Mets #4 2016 MLB Draft Pick: 3b Blake Tiberi

Officially signed with the Mets! @ Citi Field https://t.co/bccPKtDnxj

— Blake Tiberi (@Blake_Tiberi_25) June 21, 2016

Blake Tiberi, the Mets third round pick and a a third-team All-ACC selection, was the fifth-ranked college third baseman in Baseball America’s 2016 draft ranking:

1. Nick Senzel (#6 overall in BA, drafted #2 in 1st round) 
2. Will Craig (#45 overall in BA, drafted #22 in 1st round) 
3. Bobby Dalbec (#118 overall in BA, drafted #52 in 2nd round) 
4. Sheldon Neuse (#129 overall in BA, drafted #118 in 4th round) 
5. Blake Tiberi (#157 overall in BA, drafted #100 in 3rd round) 

Every college player in the above top 5 was drafted higher then his Baseball America ranking. Further, Baseball America ranked four high school third basemen higher than Will Craig, who made the 2016 D1Baseball All-America team (First team) — as did Mets second round pick, 1B Peter Alonso. The website d1baseball.com said that Craig "played solid defense at third base and demonstrated a very advanced approach at the plate to go along with his power." Here's his slash line for 2016 college season: .379/.520/.731.

Were there really four high school players who were better 3B prospects than Craig? That makes the BA ranking suspect. Further, only seven 3B (both high and college) were drafted ahead of Tiberi; whereas, Baseball America ranked 13 high school and college players ahead of him.

Tiberi's 2016 slash line was .340/.387/.553. Not as good as Craig's, but pretty good. How many of those four high school athletes drafted ahead of him could have put up those numbers last year for Louisville? Could have even started for Louisville?

Of course, they're several years younger than Tiberi, who is 21, so Batting America is just implying how they think those high school athletes would do at the college level, which is that they'll do even better then Tibari, a leap of faith.

The Mets were seeking players with a strong track record of success against high-level competition. In Tiberi, they have gotten such a player. Their draft strategy makes sense.

This Mets Minor Leaguer Big on RBIs

Don’t expect the Mets 2016 college draftees to start excelling with the teams they’re assigned to. Even a player who had success with a top college team can struggle in his first pro season, as happened with David Thompson.

Drafted fourth in 2015 from Miami, he received a $425,000 bonus. Thompson played his first season for the Brooklyn Cyclones, hitting only .218. 

Here’s what he said about his performance in his first season of pro ball:

I was tired, but I just had a bad year swinging at some bad pitches . . . I didn’t play too well.

This season he’s playing for the Columbia Fireflies in the South Atlantic League, a Class A league.

Here is what he said about his current play:

Just trying to buy into the Mets’ approach, which I’ve still got a lot to work on . . . I’m still getting myself out too much by swinging at bad pitches. But I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at swinging at my pitch instead of a pitcher’s pitch. I’m still working on that. I’m still chasing too many balls. But that’s where I’m working the most.

Currently, he’s hitting .294 with four homers. He’s leading the league in RBIs (48) — the third highest among all Mets minor leaguers — but has a high strikeout to walk ratio (42:13).

He was the only third baseman drafted in 2015 that the team signed. In 2014 the team drafted and signed only one third baseman, Eudor Garcia, who’s currently serving an 80-game suspension for PED use, and in 2013 did not draft any. In 2016, the Mets drafted three third basemen: Blake Tiberi, Jay Jabs, and Rylan Thomas.

Potential Brooklyn Cyclones Starting Lineup

This potential Brooklyn Cyclones starting lineup consists of 2016 June MLB draftees.

1B: Peter Alonso, hit .370 for Florida, top team BA
2B: Nick Sergakis, hit .332 for Ohio State, top team BA
SS: Michael Paez, hit .287 for Coastal Carolina, and Colby Woodmansee hit .265 for Arizona State
3B: Blake Tiberi, hit .340  for Louisville
LF: Jacob Zanon, hit .393  for Lewis-Clark State
CF: Ian Strom, hit .230 for Massachusetts-Lowell
RF: Gene Cone, hit .363 for South Carolina, top team BA
C: Dan Rizzie, hit .317 for Xavier, top team BA
SP: Justin Dunn, RHP from Boston College
SP: Anthony Kay, LHP from Connecticut
SP: Placido Torres, LHP from Tusculum (Tenn.)
SP: Colin Holderman, RHP from Heartland (Ill.) CC
RP: Chris Viall, RHP from Stanford
RP: Austin McGeorge, RHP from Long Beach State

Two of the More Interesting 2016 Mets Draftees

Two of the more interesting players the Mets drafted in the June 2016 draft are ninth-round selection Christopher Viall, a 6'9" right-handed pitcher from Stanford, and 22nd-round selection Ian Strom, a center fielder from University of Massachusetts - Lowell. Today's focus is on Strom who, if he signs, will likely become a Brooklyn Cyclone.

The Mets drafted Strom despite the fact that he hit only .230 in 2016, his junior season, far lower than his 2014 average of .290 and his 2015 average of .333 (team high). Further, in 2014 he made both the America East First Team All-Conference and its All-Rookie team, and in 2015 he made the America East All-Conference Second Team despite having a batting average 43 points higher than in 2014.

❔Why did his average drop 103 points from 2015 to 2016.

That's what likely caused him not to be selected until the 22nd round despite his being one of the better center fielders in college baseball the past three years.

⚾️ More about Ian Strom