Mack - Draft Preview (part three) - Sunday, July 17th

So… tonight’s the night. 

My plans going forward will be to put up an immediate comprehensive post on both picks in the first round, followed by six post picks on Monday and four picks a day through the 20^th pick, Tuesday through Thursday.

 

And what are my thoughts going in? 

Here is my current, and last, top 75 picks for this draft (Mets picks are highlighted in red). The only science used here is “best player available, regardless of position: 

 

1. OF Druw Jones

2. SS/2B Termarr Johnson

3. SS Brooks Lee

4. C Kevin Parada

5. 2B Jace Jung

6. OF Elijah Green

7. SS Jackson Holliday

8. 3B Cam Collier

9. C Daniel Susac

10. SS Zach Neto

11. RHP Brock Porter

12. RHP Dylan Lesko

13. OF Gavin Cross

14. OF Chase DeLauter

15. OF Drew Gilbert

16. 3B/1B Jacob Berry

17. LHP Brandon Barriera

18. RHP Blade Tidwell

19. SS Jett Williams

20. RHP Gabriel Hughes

21. RHP Peyton Pallette

22. LHP Cooper Hjerpe

23. LHP Connor Prielipp

24. LHP Jackson Ferris

25. LHP Noah Schultz

26. 3B/OF Cayden Wallace

27. OF Dylan Beavers

28. SS Eric Brown

29. OF/1B Spencer Jones

30. RHP Jacob Miller

31. RHP Owen Murphy

32. RHP Kumar Rocker

33. RHP Cade Horton

34. OF Justin Crawford

35. 3B Tucker Toman

36. LHP Robbie Snelling

37. RHP Walter Ford

38. RHP Landon Sims

39. RHP Reggie Crawford

40. OF Brock Jones

41. SS Peyton Graham

42. OF Jud Fabian

43. RHP Henry Williams

44. RHP Justin Campbell

45. OF Jordan Beck

46. 1B Tyler Locklear

47. C Dalton Rushing

48. RHP Thomas Harrington

49. LHP Parker Messick

50. 2B Cade Doughty

51. LHP Carson Palmquist

52. LHP Bryce Hubbart

53. LHP Hunter Barco

54. OF/3B Max Wagner

55. OF Jacob Melton

56. SS Tanner Schobel

57. LHP Carson Whisenhunt

58. C Malcolm Moore

59. LHP Tristan Smith

60. SS Max Martin

61. C Logan Tanner

62. OF Henry Bolte

63. 1B Ivan Melendez

64. 3B Sal Stewart

65. OF/3B Sterlin Thompson

66. RHP Adam Mazur

67. RHP JR Richie

68. RHP Tristan Vrieling

69. SS Mikey Romero

70. OF Roman Anthony

71. RHP Jacob Misiorowski

72. OF Gavin Turley

73. RHP Cole Phillips

74. RHP Ben Joyce

75. RHP Drew Thorpe

  

Mock Drafts -

 

Mason McCrae’s picks -

 

1.11 - 3B Cam Collier 

1.14 - SS   Zack Neto 

2.52 - RHP Gabriel Hughes 

2.75 - SS RJ Austin 

 

RADAR RIFFING 2022 MLB Mock Draft here -

 

1.11 New York Mets - Jacob Berry, 1B, LSU 

The Mets will do something here that they haven't done since 2014, they'll draft a college bat. The weakest part of their system currently is potent bats at the lower & mid-levels. Alvarez, Baty and Vientos have made their way to the upper levels now and the goal for this organization is to create a farm system similar to that of the Dodgers, so they'll need to make it more well-rounded. Historically, they've done extraordinarily well with developing pitching, so I wouldn't be shocked to see them nab Porter or Lesko here...but I'm confident they'll do well with the college arms they'll draft in the middle rounds.

 

1.14 New York Mets - Zach Neto, SS, Campbell 

Neto is somewhat of a sleeper. I know, how can a first rounder be a sleeper? If Neto went to a power 5 school, he'd be a top 10 pick. He went to Campbell, an Big South school. If you don't follow college baseball, you should know Campbell is a program that has a tough schedule and are often regional contenders. Back to Neto, he has dominated at the Cape, a big point of reference for draft risers. He can throw low-90s off the mound and has the athleticism and instincts to stick at short. Again, the Mets need to add offense to their lower and mid levels. Drafting Jacob Berry and Zach Neto will do just that.

