Tom Brennan - Drafted Prospect Performances - 2020 to 2022 Drafts

This success story was drafted pre-2020.  Which 2020-22 picks will succeed? 

Enough time has gone by to check in on the top 10 rounds of draft picks for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 drafts. 2020, of course, being weird, had just 5 rounds, so we’ll keep that in mind.

2020:

1st round (19) - Pete Crow Armstrong - 21 years old - traded in 2021 for 2 months of Joan Baez.  Pete is in AA hitting .277, 12 steals, 27 RBIs in 148 at bats. Still up just 595 times as a pro due to injuries, but has star potential.

2nd round (52) - JT Ginn - 24 years old. Traded for Chris Bassitt one year rental. 13 innings in 2023, 6 Ks, 0-2, 12.83 ERA in AA.  Well, he looked good in 2021.

2nd round suppl. (69) - Isaiah Greene - 21 years old - also traded in the Lindor trade.  in High A, (not) hitting .170 in 108 at bats in 2023.  Career .232.   Started out well in 2021, but .226 past year.

3rd round (91) - Anthony Walters - a low bonus pick, to be able to sign JT Ginn.  Rookie ball in 2021, hit .161, promptly released.

4th round (120) - Matt Dyer (C) - soon-to-turn 25 year old - traded to Rays. Mostly in A ball, with 36 at bats in AA so far.  Just 64 ABs this year.  Since he is no longer our guy, I did not try to figure out why.

5th round (150) - Eric Orze (RHRP) - 25 years old - 14 games in AAA in 2023 - 7.71 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 1-2.  Disappointing 3rd season so far, but the season has many games left to be played.  HR prone.

CONCLUSION: Other than Crow, this draft was a no-no.

2021:

1st round (10) Kumar Rocker - went unsigned. Tommy John surgery this year. 

2nd round (46) Calvin Ziegler - 20 years old - bone spurs removed in April, Still on IL with no 2023 innings. 4.44 ERA in 2022, 70 Ks, 35 BBs in 47 IP.

3rd round (81) Dominic Hamel - 24 years old - the righty had a 10-3 (essentially) debut season in 2022, but tougher in AA Binghamton this year so far, 2-3, 5.44 ERA, 43 innings, 54 Ks. 

4th round (111) JT Schwartz - 23 years old - currently injured 1st baseman - in AA, .240, 2 HRs, 20 RBIs in 104 at bats.  As a pro so far, 586 at bats, 8 HRs, 5 triples, 36 doubles, .256.   Not great so far, but solid enough - get healthy and let's see what JT can do.

5th round (142) Christian Scott - about to turn 24 - in High A - just 20 innings so far this year, but is 1-1, 3.48 in 21 innings, 3 walks vs. 23 Ks.  Career 4-4, 4.15 so far.  Work in progress.

6th round (172) Carson Seymour - traded for Darin Ruf -  

7th round (202) - Kevin Kendall - about to turn 24 year old 5'10" SS - 103 at bats in Brooklyn, 0 HRs, 10 RBIs, .206.  Hit .327 in 113 at bats in St Lucie last year.  Needs to play more.

8th round (232) - Mike Vasil - class overachiever so far. 3.13 ERA and astonishing 0.72 WHIP in 46 AA innings in 2023.

9th round (262) Levi David - 10.43 ERA in 2022 - released.

10th round (292) Keyshawn Askew - traded after nice 2022 season - but 5.65 ERA in High A this year.

CONCLUSION: Still the potential for this to be a quality draft year.  Better idea about that by season's end.

2022:

1st round (11) - Kevin Parada - the 21 year old slugging catcher (18 extra base hits in 45 games) that was picked using the Kumar Kompensatory Pick is progressing well in High A ball.  Hitting .243 in Brooklyn, but a more indicative .268 on the road out of the hell of Cyclones Park.  A likely solid future major leaguer.  Will the desperate Mets consider risking fan wrath by trading him for immediate pitching help, though?  If so, blame Edwin.

1st round (14) - Jett Williams - the 19 year old  5'6" SS is not hitting much so far, at .213, but getting on base very nicely in St Lucie (.405), partially due to being HBP 10 times in 39 games, and has stolen 17 of 23. Eleven errors in 29 games at SS this year, errorless in 6 games in CF.  

2nd round (52) - Blade Tidwell - the about-to-turn 22 year old RHP has been wild so far, but fanned 50 in 35 innings, with a 4.93 ERA, in 2023 in Brooklyn.  Remove one really bad start, though, and his ERA in his other 8 outings is 3.27.

2nd round comp. (75) - Nick Morabito - just 20, he was just 2 for 20 last year, and likely to play in the Complex League which starts in early June.

3rd round (90) - Brandon Sproat - the 22 year old RHP did not sign with the Mets - he has a 4.70 ERA in college this season.

4th round (119) - Jacob Reimer - the 3B will be 19 all this season - doing nicely in St Lucie this season, with a .258 average and .387 OBP.  Seven errors in 32 games this year in the field.

5th round (149) - D'Andre Smith - the 22 year old SS has been injured, and missed all of 2023 so far. 50 pro at bats, .220.  Great name for a point guard.

6th round (179) - Tyler Stuart - GEM ALERT - the 23 year old 6'9" RHP has a 1.43 ERA in 44 innings, 52 Ks,   One to keep a close watch on.

7th round (209) - Jonah Tong - the RHP - about to turn 20, the righty has no pro innings, and likely will emerge in the Complex League shortly.

8th round (239) - Dylan Tebrake - the 23 year old  RHP has 12.1 innings so far this season, 19 Ks vs. 3 walks, and a 0.89 WHIP and 2.19 ERA.  So far, so good.

9th round (269) - Chase Estep - the 23 year old 3B is hitting .222 in Brooklyn, with 2 HRs and 19 RBIs in 125 at bats.  Only a few days into June, he is hot in June so far at .389/.476/.556. Keep it up.

10th round (299) - Zebulon Vermillion - seven syllable RHP - the 24 year old threw just 1 inning in 2022, and is out for 2023 due to injury.

CONCLUSION: Way too early to tell, but this could be an above average draft year.

Looking ahead…

Let’s hope the 2023 draft knocks our socks off.