Mack – Looking Ahead At The Mets 1st Round Pick

Good morning.

The Mets pick 20^th in the first round of the draft in June.

The Untouchables

It’s impossible to predict exactly who the Mets will pick, but it’s not impossible to eliminate some of the names out there, simply because they will be long gone when the 20^th pick comes around.

They, and the position they play, are:

RHP (5) – Vanderbilt’s Kyle Wright, Florida’s Alex Faedo, North Carolina’s JB Bukauskas, Notre Dame HS (CA) Hunter Greene, and Concordia Lutheran (TX) HS Shane Baz.

            LHP (2) – Louisville’s Brandan McKay, Whiteville (NC) HS MacKenzie Gore

            1B (1) – Virginia’s Pavin Smith

            SS (1) – J Serra (CA) HS Royce Lewis

            OF (4) – Vanderbilt’s Jeren Kendall, Virginia’s Adam Haseley, North Davidson (NC) HS’s Austin Beck, and Ballard (LA) HS’s Jordan Adell.

That’s 13 draft picks, leaving six more before the Mets get to pick. 

Oh… by the way… if I’m wrong and one of the above names are still left on the board, send the name up to the Commissioner and let the party begin.

The Wild Card

Every draft has at least one player picked in the first round that have all of us running to our Baseball America material to try to find out just who the hell is this guy. Tampa Bay’s 13^th overall pick  of 3B Josh Lowe out of Bowling Green was like this in the last draft.

That would mean that one pick will come out of nowhere, leaving five more before the Mets pick.

The Candidates (stats through 5-16)

RHSP Tanner Houck/Missouri – 13-G, 4-7, 2.89, 90.1-IP, 91-K – 6-5, 220 – three season total of 3.13, 288/60-K-BB. Fastball has been clocked up to 98. Got off to a very rough start this season but is finishing strong. His best pitch is a slider.

            RHSP Griffin Canning/UCLA – 14-G, 5-3, 2.51, 93.1-IP, 114-K – fastball                   only sits in low 90s but he gets most of his k’s from a ++ curve and slider.6-1,            165-pounds.

RHSP Alex Lange/LSU – 13-G, 6-5,2.92, 83.1-IP, 100-K – Classic 6-4, 200-pounds – fastball tops out at 96 – also + breaking ball – MLB.com give both pitches a 60 grade

            RHSP Hans Crouse/Dana Hills (CA) HS – fast ball ranges 93-95 but does hit             97… slider is 74-78 with late bite… could use some meat on his 6-5, 195-lb                frame.

RHSP Wil Crowe/South Carolina – 13-G, 5-4, 3.50, 79.2-IP, 72-K – Crowe struggled through 2015 and eventually went down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and went under the knife for TJS. He’s come back fully healed this season. 6-2, 235 – mid-90s fastball and 4-pitch mix. I know his well and he’d be an asset on any team

LHSP DL Hall/Houston County (GA) HS – 6-1, 180 – Fastball is in the 90-94 range and does hit 96. He does project to have possible more velocity to come. Also has an excellent curve and what many draft experts thing is the best high school breaking ball in the draft.

            LHSP Trevor Rogers/Carlsbad (NM) HS – 6-6 with a giant wingspan… ¾                   arm angle with a high leg kick… mid-90s fastball that hits 96 (with late life)

LHSP David Peterson/Oregon – 13-G, 10-3, 2.29, 86.1-IP, 122-K, 12-BB – My favorite, though there is a good chance he will be gone due to laye season K9 success. Check this out again… 122-Ks… 12-BBs. K-BB ration leads D1 baseball. Awesome frame… 6-6, 240 – A broken fibula ended his basketball career but actually turned him to baseball -

            1B/LHP Nick Pratto/Huntington Beach (CA) HS – a really good pitcher                     (fastball only touches 90) but most consider him the top bat in the draft… 6-               2, 195…

SS Logan Warmoth/UNC – 51-G, .344/.418/.578, 9-HR, 39-RBI – a great hitter, a better fielder… has moved quickly up the mock drafts in the past two months… considered one of the safest picks in the draft

            3B Jake Burger/Missouri State – 50-G, .345/.459/.706, 20-HR, 56-RBI – I                       think this is the college home run leader. For that reason alone he should               be considered.

            OF Bubba Thompson/McGill-Toolin Catholic (AL) HS - Thompson is anall-             state high school football quarterback that has dropped football to commit to            play baseball at Alabama but he may find it hard not to sign on draft day.                   Compared to Deion Sanders