The Marcus Stroman trade helped the New York Mets add a strong starter to their rotation, but it came at the cost of two of their best pitching prospects. Lefty Anthony Kay and right hander Simeon Woods-Richardson, who was going to be featured in this week’s Minor League Mondays before the deal, headed to Toronto. The deal left the Mets short on upper level pitching depth outside of David Peterson, and their best pitching prospect may now be the guy they manipulated their whole 2019 draft to sign. That man is high school right hander Matthew Allan, and he is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
The Mets made a big play to land Allan, who was rated as the 13th best player on many draft boards but fell due to sign ability concerns. Allan was committed to the University of Florida and reportedly was asking for a $4 million bonus to skip college. That asking price scared off many teams, but the Mets boldly took Allan in the third round and followed that choice with seven straight college seniors, saving their bonus money to go towards Allan’s deal. Allan ended up taking roughly $2.5 million to sign, giving the Mets their fourth best prospect according to MLB.com’s ratings.
Scouts are in love with Allan’s repertoire, which features a four seam fastball that already hits 97 miles per hour and a plus power curveball. Allan’s third pitch is a change up that has improved over the past year since he changed his grip on it, giving him another above average pitch in his arsenal. All of that adds up to a potential front line starter, which is very exciting for the Mets in the long run.
Allan has been assigned to the GCL Mets, the lowest level of the Mets’ farm system, and he has given up a hit and three walks in 2.1 innings pitched to begin his professional career. The Mets are expected to take Allan very slowly in order to ensure he lives up to his massive potential, and his ability should make him an untouchable asset. Time will tell if Brodie Van Wagenen’s gambit will hit big, but Allan is a guy worth getting excited for as he progresses through the farm system over the years.
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