6/4/20

2014 Draft Recap




As we head towards the 2020 MLB Draft, we are going to detail the last ten years of Mets drafts.  Today, we look at 2014.

The Astros drafted Brady Aiken with the first overall pick but he did not sign.  The Marlins took Tyler Kolek with the second pick who threw 102 in High School, had Tommy John surgery in 2016, and has not yet made it out of A ball.  The White Sox took Carlos Rodón at #3, who also had Tommy John surgery in May 2019. The Cubs have so far made out better than the first three with Kyle Schwarber at #4.

Michael Conforto was the highlight for the Mets as they took him in the 1st round with the #10 pick.  Outside of Conforto, the most notable Mets picks are 2019 Syracuse Mets Matt Blackham who was taken in the 29th round, and David Roseboom who was taken in round 17 and made it to Binghamton, Las Vegas and Syracuse before he was released on July 4, 2019.


The Mets did not have a second-round pick in 2014 due to the Curtis Granderson signing. 

The full Mets list is below. 

Here are some other notable MLB picks:

1st Round: #7 Aaron Nola, Phillies, RHP; #13 Trea Turner, Padres, SS; # 15 Sean Newcomb, LHP; #25 Matt Chapman, A’s, 3B; #26 Michael Chavis, Red Sox, SS; #27 Luke Weaver, Cardinals, RHP.

Compensatory round: # 31 Justus Sheffield, Indians, LHP; #34 Jack Flaherty, Cardinals, RHP.

Round 3: #75 J. D. Davis, Astros, 3B.

Round 11: #331 John Means, Orioles, LHP.

Round 37: #1120 Patrick Mahomes, Tigers, RHP (I am sure the KC Chiefs are happy that he choose football over baseball.) 

Mack's Mets writer Tom Brennan noted that sometimes it is not good to go first, and the Mets were very fortunate to go 10th with the Michael Conforto draft.  

7th rounder Brad Wieck was traded to San Diego for the lousy reliever with the big helmet (you know the guy), and Wieck is what I like in picks - a big dude, and a hard thrower.  In the majors so far, he has been a bit homer-prone (then again, who isn't) and Brad is 2-2 in 49 relief outings with an excellent 59 Ks in 41.2 IP.

The rest of the draft was brutally bad for the Mets.  Let me leave it at that, except let me add that they drafted slap hitter Milton Garcia 84th overall.  He was inactive in 2019 for the Orioles, but before that, his career numbers were a tepid .241/.290/.315 in the minors, and that was through only Full A ball at his peak. Simply a stupid and complete waste of a 3rd round pick. The Astros know what to do with 3rd round picks - they drafted J.D. Davis.   

Repeat after me: 

With early picks, draft power arms and power bats...like the Astros did.   
       

Round
Pick #
Name
Pos
1
10
Michael Conforto 
OF
3
84
SS
4
115
3B
5
145
RHP
6
175
C
7
205
LHP
8
235
1B
9
265
OF
10
295
LHP
11
325
RHP
12
355
RHP
13
385
RHP
14
415
C
15
445
RHP
16
475
LHP
17
505
LHP
18
535
CF
19
565
RHP
20
595
RHP
21
625
OF
22
655
2B
23
685
RHP
24
715
RHP
25
745
RHP
26
775
C
27
805
RHP
28
835
RHP
29
865
RHP
30
895
OF
31
925
LHP
32
955
RHP
33
985
RHP
34
1015
C
35
1045
RHP
36
1075
RHP
37
1105
SS
38
1135
RHP
39
1165
CF
40
1195
SS


8 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Just glad we got MC Hammer, baby

Tom Brennan said...

I pulled for Dale Burdick as a 40th round underdog, but that never panned out.

John From Albany said...

Tom,

You make lots of great points. I think some of the next few years may have an even smaller return as we traded a number of the top picks. Right now 2019 looks like one of the best in recent years but time will tell.

Alex Torres was the guy with the big hat. He didn't even make it through the entire 2015 season. Cory Mazzoni also went in that trade.

Tom Brennan said...

Thanks, that’s right John, Alex Torres.

I can’t overstate this: you cannot draft a Milton Ramos # 84 overall. Not if you want to succeed.

Tom Brennan said...

I saw this written about Ramos at draft time. Hitting-wise, “serious questions” - they nailed it...so why would the Mets pick him?

“The Mets nabbed Milton Ramos, a high school shortstop from the Miami area in the third round. He has the tools and skills to become a great fielder, but there are serious questions about the bat. He's overly aggressive at the plate, and scouts worry that his swing will lead to a difficulty making contact.“

John From Albany said...

Crazy. Still Conforto saved them in this draft. Seems like they had at least one winner every draft during Sandy's term.

John From Albany said...

Found more on Milton Ramos. Here is what Baseball America said back in 2014: From Baseball America: "Ramos is the premier defensive shortstop in a class that’s short on true up-the-middle profiles. He has plus speed, has drawn comparisons to Alcides Escobar and is committed to Florida International."

At least he had speed. Who knows why some make it while others don't. Maybe coaches tried to get him to change his game instead of trying to get him to just get on base and run. Mets sure could have used a player with speed as well as a defensive shortstop to back up Flores and Cabrera as they waited for Rosario.

Tom Brennan said...

John, I hear you on the latter review on Ramos.

But they already had Rosario in the system, and Cecchini, both of whom they thought would likely become starting major league SS.

I think if there are caution lights on a guy's offense, he is not an 84th overall pick. A few rounds later, perhaps, if he is still around, and you gamble that he figures out how to exceed hitting expectations.

I think most people with draft-time question marks with their hit tool, at least as I have followed Mets' drafts more closely the past 10+ years, do not make the majors, or turn out to be very marginal big leaguers at best.

Taijeron is one, always thought to have a strikeout prone swing, but he was an 18th rounder, so that was a great pick - had he cut his Ks by 20% more, his extra base hit and on base game would have made him a useful major leaguer.