When news broke that the Mets drafted Oregon State OF Michael Conforto with their 10th overall pick last night, I happened to be on a bus filled with college baseball players, so I asked what they thought of him.
“The dude’s legit,” said a coach. “He’s going to be very good.”
“He’s the best hitter in college baseball,” said a pitcher on the team.
In his career at Oregon State, .341/.463/.560 with 31 home runs, 116 BB versus 119 K in 659 at bats. He seems at this point to be a the power outfield bat that the Mets’ system desperately needs. While bats like Brandon Nimmo, Dominic Smith and Kevin Plawecki have performed well this year, Conforto adds a legit power bat to the mix, and deepens the farm system.
His ceiling is probably not as high as some other players who were available, but he offers reward of being more polished. All scouting reports point to Conforto being a good power threat at the major league level, although he’ll probably never win a gold glove or win a batting title.
What are your thoughts on the pick? Do you like it? Did you want somebody else?
I am thrilled with this pick. He’s a Keith Moreland type number five or six hitter.
We need someone who can lower the boom and put a game out of reach.
Actually, we have one (Andrew Brown). Met brass simply chose to give 7m to someone else to fail, while AB rakes at the plate and in the field.
Conforto was a solid pick that addressed an organizational deficiency. He was not a reach, but a really solid draft selection who’s as close to MLB-ready as anyone in the draft.
AB rakes at the plate and in the field? Apparently you’ve been watching an Andrew Brown in an alternate universe. We know the Cardinals always let talented young outfield talent go for nothing.
I enjoy the first-hand comments on the pick.
Glad they finally took a college guy.
I guess somewhat mixed feelings. I like he’s a college guy with the idea he could effect the big club before 2 more GMs pass. I like the big bat. Reading a bit about him, he clearly has all the qualities that SA wishes. Unfortunately he seems to be quite a defensive liability, leaving me to ask, just where will he play?
There is simply no way anyone here can judge this kid, unless they’ve seen him play at least 20 college games.
Thanks for the input Joe! Just the sort of thing you get here you won’t get anyplace else …”on a bus that happened to be filled with college baseball players”.
All I can do is parrot what I’ve read elsewhere. Otherwise, no surprise that ChrisF and I would agree: organizationally, its good to hear that the team has set its sights on players that can help in Queens sooner rather than later.
From what I’ve read, it also seems like the team got another “pure hitter” in Eudor Garcia-Pacheco. If they can get Winningham to sign, seems like he’s another hitter.
Seems like a smart pick. Maybe his defensive liabilities could lead to a position change.