyler.  He is a AA assassin. Great hitter. 

Danny Muno - 2011 - 8th round - did little in major league debut and tailed off in AAA late.

Travis Taijeron - 2011 - 18th round - also tailed off in 2nd half in AAA, but best Met minor league hitter in terms of power, fine on base %.  Strikeouts are his continuing Achilles heel.

Corey Oswalt - 2012 - 7th round - 2016 pivotal for Corey.  He had a fine 11-5 year with the Gnats, but allows a lot of hits (153 in 129 innings).  Can he succeed at higher levels, given that red flag?

Logan Taylor - 2012 - 11th round - coming off injuries that limited him to 94 innings in 2013 and 2014, he had a solid 2015 in St Lucie: 6-2, 1.94 in last 10 outings, and 137 total innings.

Matt Bowman 2012 - 13th round - highly considered coming into 2015, he had a bleak 2015 in AAA: 7-16, 5.53, 1.68 WHIP.  2016 will be a make-or-break season for Matt.


Next: Interesting 2015 Picks, Based on Performance So Far:

Boy it is tough projecting who might be good out of the 2015 draft.  For instance:

Max Wotell is a 3^rd round, 18 year old lefty. Max pitched just 10.2 innings, allowing a mere 2 hits, walking 9, fanning 16. Possibly a future Steve Matz, but he's got a long ways to go to get there.

Other 2015 draftee guys who did really well in 2015 were:

8^th round catcher Pat Mazelka (.354)

9^th round Kevin Kaczmarski (.355) - Appalachian League batting champ.

Desmond Lindsay – 2^nd round. He does not turn 19 until 2016, and so his .263 impresses.

Corey Taylor - 7th round lefty:  18 IP, 3 ER, 16 K.

PJ Conlon - 13th round lefty: 17 IP, 8 H, 25 K, ZERO EARNED RUNS!

Vinny Siena - 14th round IF: .268 in 72 games. Faded late.

Tom McIlraith, righty: 6-1, 1.71 for Kingsport.

So my take, even without including international players (and the rare standout undrafted player like T J Rivera) in the analysis, is that the Mets have a lot of talent in the minors still.

Even after promotions and trades. A whole lot.