Mets Minors: Brandon Nimmo and the 2011 draftees

We wrap up our look at Sandy Alderson’s drafts by examining his 2011 Draft, his first one with the Mets. When he took over the club, the Mets’ system was not considered to be an especially strong one and the talent that is there is considered to be heavier in pitching than hitting, led by touted youngsters Jenrry Mejia and Matt Harvey.

With his first pick, Alderson swung for the fences by taking raw prepster Brandon Nimmo. Pre-draft speculation had the Mets interested in Nimmo but the thought was that they would target him on the supplemental round. Nimmo hailed from Wyoming, which did not have high school baseball, but he had great success in American Legion ball, as well as top prospect/All-Star games. A potential five-tool talent, Nimmo has not developed quite the way the Mets had hoped and he has lost time to injury the past two seasons. But he’s knocking on the door at Triple-A and should make the majors, although perhaps as a fourth outfielder.

With their supplemental pick, the Mets took another prep product, RHP Michael Fulmer. This was the first of five consecutive pitchers that Alderson selected. Fulmer also was slowed by injuries but got back on track with a great year in Double-A in 2015. He ended up as the main piece of the package used by Alderson to acquire Yoenis Cespedes at the trade deadline.

The next four pitchers all came from the collegiate ranks. Cory Mazzoni reached Triple-A with the Mets before being shipped to San Diego in the deal for Alex Torres. Logan Verrett was lost in the Rule 5 Draft following the 2014 season but made his way back to the Mets and will likely be in the bullpen for the club in 2016. Tyler Pill was solid, if unspectacular, until he hit a wall at Las Vegas. Jack Leathersich reached the majors in 2015 and looked like a useful piece until the Mets tried to sneak him through waivers and lost the gambit.

The next three picks were all hitters. Neither Joe Tuschak nor Cole Frenzel made it past A-ball. Daniel Muno didn’t light the world on fire but kept getting promoted to the next level, mainly on his ability to draw walks. He made it to the majors in 2015 but did not look particularly impressive. Still not a bad return for an eighth-round pick.

On the 13th-round, the Mets picked Robert Gsellman, the last of five straight pitchers the club selected. Gsellman dominated at Hi-A last year as a 21 year old and earned a mid-season promotion to Double-A, where he held his own. Under Omar Minaya, the Mets were criticized for not exceeding the commissioner’s recommended slot bonuses. But they spent $650,000 on 15th-round pick Phillip Evans, buying him out of a scholarship to San Diego State. Baseball America reported it as the largest bonus given by the Mets to a player drafted after the second round. Evans has yet to make it out of A-ball.

Travis Taijeron, selected on the 18th round, has developed into a Quad-A player and may get a cup of coffee in the majors one day. John Gant (22nd round) made it to Double-A with the Mets before being included in the trade to Atlanta which netted Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. On the 23rd round, the Mets selected catcher Jeffrey Diehl. He was moved out from behind the plate and is now a 1B/OF. He’s moving at a pace that turtles refer to as slow (four years in short-season ball!!) but had an .844 OPS in Brooklyn last year as a 21 year old, so he can’t be entirely written off at this point.

Jacob Lugo (34th round) now goes by the name Seth and he made it to Triple-A last year and has been added to the 40-man roster.

So far, four guys have made the majors from this draft and it’s likely that more will make it to the show before everything is said and done. Three picks have been traded for guys that contributed to the major league team in 2015. Depending on how you grade, this is a B-/C+ kind of draft, with the knowledge it could go up if Nimmo or Gsellman end up being solid contributors.

At the time, much was made of the fact that the Mets signed 35 of their 51 picks, including their first 12 selections. In addition to Evans, they also went over the recommended slot bonuses for Nimmo, Fulmer and Verrett. But perhaps the biggest story that’s hardly mentioned from this draft is one that got away. In the 25th-round, the Mets selected two-way player A.J. Reed, who the Mets viewed as a LHP. Reed ended up going to the University of Kentucky, where he split time between the mound and 1B. In 2014, he went 12-2 for the Wildcats with a 2.09 ERA and ended up a second-round pick of the Astros. Houston made him a first baseman and last year he had a .976 OPS in Double-A and is now considered one of the top 1B prospects in the game.