Mets Minors: 2023 MLB Draft preview

The Mets do not have a pick in the Top 30 but do have seven picks that should have Top 150 draft prospects available. This article will ignore the philosophy of pick the best player available. Instead, this piece is purely me listing three pitchers at each pick. The first (By the Scouts) pick will represent a player whose draft ranking resides close to where the Mets are selecting in the draft. The second (Reaching) pick will look at a player who might drop down to the Mets because MLB.com’s rankings aren’t great. The last (Under the Radar) pick is a player who is ranked below the draft slot who might represent a better value.

By the Scouts – Travis Sykora: Sykora ranks 31st overall in the MLB.com draft list and the 6’6” righty has a 100 MPH fastball the Mets would love to add to their system. There is plenty of chance this ranking is too low and that Sykora flies off the board earlier with few obvious warts to his draft profile.

Reaching – Thomas White: Another prep school pitcher, White is a lefty who checks off lots of boxes for teams looking to build out a future rotation. Chiefly, he throws 96-97 MPH and has pretty good command. Ironically the scouting on Sykora is better than that on White who is ranked 23rd overall.

Under the Radar – Blake Wolters: Ranked 35th overall, Wolters has slightly less power than Sykora but would be an adequate backup candidate. The secondary pitches are really where Wolters has room to grow but he looks to have the mechanics and stuff to be a major league starter.

32nd Overall: The Mets need all the pitching they can get but so do most teams in baseball. Leaning towards this need the Mets need to ignore the impulse to draft a position player unless someone ridiculous drops to them. This being said, the Mets would be lucky to have Travis Sykora fall to them as the MLB.com rankings suggest he might. The 8th best pitcher on the list, Sykora boasts the 3rd best fastball and seems to be under-valued in the rankings. I like him better than Thomas White but would be satisfied with Blake Wolters if that is all who is left.

56th Overall: While I tend to favor ceiling over floor in drafting the allure of a college pitcher like Tredwell is hard to overlook. Especially if the Mets wind up with a high ceiling prep school pitcher with their first pick, a pitcher who can start higher in the system and progress faster would be a godsend.

By the Scouts – Steven Echavarria: From Millburn NJ this local pitcher is small by modern baseball standards. At 6’1” his repertoire is where he finds his success boasting three breaking pitches. He tops out in the low to mid 90s.

Reaching – Alex Clemmey: A 6’6” lefty who has a fastball that nears 100 MPH is someone to pay attention to and could be ranked a little low at 50th overall.  The reason for his lower ranking comes down to control which has been shaky at times. If you are looking at raw stuff, he’s in the Top 30.

Under the Radar – Alonzo Tredwell: The UCLA pitcher is 21 and already sits on the far side of Tommy John surgery. While his fastball sits in the lower 90s typically he has hit 96 MPH. His calling card is control and breaking pitches. He would be drafted as more of a complete package.

56th Overall: While I tend to favor ceiling over floor in drafting, the allure of a college pitcher like Tredwell is hard to overlook. Especially if the Mets wind up with a high ceiling prep school pitcher with their first pick, a pitcher who can start at a higher level in the system and progress faster would be a godsend to the farm.

By the Scouts – Nolan McLean: A two way player McLean is a pitcher outfielder who has power both with bat and arm. He can hit 98 MPH and massive exit velocities. There are injury concerns as he was drafted by the Orioles in the 3rd round last year and they walked away following some medical reports.

Reaching – Levi Wells: A curveball specialist with control questions is a risky proposition but players with higher ceilings this low in the draft begin to have some warts. Wells is projected to become a reliever long term.

Under the Radar – Adam Hachman: At 18 years of age, Hachman is very much a fastball pitcher but a lefty who throws in the upper 90s will find success. His breaking pitches aren’t the biggest weapons as of yet. His control is a work in progress and scouts don’t know if he’ll wind up starting or in relief.

91st Overall: With the three names I’ve listed, I think Hachman is the candidate I’d take the risk on. The Mets don’t have a good history with injury risks, which scares me away from McLean and Wells doesn’t have the upside the Mets really need injected into their system.

By the Scouts – Jaxon Wiggins: While he sounds like a character from a 1950’s comic book Wiggins has another near 100 MPH fastball. His issue is that he lets hitters get ahead in the count and can wind up serving pitches up to avoid walks. High upside for a 99th overall ranking.

Reaching – Grant Taylor: Ranked one above Wiggins and one below Hachman Taylor could belong in the earlier group just as easily. His fastball has hit 99 MPH and he boasts solid breaking pitches. He is now recovering from Tommy John surgery which would allow the Mets to select him this late in the proceedings.

Under the Radar – Seth Keener: His overall college numbers aren’t great but he shone in the Cape. Keener has a great slider and mixes it with solid control and a decent fastball.

101st Overall: Taylor has too much upside to ignore though the risk is fairly high. The Mets would not know what they were getting from him until late in 2024 and we can all bite our nails about injury issues but at 101st overall I think Taylor would be a home run.

By the Scouts – Wil Libbert: At 123rd overall on the boards, Libbert doesn’t stand out as a superstar. It would be crazy if he did. What does stand out for this lefty is that he has a fastball that hits 97 and that he has three useful breaking pitches and solid control. He may only have the ceiling of a backend starter but that’s still very useful.

Reaching – Jack Mahoney: An older pitcher who sits solidly in the middle 90s with his fastball is good. His slider has some play to it but he will need to develop his changeup to truly make it as a starter. A solid back of rotation starter who might fall back to being a reliever if he cannot develop his secondary offerings.

Under the Radar – Brady Smith: A breaking pitch expert who sits on the lower scale of the 90s with his fastball. His curveball ranks as a plus pitch and his slider is close behind. If his changeup also develops his ceiling could be deceptively high.

123rd Overall: Of the three names, Brady Smith is the most interesting. His curveball and slider show a unique break and his spin rates are very good. If you wanted a chance at sneaky talent and a pitcher who could worm his way into the front end of the rotation, he’s your best option.

By the Scouts – Caden Grice: It’s time to split hairs because I see Grice as a first baseman more than a pitcher but he does technically do both. As a pitcher, he has low to mid nineties fastball but as a hitter he is graded very highly for power. His swing is long and he will strike out a ton but he has too much power potential to rank lower.

Reaching – Will Sanders: Collegiate pitcher with a strong repertoire of pitches and mid-90s fastball isn’t anything to start parades about but would certainly be a ton of value at 135th.

Under the Radar – Garrett Baumann: His fastball only hits 97 MPH but is ranked a tick higher for having good movement. His issue is control and that his breaking pitches aren’t yet developed.  I think Baumann winds up being a reliever.

135th Overall: My gut tells me that Will Sanders is likely off the board rounds earlier because of the premium level teams place on college pitching but if he were to fall to 135th I’d be thrilled.

By the Scouts – Camden Minacci: Scouts already project Minacci as a reliever but with a 99 MPH fastball and a well-ranked slider he profiles as a good one. This collegiate arm has a short timetable to reaching the majors as well.

Reaching – Barrett Kent: A younger player who scouts have some hope will develop into a viable MLB starter. Kent has good stuff for his age and some projectability to be even better.

Under the Radar – Carson Montgomery: A player with great stuff, Montgomery has bad numbers which actually has him ranked 193rd overall. That being said, if you don’t look at his success in games you can see a diamond in the rough.

159th Overall: If the Mets have the option of grabbing Minacci they should. I dove deeper for Montgomerey who could well be available at a later pick and would be a lovely flier pick.