MLB Draft Preview: Mets Eyeing College Bat With Pick No. 19

With the MLB Draft right around the corner, here's who Mets fans should have on their radar heading into the first round.

The post MLB Draft Preview: Mets Eyeing College Bat With Pick No. 19 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The MLB Draft is tomorrow. After months of mock drafts, the day is finally right around the corner. 

The first round will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 14, on ESPN. Day 2, which includes rounds 3-10, and Day 3, which includes rounds 11-20, will begin at 2 p.m. ET and can be viewed on MLB.com.

Last year, the Mets selected high school shortstop Colin Houck at No. 32 overall and college pitcher Brandon Sproat at No. 56 overall on Day 1. Houck has struggled at Single-A to begin his professional career, but Sproat has skyrocketed all the way up to Double-A in his first season and onto some MLB Top 100 prospect lists.

It has been reported that the Mets are going to shift their draft philosophy this season with Stearns and new VP of amateur scouting Kevin Gross at the helm. Gross spent years in a prominent role with the Houston Astros, having his hand in the drafting of players like Jeremy Peña, Korey Lee, Hunter Brown, Drew Gilbert, and others. The new philosophy, as Will Sammon of The Athletic reported, is to draft “explosive athletes with big tools and pitchers with electric raw stuff.”

This year, the Mets will pick No. 19 after falling to No. 9 in the lottery and being docked ten spots due to CBT penalties, along with the Padres and Yankees. The Mets pick at No. 46 in the second round, No. 82 in the third round, No. 111 in the fourth round, and No. 144 in the fifth round. No picks were docked any spots besides the first-rounder.

When it comes to the first-round pick, there’s no clear favorite. Most people expect the Mets to go with a college bat, and Joe DeMayo of SNY said he’s pretty confident that’s the route they’ll take.

The leading candidate is probably Carson Benge, an outfielder out of Oklahoma State. The Athletic mocked Benge to the Mets a couple of weeks ago, and Fangraphs mocked Benge to the Mets this week. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs also noted that David Stearns would tend to draft high-contact players like Benge when he was in Milwaukee.

Benge, 21, hit .335/.444/.665 this season for the Cowboys with 18 home runs in 61 games. His 1.109 OPS was third in the Big 12. MLB Pipeline, which has him as the No. 18 prospect in the draft, gives him above-average grades on the 20-80 scale almost across the board. The only tool below 55 is run, and it’s still 50.

Seaver King, a defensively versatile player from Wake Forest,  is another option that’s been floated. Baseball America mocked King to the Mets at the start of the month but made note that he might not make it to the Mets pick. He probably has limited power potential (even if he did hit 16 home runs this season), but King is viewed as one of the better contact bats in the draft. King hit .308/.377/.577 this year and struck out just 34 times in 284 plate appearances. He also would have instant name royalty if selected by the Mets.

However, in Baseball America’s most recent mock draft which was released just Friday, the Mets take a different college bat even with King still on the board. Instead, the mock has the Mets taking Kaelen Culpepper, a shortstop out of Kansas State. Similar to King, Culpepper probably has below-average power with an above-average hit tool. Culpepper hit .328/.419/.574 this season for the Wildcats with 11 home runs and 41 strikeouts in 291 plate appearances. Benge was already off the board in this mock.

Vance Honeycutt is a name that has been floated to the Mets over the last couple of months, getting mocked to Queens by both ESPN and MLB Pipeline on Friday. One of the more polarizing prospects in the draft, Honeycutt is a legitimate power-speed threat with a great glove and a LOT of swing-and-miss. He hit 28 home runs and stole 28 bases for North Carolina this season while also striking out 83 times — a 27.5% strikeout rate. The rate is so high for college that it’s led to Honeycutt falling in the latter half of draft, despite his gold glove caliber defense and tantalizing power.

Other college bats who have been brought up as options for the Mets include Tommy White, Dakota Jordan, and Billy Amick. 

White, also known as “Tommy Tanks,” is one of the better-known players in the draft after breaking onto the scene last college baseball season. Now that he’s draft-eligible, White is projected to be a mid-to-late first-round pick. A power-hitting corner infielder, White hit at least 24 home runs each of his three college seasons but is coming off what is technically considered a down year, putting up “just” a 1.039 OPS.

Jordan is a bit like Honeycutt, possessing some of the best power in this draft class with a questionable hit tool and strikeout rate nearing 30%. Jordan hit .354 with a 1.129 OPS and 20 home runs this season for Mississippi State. He only stole three bases, but MLB Pipeline still has him as a 60-grade runner. Amick, a third baseman, is a more balanced hitter than Jordan and Honeycutt, striking out far less. He hit .306 with a 1.026 OPS and 23 home runs this season for Tennessee.

If the Mets don’t go the college bat route, there are a couple of high school bats who have been brought up as options. MLB Pipeline mocked outfielder Slade Caldwell to the Mets last week, who has drawn comparisons to current Mets prospect Jett Williams. Like Williams, Caldwell is under 5-foot-10 but has some exciting tools if teams can look past his height. The Mets took Williams in the first round a few years ago, so it would make sense they could do it again.

Tyson Lewis, a shortstop from Tennessee, has been brought up as an option. Lewis has average or above average grades across the board on MLB Pipeline. The same almost goes for Theo Gillen, who is average or above average everywhere except arm strength. His bat is where he shines with a 60-grade hit tool and 55-grade power tool, and he’s a 60-graded runner to boot.

If the Mets do go with an arm, which seems unlikely at this point, Brody Brecht could be an option. Brecht was mocked by the Mets by ESPN a few weeks ago. An athletic, hard-throwing pitcher from the University of Iowa, Brecht could be a good fit in what has become a bit of a pitching factory for the Mets.

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