2015 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 2015.

The Arizona Diamondbacks took Shortstop Dansby Swanson with the 1^st pick in the draft. The Astros drafted Alex Bregman #2 overall who so far is the only player in the first 20 picks to be selected to an All-Star Game. 

The Mets did not have a 1^st round pick (15^th overall) in 2015 due to the Michael Cuddyer signing.  In the 2^nd round they chose Desmond Lindsay who has yet to advance past A Ball.  

The Mets did select pitching prospects Thomas Szapucki in the 5^th round and Jordan Humphreys in the 18^th round. Catcher/First Baseman Patrick Mazeika was selected in the 8^th round.  

5 years may be too soon to judge the results of a draft but the only players to make the Majors from the 2015 draft at this point are P.J. Conlon and Kevin Kaczmarski and, to the best of my knowledge, neither is still in baseball. 

The biggest thing about the 2015 draft for the Mets could be the HS players that the Mets drafted late that did not sign but later signed when they were drafted in later years by other teams.  These include: L.T. Tolbert  who the Mets drafted in the 34^th round – the Diamondbacks took him in the 13^th round in 2018;  Dustin Beggs who the Mets took in the 32^nd round – the Marlins took him in the 16^th round in 2016; and Tanner Dodson drafted in the 32^nd round – the Rays took him in the 2^nd round in 2018. 

The full Mets list is below. 

Here are some other notable MLB 2015 picks:

Round 1: #5 Kyle Tucker, Astros,OF; #7 Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox, OF; #24 Walker Buehler, Dodgers, RHP;

Compensatory round: # 28 Mike Soroka, Braves, RHP;

Round 3: #87 Brandon Lowe, Rays, 2B;

Round 4: #131 Paul DeJong, Cardinals, INF;

Round 12: #349 Myles Straw, Astros, OF;

Round 40: #1,207 Daniel Zamora, Pirates.

Mack's Mets writer Tom Brennan noted the perils of giving up a first round pick for an aging dude like Michael Cuddyer.  That said, the guy the Rockies picked 27th overall, Mike Nikorak, has done nothing in the minors.

Round 2 Desmond Lindsay (23 all this season) seems to have been born on the disabled list, having played just 242 games in 5 seasons.  3rd rounder Max Wotell blew up early, with just 74 career minors innings, and David Thompson was a good enough 4th round gamble that seems to be falling short.  

Szapucki in round 5 could help this (to date) very unproductive draft to be somewhat less painful, as could 18th rounder Jordan Humphrey, both healthy again after being waylaid by Tommy John surgery.  Pat Mazeika may yet make it, possibly as a back up catcher.

Here were the Mets 2015 picks from Baseball Reference:

Round	Pick #	Name	Pos
2	53	Desmond Lindsay	OF
3	88	Max Wotell	LHP
4	119	David Thompson	3B
5	149	Thomas Szapucki	LHP
6	179	Chase Ingram	RHP
7	209	Corey Taylor	RHP
8	239	Patrick Mazeika	C
9	269	Kevin Kaczmarski	OF
10	299	Witt Haggard	RHP
11	329	Jake Simon	LHP
12	359	Joseph Shaw	RHP
13	389	P.J. Conlon	LHP
14	419	Vinny Siena	2B
15	449	Tom Hackimer	RHP
16	479	Dillon Becker	RHP
17	509	Sixto Torres	LHP
18	539	Jordan Humphreys	RHP
19	569	Nic Enright	RHP
20	599	Thomas McIlraith	RHP
21	629	Taylor Henry	LHP
22	659	Nick Blackburn	RHP
23	689	Kenneth Bautista	RF
24	719	Jordan Verdon	3B
25	749	Dylan King	RHP
26	779	Shane McClanahan	LHP
27	809	Jake Higginbotham	LHP
28	839	Anthony Dimino	C
29	869	Seth Davis	LHP
30	899	Jackson Wark	RHP
31	929	Tanner Dodson	RHP
32	959	Dustin Beggs	RHP
33	989	Brendan Illies	C
34	1019	L.T. Tolbert	RHP
35	1049	George Thanopoulos	RHP
36	1079	Anthony Gordon	RF
37	1109	Geoff Hartlieb	RHP
38	1139	Jake Wyrick	LHP
39	1169	Chad Luensmann	RHP
40	1199	Nick Conti	2B