S2S - Mets Sup 1 Mock Pick

35th Overall: New York Mets (Compensation for Jose Reyes)

Having their homegrown star shortstop sign with the division rival Miami Marlins stings even more for the Mets because the Marlins draft slot (9th) was too high for them to relinquish their pick. They do get this pick though, and they’ll do their best to take advantage. One position the Mets have a need at is catcher, where Josh Thole is questionable to begin with and the Mets have little depth behind him. But considering they’re rebuilding, it makes more sense for the Mets to stick with Thole for the time being and go with a high school catcher with upside. I think a good fit is AC Flora High School catcher David Houser.

The Mets have seen their crosstown rival New York Yankees develop Jorge Posada, never an elite catcher but a valuable commodity thanks to his switch-hitting ability with power. They also have witnessed the Red Sox with a similar player in Jason Varitek. I think the Mets are just a little jealous at this point after a history of futility at the catcher position after Mike Piazza moved to first base. David Houser fits the profile. He’s 6’1″, 215, just short of Posada’s 6’2″, 215 frame. But what distinguishes Houser is that he’s a rare switch-hitting catcher prospect coming out of high school and he has the raw power from both sides of the plate to be a 15-20-homer threat. Houser adds a dimension to Posada’s game with his outstanding bat speed and great ability to make contact, he could be a .300 hitter who limits strikeouts. Defensively, there’s almost no doubt that Houser will be better than Posada. He is graceful behind the plate, excelling at receiving, blocking balls in the dirt, and throwing baserunners out with an above-average arm. His transfers have been somewhat inconsistent and his accuracy with his throws has been a little iffy, but he has flashed superlatively fast glove to hand transfers and once everything is smoothed out, throwing out 30% or more of opposing basestealers shouldn’t be a problem. David Houser has the type of all-around upside that the Mets need as they rebuild, and he could be a very good major league catcher someday.

The Pick: David Houser, C, AC Flora High School, SC

http://seedlingstostars.com/2012/03/01/our-first-s2s-2012-mlb-mock-draft-supplemental-first-round/