Written by: John Calvagno (@SALNotes)
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Hey guys! I’m far from a draft guru. In a typical year, I take a break from scouting the minors and cram for a few days leading into the MLB draft. Then, I continue to read reports in the weeks and months that follow. So of course, there are others far better equipped to write draft reviews.
That being said, I’m a fan of what the Mets were able to accomplish in the last two drafts, collecting five top 50 talents (Brett Baty, Pete Crow Armstrong, Matthew Allan, JT Ginn and Josh Wolf) in their respective classes. That group doesn’t include tooled-up outfielder Isaiah Greene, who has been ranked bullishly on fantasy FYPD lists post-draft.
The Mets have been able to accomplish these feats despite picking 12th and 19th the past two drafts respectively, with only one comp pick total. Everybody talks about taking the best available talent, but it’s rare to see a team take three straight studs to begin a draft, unless you’re blessed with a bunch of extra picks and the larger bonus pool. The Mets have been able to make the dollars work by using the stars and scrubs approach.
The rankings below aren’t a be-all, end-all. There are also folks who caution draft approaches that center around putting too many eggs in only a few baskets. But if you subscribe to the idea that talent wins championships, it’s nearly impossible to not appreciate the Mets’ approach recently. I think this strategy will pay dividends in the long run and would like to see more teams employ it moving forward.
Here are the Mets selections and their pre-draft rankings.
2019 Draft:
1B-3B) Brett Baty- 8th (FanGraphs), 17th (Pipeline), 29th (2080 Baseball)
RHP) Josh Wolf- 35th (2080), 36th (Pipeline), 60th (FanGraphs),
RHP) Mathew Allan- 13th (Pipeline), 17th (2080), 20th (FanGraphs).
2020 Draft:
CF) Pete Crow Armstrong- 17th (Prospects 365), 19th (Prospects Live), 20th (Pipeline), 25th (FanGraphs), 25th (2080)
RHP) JT Ginn- 24th (FanGraphs), 28th (P365), 30th (2080), 44th (Pipeline)
CF) Isaiah Greene- 62nd (Pipeline), 37th (P365), 126th (FanGraphs).
Other standout hauls in the last two drafts:
The Diamondbacks historic 2019 draft, they snagged five top 60 players (Pipeline) and seven top 100’s, including Corbin Carroll, Blake Walston, Brennan Malone, Drey Jameson and Tommy Henry. However, they had seven Day One pick last year.
The Rays snagged four top 50 talents (Pipeline) in the 2019 draft in: (SS) Greg Jones, (RHP) JJ Goss, (RHP) Seth Johnson and (LHP) John Doxakis.
The Padres selected four top 75 talents (Pipeline) in the 2020 draft in: (OF) Robert Hassell III, (RHP) Cole Wilcox, (RHP) Justin Lange, (OF) Owen Caissie.
Follow P365 Lead Prospect Writer John Calvagno on Twitter! @SALNotes
Follow us on Twitter! @Prospects365
Featured image courtesy of photographer Hans Gutknecht and the Associated Press