Building a sustainable contender in free agency is almost impossible in baseball, a lesson the 2023 New York Mets have learned the hard way. Luckily for the franchise, owner Steve Cohen has made it his mission to build a strong farm system like the Los Angeles Dodgers have in order to more reliably build a sustainable winner. Last year’s draft class was a strong step in that direction and it certainly appears as if the Mets have built on it with another great group of prospects in 2023. That prospect haul is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
The Mets’ first-round pick was dropped 10 slots due to their high payroll and luxury tax penalties, leading it to go from No. 22 overall to No. 32. There was a bit of good fortune for the Mets here as one of the class’ top prospects, high school shortstop Colin Houck, fell to them due to signability concerns. The organization managed to secure a deal with Houck, who was a consensus top-15 selection in most mocks, as a potential third baseman of the future with All-Star potential.
The second round saw a familiar name for Mets’ fans as the team re-selected Florida RHP Brandon Sproat, who returned to school after failing to agree to terms with the team on a contract after being selected in the third round a year ago. Sproat has an elite fastball that can reach triple digits and needs better command of his secondary pitches to reach his potential as a middle of the rotation starter. The organization’s new pitching lab should benefit Sproat, who gave the Mets his consent to be selected again and signed a deal with the team last week.
The Mets went pitching heavy in the draft, snagging 14 more pitchers, many of whom came from college programs and could rise to either a big league bullpen or starting rotation faster. The most intriguing of the bunch is actually two-way player Nolan McLean out of Oklahoma State, who the Mets will let play both ways as he develops to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle. McLean is a safer bet as a pitcher but his power potential is worth letting the two-way experiment play out. Other pitchers to watch include RHP Kade Morris out of Nevada, RHP Noah Hall out of South Carolina and Illinois RHP Jack Wenniger.
Another interesting choice was seeing the Mets go over slot with a pair of intriguing high school shortstops, A.J. Ewing and Boston Baro. The pair did end up signing with the Mets, foregoing college commitments to Alabama and UCLA respectively, adding two more talented young bats to the farm system.
The deadline to sign draft picks is a week away and the Mets only have two picks within the first 10 rounds unsigned along with all of their picks from Rounds 11-20. Most of these players should sign with the organization, however, adding even more talent to a farm system that could use it.
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