A year after selecting pitchers with eight of their first 10 picks, the Mets are coming away with a more balanced haul in this First-Year Player Draft.
After making four Day 1 picks and eight Day 2 picks, the Mets have added six pitchers and six position players, who are broken down into a catcher, two shortstops, two third basemen and an outfielder.
The club’s decision-makers signaled, as always, that their draft board dictated the picks and not a desire for diversity, but they did see this assortment coming.
“It’s really a blended draft,” Tommy Tanous, the Mets vice president of amateur and international scouting, said of the talent available as a whole. “And it turns out that’s exactly how we drafted.”
Their first pick Monday, which covered rounds 3-10, was University of Florida righty Brandon Sproat, who has touched 100 mph.
“High-octane stuff,” Tanous said of the 21-year-old, who pitched to a 3.41 ERA in 89 ²/₃ innings this season. “Not only is the velocity impressive, what’s more impressive is the movement on the fastball — probably the best overall movement I’ve seen in the last few years.”
Other pitchers the Mets selected include sixth-rounder Tyler Stuart, a 6-foot-9 righty from the University of Southern Mississippi whose fastball lives around 95 mph and can be a “versatile starter-bullpen guy,” Tanous said over Zoom.
Their lone high school pitching selection was Jonah Tong, a righty from Ontario who pitched this year in the MLB Draft League.
“He was pitching against a lot of college guys,” Tanous said of the seventh-round pick. “He was rated as one of the top guys in terms of data and metrics in that league, which is impressive for a younger kid. He’s a uniquely athletic kid.”
Their first position player added Monday was fourth-rounder Jacob Reimer, a 6-2, 205-pound third baseman from Yucaipa High School in California.
“This is a power hitter, and it’s one of those high school power hitters that it’s power to all fields,” Tanous said of the 18-year-old righty slugger. “This guy’s bat is in the path an awful long time. He is a very young player and very strong for his age. He’s still filling out — very exciting.”
Fifth-round pick D’Andre Smith is a shortstop from USC, though the Mets stressed he is defensively flexible.
“Big-time energy player,” said Marc Tramuta, director of amateur scouting. “We love that about him.”
After notably not signing pitcher Kumar Rocker last year, Tanous — adding the caveat that there always could be an unknown — said the Mets “plan on signing all the players.”
On Sunday, the Mets selected Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, high school shortstop Jett Williams, Tennessee pitcher Blade Tidwell and high school outfielder Nick Morabito.
Others imported Monday included Creighton pitcher Dylan Tebrake, Kentucky third baseman Chase Estep and Arkansas pitcher Zebulon Vermillion.
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