A Quick Glance at the Mets Top Nine Draftees in 2010

Here are the players the Mets drafted in 2010 in the first 10 rounds.

Only one was out of high school, and he wasn't drafted until the 10th round. In contrast, in 2011 of the 11 players the Mets drafted in the first round, four were high schoolers, including the top two drafted.

Of the 2010 picks, Harvey has advanced the furthest. He's currently pitching for Binghamton; however, he's not experiencing the success he had in the lower minors. With the B-Mets, in 12.2 innings he has a 9.24 ERA. Peavey was also promoted; however, he's not doing as well as he did with Savannah. He's now pitching for St. Lucie. In 21.2 innings he has a 4.15 ERA. The other pitcher drafted, Akeel Morris, is struggling in Kingsport after success with the GCL Mets. In 17.1 innings this season, his ERA is 6.23.

DeGrom has yet to pitch this season. In 2010 DeGrom had a 5.19 ERA in 26 innings with Kingsport. This season, Walters has a 3.04 ERA this season in 23.2 innings with Brooklyn, and McDowall a 0.00 ERA in four innings with the GCL Mets.

Among the three position players drafted, Vaughn's having the most success, doing even better this season at St. Lucie than at Savannah. He's currently hitting .323. Last season with Brooklyn he hit .307. Den Dekker's currently playing for the B-Mets; however, he's struggling, batting only .223 with 33 strikeouts in 96 at bats. In previous stints with the GCL Mets, Savannah, and St. Lucie, the lowest he hit was .278. Finally, the top position player drafted, Blake Forsythe, has yet to show he deserved to be drafted that high. This season with Savannah he's hitting .224 after hitting .200 and .238 last season with the GCL Mets and Brooklyn.

Quick Look at Oliver Perez and Close-Up of Bret Mitchell

☛ Oliver Perez started yesterday's St. Lucie Mets game. In 5.2 innings, he gave up two runs and two hits while walking three and striking out seven. That's an improvement over his previous start on June 30 when he gave up four runs in six innings. His St. Lucie record is now 1-1. I hope Perez does well enough to interest another team in trading for him, a move that I doubt Minaya will make after investing $30-something millions in Perez over three years. That move and the contract Minaya gave to Castillo magnifies Minaya's sometimes illogical player moves.

☛ The Mets have signed their 12th-round draft choice, Bret Mitchell, a right-handed pitcher out of Minnesota State University - Mankato. He appeared in 16 games, starting 14, pitching in 94 innings.

Among the Mavericks four starters, he

• had the highest ERA (4.31),
• tied for the most wins (10), 
• gave up the most hits (96) and earned runs (45), 
• walked the most batters (33). 

Further, of the starters,

• opposing hitters had the highest batting average against him: .258;
• he surrendered the fewest homeruns (3);
• he struck out the most batters (108).

Last season, on four different occasions, he struck out 11 batters in a game.

Quick Hits

 ☛ The Mets might want to stop playing games in Puerto Rico. They were lucky to win yesterday after their pitchers surrendered 17 hits. Pelfrey gave up 12 of them in just 4.2 innings during which he threw 108 pitches.
☛ Cory Vaughn had another big day for the Cyclones, getting two hits, including a triple. He upped his average to .298.

☛ The Mets signed their second 2010 draftee, Blake Forsythe, who played his college ball for Tennessee. It appears he'll play for the GCL Mets (who already have three catchers on the roster, all hitting at least .333);  however, the section of the Mets website that lists its 2010 draftees doesn't even include Forsythe on the list. But then, when it comes to updating their draft section, the team's not that detail-oriented. If you check the 2009 list you'll notice that the Mets still show their second selection in that draft, Robbie Shields, as unsigned. Shields is playing for the GCL Mets, hitting .259.
☛ Steve Winnick pitched in his second game for the GCL Mets yesterday. He still hasn't surrendered either a hit or a walk. The Mets drafted Winnick this past June in the 31st round.

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Cory Vaughn May Solve Mets' Power Shortage

The Brooklyn Cyclones may have the next "Queens bomber."

Wally Backman, who one of these days might become the next Mets manager, seems to think quite highly of Cory Vaughn, now making his pro baseball debut with the Brooklyn Cyclones.

A Brooklyn Eagle article quotes Backman as saying this about Vaughn: "The kid’s got all the tools. He’s got some speed, great arm strength and power."

In another Eagle article, Backman is quoted as saying: "This kid is going to play in the big leagues fast," and "I’m not going to say he’s an Ike Davis or anything like that, but he has the same potential Ike had coming here just a few years ago."