 

2.52 New York Mets - Walter Ford, RHP, Pace (FL) 

You can't tell me the Mets have 4 picks in the first 2 rounds and not draft a higher-upside HS pitcher. They could wait until this range to see who falls due to sign-ability concerns, then come in and throw enough at them. Mets have signed quite a few FL prep guys in recent years (who hasn't) so they may go back there with Ford.

 

2.75 New York Mets - Ben Joyce, RHP, Tennessee 

A potentially MLB-ready bullpen arm? Just what the Mets need. Most of their bullpen is hitting the FA market after 2022 and there are tons of spots open and despite having Cohen, it'd be best if several of the new bullpen guys were pre-arb/low arb so the Mets don't let deGrom and/or Nimmo walk. 

 

MLB Mock here 

1.14 - Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech 

Some are concerned about Jung’s injury and fade late in the season, with some thinking he could get down to the 20s in the first round. Other college bats still on the board, like DeLauter or Neto, could be in play, too. 

 

TTF Baseball mock here - 

1.14 - Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman HS (NV) 

Welcome to the first round Justin. Right off the bat, Crawford’s bloodlines come into play when evaluating him. He’s the son of former All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford. What stands out most, though, is his speed, defense, and arm. While he does fit the mold of a classic leadoff hitter who can just get on base, I want to see more from the high-riser before I go all in on a top-12 pick. His bat, while effective, doesn’t blow me away. Mostly because the ball doesn’t explode off it. He’s more of a slap hitter who needs to add muscle to his 6’3″, 175 pound frame 

 

Prospect Live here -

 

1.14 - Brock Porter, RHP, Orchard Lake St. Marys 

I think it’s Lesko or Porter here, but I’m not sure the Mets are in a huge rush to mess with injured pitchers after how the 2021 MLB Draft was handled. Either way, we think Porter is the best prep arm in the class. If they go the college route, Arizona catcher Daniel Susac is mentioned here a lot. If the Mets do go big with pick 11, this could be one of the college arms projected a bit lower down the board.

 

2.52 - Cayden Wallace 3B Arkansas

 

Tieran Alexander MLB Draft Top 500 Prospects here -

 

1.14 - 2B Termarr Johnson, Mays High School 

I have very mixed feelings about Termarr Johnson. I have him ranked a tad bit lower than the consensus but I really want to make it abundantly clear that I do not in any way dislike Termarr Johnson. The primary reason he’s ranked so low is that I think he is only an average second baseman. I think the bat is great but I don’t think it’s generational like some people seem to think it is. 

Termarr Johnson will make his money because of how good his hands are. It’s a plus BABIP profile to go along with what still projects as plus contact rates. Termarr possesses an elite feel for squaring balls up and hitting them at optimal angles to do damage. He makes adjustments mid-at-bat to the shape of his swing and will rarely be beaten twice. He shows both the ability to hit velocity and pick up on pitches with spin. The bat path is clean and efficient, the setup is quiet and effective, and the timing is typically on point. Despite, the whiff issues last summer, I do still think Termarr has the second-best hit tool in the draft behind only Brooks Lee. 

 

Draft Tweets -

 

Mack (@JohnMackinAde) 

If your son (Zach Neto) becomes a Met and joins a farm team, do we need to rename it… 

MAGGIE'S FARM? 

                            Maggie neto @MaggieNeto 

Lol no no. Maybe Camels farm. Lol 

 

Joe Doyle @JoeDoyleMiLB

Among one of the more intriguing storylines headed toward the 2022 MLB Draft is what the Mets might do with two first round picks. There is some evidence to believe they may be trying to float a player down to pick 11 and overslot that player, underslotting at pick 14. We'll see. 

 

Curt Schilling @gehrig38 

Kumar Rocker  You're about to embark on what will be the greatest experience of your life (until you have kids), sit back, enjoy it, and let the haters hate while you work fast, throw strikes, and change speeds (and win a lot of games). God Bless and Good luck 

 

Michael Garaffa @MichaelGaraffa 

Almost everyone is projecting Daniel Susac (Arizona) to be drafted by the Mets. Catcher with power to all fields, who can easily be turned into a first baseman/DH. 

 

Brian Recca @brian_recca 

I'll do a draft version of this. Pretty easy for me. 

Best hitter: Chase DeLauter

Best pitcher: Kumar Rocker

Best defender: Adonys Guzman