Draft 2016

[Frayed Knot]

Round 1 starts one week from today - but today's the last off-day before then so I'm starting this now.
Mets pick 19th, then 31st (the Murph pick), 64th, 100th, and then every 30 picks after that.

This draft is expected to be heavy on college pitchers & HS bats ... or is that HS arms and college bats? I dunno, I let you know five years from now when my near perfect hindsight kicks in.
As you know the Mets trend was to go heavy on college pitchers with their 1st pick, right up until it wasn't and they started drafting HS kids almost exclusively with the odd Conforto thrown in.

Some have them hot & heavy on this guy: Wake Forest 3B Will Craig
I predict they'll either choose him or they'll choose someone else. Then they'll choose other guys after that.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

College bat with pop and LOTS of plate discipline sounds a little TeamSandy, doesn't it? (A pin in the balloon: his power outage with a wood bat against top-flight Cape Cod League composite.)

The others who may be around by the Mets' first go-round include two college righties with bloodlines: Stanford throw-hurler Cal Quantrill (son of former BlueJay Paul) and Vanderbilt pitch-thrower-person Jordan Sheffield, Gary's neph.

[Edgy MD]

Today is Steve Chilcott Day Plus 50!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

And speaking of guys the scouts love...

Here are some two-way talents that could be out there when it's our first first-round go-round: Georgian Josh Lowe, a third-baseman toting a lefty bat with plus-power to all fields AND a righty pitcher with low-to-mid-'90s heat and two other potential plus-pitches; and Kansan Joey Wentz, smart lefty first-baseman/pitcher with good velocity, an easy motion, a "projectable frame," and batting-box thump.

[Frayed Knot]

... Vanderbilt pitch-thrower-person Jordan Sheffield, Gary's neph.

Just read that he is NOT related to Gary Sheffield, but is rather the brother of a guy drafted in the 1st round 2 years ago by Cleveland. They're from Tennessee.
Cal Quantrill is son of Paul though (as opposed to the myriad other Quantrills).

Other bloodline guys:
Bo Bichette (Fla HS) - son of Dante, also brother of Dante Jr in Yanx system
Bo Weiss (Col HS) - son of Rox player now mgr Walt (so what is it with ex-Rox and the name Bo?)
JaVon Shelby (U of Kentucky) & Jaren Shelby (HS) - sons of John
Grae Kessinger (Miss HS) - grandson of 1960s era Cubs SS Don (that's it, I'm officially old!!)
Cavan Biggio (Notre Dame) - son of HoF Craig
Ryan Reynolds (Louisiana HS) - son of Shane
Preston Palmiero (NC State) - son of Rafael
Jacob Matheny (StL HS) - son of Mike

Bichette, Weiss, Kessinger, and the older Shelby kid are considered top-200 guys on the board.

[Frayed Knot]

Most rumors have the Mets interested in college bats with their top pick, either the above mentioned Will Craig or possibly one of several college catchers (who may turn into corner IFs later on anyway) such as
UVA's Matt Thaiss
But one idea being floated is that having two first round picks (#s 19 & 31) gives the Mets the flexibility to shoot for a high-ceiling prep school kid who may fall through the top half of the first round due to perceived high bonus demands, the strategy being that you could overpay for the first pick and then make up for it by taking a safer 'under-slot' choice at #31 and not blow your allotted budget for the remaining picks.
So if either of Blake Rutherford, an OF from California, or RHP Matt Manning* slide past the first 18 picks then the college bat theory may go out the window.


* not related to the football Mannings or to former Indian/Brewer OF Rick but is the son of former NBA'er (1995-97) Rich.
Matt has a scholarship to Loyola Marymount to play both baseball & basketball so will have a lot of leverage come bonus talk time

[MFS62]

Some more on Craig. I read in today's NY Post that the Mets are high on him because of the power they saw from him during the ACC Tournament.
I remember a time they did something similar, and how it turned out. They drafted a player who had hit 7 home runs in the NCAA tourney and thought he would be a power hitter at the major league level.
The player?
Dave Magadan. He turned out to be a good major league hitter, but not the power hitter they envisioned when they drafted him.
Has Craig shown power his entire collegiate career? From the link above it seems that his power was diminished when he played in the wood bat Cape Cod league.
But if they draft him, I'll be happy.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Will and Craig have both shown power, slugging .439, .702, and .766 over this three-season NCAA career.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=will-craig

Looks like he's been the best hitter in the ACC two years running.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Some Guy On The Internet reports the Mets are talking deal with Blake Rutherford, a second-cousin of Purveyour of Pomposity IV, that most fake drafts have going in the Top 10.

LH hitting high school outfielder with power? OK with me.

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, Rutherford is mentioned a couple of posts above under the 'if he falls' theory.
Considered top-10 type material but also with the leverage of a UCLA commitment in his pocket that could scare some teams off with high demand$ and actually increase his earning the further he falls.
Mets are in a better position than most to snag him if he falls because they could make up for overpaying him by underpaying for pick #31 and therefore not blow most of their assigned budget for rounds 1-10 on just one guy. Those rumored pre-draft talks would then be the two sides trying to gauge where a mutual number might sit. Without at least semi-agreeing to one beforehand it could wind up as a wasted pick and that unspent bonus is NOT money that can be applied to later rounds.


Index & profiles of many of those expected to go among the top 60 or so picks
Rutherford

I can't believe they're going all NFL on us and stretching this over three days.
Top 41 picks tonight. Rounds 2-10 Friday. The remainder Saturday. Pre-TV they used to knock the whole thing out by phone in a couple of hours, and they had more rounds then too.

