Mets Draft - Rounds 26 to 40: 4 Position Players

This final draft article covers the only four position players in the last 15 slots in the Mets' draft (26 through 40).  Here goes:

GAVIN GARAY – ROUND 26: a 20 year old righty hitting (6’2”, 205) SS from St Petersburg College.

Popeye Doyle informed me that the Poughkeepsie News had the following to say about Gavin Garay:

Garay couldn’t believe his fortune when he was drafted. The former St. Petersburg College star said he spoke to scouts Wednesday morning, but wasn’t closely following the draft. Then, suddenly in the afternoon, “my phone was blowing up.”

A deluge of calls, emails and text messages signaled to him that something big had occurred.  “Then when I found out, I was shocked,” he said. “I’m still surprised, but now it’s turning more into excitement.”

Garay is a fan of the NY Yankees but, right now, that allegiance pales in comparison to his gratitude to the Mets.  “The Mets are a great organization too,” he said. “Not a lot of guys, especially from the northeast, get drafted. So being a New Yorker getting drafted by a NY organization is definitely special to me.”

Garay attended Arlington as a freshman, but he finished high school at JFK Catholic in Somers and became a stalwart for their baseball team under coach Bob Fletcher.  “He had the size, the bat speed and power,” Fletcher said. “He's someone we thought in high school could eventually have a future as a professional.”

JEREMY VASQUEZ – ROUND 28: a 21 year old, 6’1, 205 pound 1B a Nova Southeastern U.   Bats and throws lefty.  His university wrote this about him:

Coach Brown's thoughts on Vasquez: "Jeremy is a gifted hitter and someone who came into our program and adapted well to our hitting philosophy. His ability to revamp his approach and get to more power will help him establish himself as a prospect."

In 51 games, he hit .317 with 16 homers and 54 runs and 49 RBIs.  He walked 46 times.

ROBBY KIDWELL – ROUND 36: a 19 year old lefty hitting catcher (6’3”, 200) at Brunswick CC in N. Carolina. 

The Enterprise beamed down the following info on Kidwell:

Robby Kidwell’s childhood dream became a reality when he was chosen in the 36th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets.

“Oh, I’m real real excited,” Kidwell said. “It was a big relief. I still can’t believe it’s real. Baseball’s been a big chunk of my life, and now it’s a new future for me.”

Kidwell had been contacted by the Mets earlier in the day and the Mets had informed him he would be picked, though the team was unsure in which round.

Late in the evening, Kidwell received a call from Mets representative Danial Cole. “He asked if I’d want to go in this round,” Kidwell said. “I said I just wanted the opportunity to go play and make dreams come true and make my way up to the big leagues. He then asked if I wanted to go to school or not and I told him I just wanted to play baseball and I’m not about to give up that opportunity.”

This past season, Kidwell appeared in 43 games and batted .325 with 54 hits, including 10 doubles and eight home runs. He also added 42 runs, drove in 42 and walked 21 times. He had an on-base percentage of .400 and slugged .530. He said that he's been working on his hitting with Billy Johnson since he was 13.

Defensively, he had 27 assists, committed just five errors and had a fielding percentage of .958.

DANIEL ALFONZO – ROUND 38:  in "My Cousin Vinnie," they'd call Daniel a yout'.

Daniel is a 17 year old third baseman (5’10”, 220) out of Bayside HS.   Yep, he is the son of THAT Alfonso.  If he signs with the Mets, we wish Fonzie’s kid every success in pro ball.

And that, as they say, concludes the Mets' draft recap series.  The rest, as they say, is up to the draftees.  PLAY BALL!