Mack - Draft Preview (part two) - Saturday, July 16th

 

Mock Drafts -    

    Prospect Live here - 

1.11 - Zach Neto, Shortstop, Campbell 

Neto is one of the best players left on the board here, and he’s got the edge and affinity for the bright lights that should play well in New York. It’s a toss-up here between Neto and Jung, but we think athleticism reigns supreme in this case. Worth monitoring, however, is the idea the Mets float a “Top 7” player down to this pick with the money they possess and going under-slot at 14. 

   Tieran Alexander MLB Draft Top 500 Prospects here - 

1.11 - 11. 2B/3B Jace Jung, Texas Tech. 

Jace Jung falls in a similar bucket as Termarr Johnson. He’s an amazing hitter with very limited defensive value. He’s fairly closer to the majors and was one of the most productive players in college baseball across the last three years hitting .328/.468/.647. 

However, Jace Jung really struggled to end the year as he hit just .214/.343/.339 in the final 30 days of his collegiate career. The why behind those struggles according to trackman appears to be that he started getting too far beneath pitches. The contact rates and swing decisions only showed moderate dips. It’s probably unfair to ding him for one bad stretch but every cold stretch means a lot for a bat only profile without eye-popping tools.

 

Wyatt Kleinberg's 2022 MLB Draft Mock 40 here -

 

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

Pick Overview: 

With the fourteenth pick, the New York Mets will select Justin Crawford (OF) out of Bishop Gorman HS. Crawford is the definition of a top of the lineup center fielder. He is an absolute elite mover, and with a plus contact bat and glove, he projects to be a serious threat across the board for opposing lineups. Crawford, the son of former All-Star Carl Crawford stands a lanky 6’3’’, and has not even remotely filled out yet. He will likely stay more lean, but the addition of further muscle could make him even more explosive, and could see his overall power play about average. For the Mets, who have plenty of time to develop high school talent, taking a second prep player (this time a bat) in Crawford makes total sense and is frankly a pretty good match given NYM traded away PCA (their best top of the lineup CF prospect) last year to the Cubs. 

Why Crawford at 1.14: 

Much like the decision to take Lesko with the eleventh pick, the Mets will implement the same strategy in taking Crawford at 14. The club is loaded up with veterans at the big league level, and has no pressing needs in regards to rushing a player up. As a result, taking a ceiling play in the highly talented Crawford would be a fantastic option. Crawford brings a skillset that does not exist in the Mets org at the present – they do not have a player that brings a plus hit tool with elite speed, and the potential to cover the ground he can in CF. Prior to their Baez trade, Pete Crow-Armstrong would have been that candidate, but he is now in the Cubs org. Crawford has a little more power in the tank at present due to mechanical shortcomings, and as he fills out more its possible it could play up to a 45/50 grade. Crawford is the 3rd best prep outfielder after Jones and Green – for a club lacking top tier OF prospects, he’s a no-brainer call at 14. 

The Player: 

Hit: 55 Power: 40 Run: 70

Throw: 50 Field: 55 

Crawford projects to be an overall plus contact hitter due to his very quick hands, and outstanding feel for contact/the barrel. Crawford stands relatively tall in his stance, with a slight knee bend and his feet relatively even. Going into his load, Crawford shifts his weight to his back side, with his front toe just leaving the ground going into his stride. His hands shift back quite a bit during his load, creating a lot of separation (potential power for his frame), and he does a very good job of keeping them back while maintaining his upper body counter rotation going into foot strike and internal rotation. Crawford has a pretty long stride for how he sets up, and can land closed and a little heavy on the front foot. Despite that, he still does a good job of keeping his weight (and thus power) on his back side until IR. As he internally rotates, Crawford’s back hip can be cut off via the closed landing, which prevents full power output from the energy created. He does a pretty good job of keeping his torso stacked, though it can be inconsistent at times. His hands enter the hitting zone relatively early, and Crawford flashes a pretty flat attack angle – this means he should be able to handle high velocity ride fastballs at a very high level. Crawford’s swing is very “down hill oriented”, which should be conducive to creating more power. The combination of that and his outstanding rotational twitch makes me believe that as he fills out more and fine tunes his mechanics in, he should be able to flash average or maybe even plus power at times.

 

Northside Mock draft here - 

1.14  -  ELIJAH GREEN, OF, IMG ACADEMY 

In this scenario, The Mets go superstar hunting in the player with the highest ceiling in the draft class. Elijah Green offers all-world tools, but his swing and miss add a legitimate concern to his profile. In some ways, Green reminds me of Brady House. Last season who had swing and miss, but he had made strides in his senior year of high school. Green posted ghastly contact rates in the 60s-%. This spring, he’s striking out in nearly a third of his plate appearances. I could conceivably see a situation in which the Mets are able to balance any bonus demands of Green along with the risk in his profile. It pays to be able to outspend any mistakes. By saving money at 11 with Jacob Melton, the Mets could comfortably offer Elijah $7.5 million and still not have to adjust the remaining pick pool money. They further balance the risk with a safer profile in Melton with ultimate upside in Green. 

 

MLB Mock here 

1.11 - Daniel Susac, C, Arizona 

This has been a pairing we’ve had for quite some time and there’s no reason to stray from it. Jace Jung is another college hitter who could go here, but -- spoiler alert -- he might be there for the Mets’ next pick. 

 

TTF Baseball mock here - 

1.11 - Brock Porter

RHP, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s HS (MI) 

I gotta show some love for my fellow Michigander, who also happens to be one of, if not thee, top high school pitcher coming into the 2022 draft at the moment. Porter’s fastball has been clocked at 99 mph, but usually rides in the mid-90s for most of the game. He’s got a plus-change up to go along with a decent curve. His slider needs some work, though. If he can keep his command in check and perfect his breaking stuff, he’ll headlining all pitchers in this class. 

 

Draft prospects with the best tools here - 

Best power: 

Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 

Green's combination of size (6-foot-3, 225 pounds), strength, bat speed and loft and leverage in his right-handed swing give him at least double-plus raw power, and he can hit balls harder and farther than just about anyone in this Draft -- as an 18-year-old. He's also has plus-plus speed to go with plus arm strength and defensive ability, and he has done a better job of making contact this spring while facing quality competition at IMG Academy. 

Also in the discussion: Ivan Melendez, 1B, Texas; Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech; Jacob Berry, 3B/OF, Louisiana State 

 

Draft Tweets - 

Matt Collier @reillocity 

So I feel like my top college batters for this draft, for the moment, is shaping up like: 

1 Neto

2 DeLauter

3 Lee

4 Berry

5 Jung

6 E. Brown 

 

Joe Doyle @JoeDoyleMiLB 

Don't be surprised if one of Jones, Johnson, Holliday or Green end up campus.