[Frayed Knot]

And we know that ZVon is rooting for Carter Kieboom just for the future graphics he can create for him.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Frayed Knot wrote: Yeah, Rutherford is mentioned a couple of posts above under the 'if he falls' theory. Considered top-10 type material but also with the leverage of a UCLA commitment in his pocket that could scare some teams off with high demand$ and actually increase his earning the further he falls. Mets are in a better position than most to snag him if he falls because they could make up for overpaying him by underpaying for pick #31 and therefore not blow most of their assigned budget for rounds 1-10 on just one guy. Those rumored pre-draft talks would then be the two sides trying to gauge where a mutual number might sit. Without at least semi-agreeing to one beforehand it could wind up as a wasted pick and that unspent bonus is NOT money that can be applied to later rounds. Index & profiles of many of those expected to go among the top 60 or so picks Rutherford I can't believe they're going all NFL on us and stretching this over three days. Top 41 picks tonight. Rounds 2-10 Friday. The remainder Saturday. Pre-TV they used to knock the whole thing out by phone in a couple of hours, and they had more rounds then too.

I suppose MLB can't be blamed for trying to make a show of this, but they schedule it against ongoing games! I miss the old days of getting picks by the Internet while pretending to work.

[Edgy MD]

I hate the existence of the draft, but I'm telling you, they're missing out on a goldmine by not scheduling this as part of BASEBALL WEEK, where they have special showcase events every day and night.

[Edgy MD]

Phillies on the clock:

[Edgy MD]

1) Phillies: Moniak, Mickey: La Costa Canyon HS (CA), OF (was arguably the best HS hitter, but somewhat surprising)

2) Reds: Senzel, Nick: U Tennessee, 3B

3) Braves: Anderson: Ian, Shenendehowa HS (Clifton Park, NY), RHP

4) Rockies: Pint, Riley: Saint Thomas Aquinas HS (KS), RHP

5) Brewers: Ray, Corey, Louisville U, OF

6) Athletiques: Puk, A.J.: U Florida, LHP

7) Marlins: Garrett, Braxton: Florence HS (AL), LHP

8) Padres: Quantrill, Cal (son of Paul): Cal Stanford, RHP

9) Tigers: Manning, Matt (son of Rich): Sheldon HS (CA), RHP

[Edgy MD]

Come on, Angels. Shake a tail feather.

[Edgy MD]

Angels go for Matt Thaiss, who looks like he retired in 1952.

[Edgy MD]

Mets on the clock OMYGAWD!!

[Edgy MD]

And they quickly go for...

Justin Dunn, right-hander from BC:

[fimg=500]https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_1920x1280/Boston/2011-2020/2016/06/06/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/b2d61df474064f8c91c85b29967169bc-b2d61df474064f8c91c85b29967169bc-0-9912.jpg?uuid=7VmmsCwgEeakJCa42qqu_g[/fimg]

At the start of the spring, Dunn was an interesting college reliever with arm strength, albeit one with a four-pitch mix many scouts were intrigued to see as a starter. They got their wish as Dunn became a part of Boston College's weekend rotation in April and saw his Draft stock take off. Dunn has always had a plus fastball and he maintained it in his early starts, lighting radar guns up to 98-99 mph and sitting in the 92-95 mph range. He utilizes two breaking balls, both of which are Major League average: a three-quarters curve and a solid hard slider. His changeup will also flash average, though he didn't need it much as a reliever. His command is fringy at present, but his outstanding stuff helps make up for it. Many teams feel Dunn has a very good chance to start as a Yordano Ventura type athletic, yet slightly undersized, right-hander. As a result, he was flying up boards, with some feeling he could be gone by the end of the first round.

I'm not too cool with picking a guy that high if he's projected for the bullpen.

[Frayed Knot]

Well some are saying that he's got the stuff to stay as a starter. Either way, that he went this high means the Mets see him as at least slightly better than the consensus did ["... he was flying up boards, with some feeling he could be gone by the end of the first round"] but how often is the consensus right?

And ... Hometown: Freeport L.I.



Yanx grabbed the Rutherford kid being discussed earlier in the pick right before theirs.

[Edgy MD]

Greatest baseball figure out of Freepo't since Dick Schaap.

Honorable mention to Flava Flav, who knew how to rock a baseball cap.

[Frayed Knot]

D'Brickshaw Ferguson

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Frayed Knot wrote: Yanx grabbed the Rutherford kid being discussed earlier in the pick right before theirs.

Guy was a dick anyway.

[Edgy MD]

First time in the Alderson era the team has gone for a pitcher in round one.

They went for Michael Fulmer with a late sandwich pick (44th overall) in 2011, after taking Nimmo #13.

[Frayed Knot]

mlb.com's Jim Callis: Dunn had so much helium down the stretch that I thought there was a very good chance he would go No. 10 to the White Sox or No. 11 to the Mariners. So the Mets have to be pleasantly surprised to get him here.
He opened the season in BC's bullpen, but proved he could start and seemed to get better every outing down the stretch.


Odd thought: Maybe the bullpen background means that there's less mileage on his arm compared to some of his age-group contemporaries.

[Frayed Knot]

With pick #31 they stay local (what are we, the Braves?) with Anthony Kay, LHP, UConn

Edited June 10, 2016 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

WARD MELVILLE REPRESENTING!!

[Frayed Knot]

When I went to HS, Ward Melville was known as a lacrosse powerhouse.

Best thing about Kay: not related to Michael

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/6/5/11861226/2016-mlb-draft-anthony-kay-lhp-university-of-connecticut

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Buy your seats now in the Kay Corner.

[Frayed Knot]

They will get to the Mets #64 pick tonight. I thought earlier that they were stopping in the 40s