Backman's not the only coach to think highly of Vaughn. So does Tony Gwynn at San Diego State.

Here's a comment Gwynn made to a reporter from the North County Times, a San Diego area newspaper:

"When we recruited him, he was probably 6-1, he came here at 6-3, and now he's about 6-5, and it's all muscle," Gwynn said. "He puts on his uniform, and that's how you wish big-leaguers looked. And his skill set is getting better and better. I think next year at this time, he can be a monster."

Since his freshman year at San Diego State, Vaughn's improved every year. In 2008 his OPS was .758; in 2009, it rose to .959; and in 2010, it increased to 1.060. This season with the Cyclones, he's played  in 12 games and has an OPS of 1.036.

The Mets desperately need a power hitter. Vaughn might be able to fill that void.

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Cyclones Win; Vaughn Drives in Two

☛ After starting the season 1 for 13, in the Cyclones fourth game Vaughn's bat awoke. He tripled and homered. He also scored from third on a sacrifice bunt. (Go Wally!) Unfortunately, J. B. Brown's bat's still asleep. He went 0 for 3 yesterday and was dropped in the order to the sixth spot.

☛ Another 2010 draftee, Ryan Fraser had a successful debut. He pitched an inning of hitless relief, striking out two. In his 2010 season pitching for the Memphis Tigers, Fraser was 3-5 record with a 7.04 ERA. Maybe the Mets have figured out what he was doing wrong.

☛ How reliable is this? Prior to the 2010 season, The College Baseball Blog rated Mets draftee Norman Forsythe the 17th best college player and Matt Harvey #36. Their 2009 preseason ratings of the top 50 college players had Matt den Decker rated #12; in 2010, den Decker didn't even make their list.

☛ If you haven't seen the catch den Decker made in this year's College World Series, here it is. It's one a la Willie Mays.

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Two Draftees Off to Slow Start

☛ In Brooklyn, neither J. B. Brown nor Cory Vaughn, two of the Mets 2010 draft choices, has gotten off to a good start. After three games, Brown is 1 for 10; Vaughn is 1 for 13. Each has three strikeouts. The plus is that it's early in the season. But the reality is that playing baseball in the New York-Penn League is quite different from playing at the college level.

It's unfortunate that the Cyclones don't provide game logs on their website, but that could be because the NY-Penn League doesn't. A game log would allow fans who weren't at a game to see how a hitter did each at bat in a game.

☛ The Mets finally decided to return Jenrry Mejia to the minors, something they should have done earlier. (Why did they wait so long?) He'll be starting for Binghamton. They'll need a replacement for him. Given the lack of Major League-ready pitchers in their farm system, it will be interesting to see whom they'll bring up. They might return John Maine to the roster; however, stuff-wise, he doesn't appear ready.

Here are Manuel's and Minaya's comments on Mejia being sent down:

"We felt that his development and progression kind of leveled off," Manuel said. "It was a tremendous experience for him and he gave us everything he had. But to get him to the next level, he needs to pitch on a regular basis."

Omar Minaya agreed. "We just felt that it was the right time to get him down there and continue his development," he said. "He's done very well here. We see him long-term as a starter." 

☛ In LA, Brian Stokes, whom the Mets traded for Gary Matthews Jr., isn't pitching well. In 16 innings his ERA is 7.31. Maybe the Angels would sell him back to the Mets. In his two seasons with the Mets his ERA was 3.51 and 3.97. That trade was another mistake by Minaya.

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Close-Up of J. B. Brown

The Mets seem to be stockpiling second basemen. Not a bad idea for a team that has Juan Castillo as its starter.

The latest addition to the mix is J. B. Brown, who played for the last three seasons at the University of the Pacific and will now be playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Mets drafted him in the 14th round. (He was the 13th Big West Conference player drafted.)

On paper, Brown doesn't appear to be fleet of foot. During his last two seasons with the Pacific Tigers, he didn't stretch one of his 27 doubles into a triple though he did manage to steal 12 bases in 18 attempts.

Brown is large for a second baseman: he's 215 pounds. Unfortunately, his size hasn't converted into long-ball power. Over the past two seasons, he hit only 13 homers in 106 games.

He can get on base. The past two seasons his OPS's were .971 and .909.

Average-wise, he's been consistent, hitting .378 and .376. The latter figure ranked him third in the Big West Conference among hitters with at least 200 at bats. Nationally, however, his average didn't even qualify him for the NCAA's top 100 list of Division 1 batters. But there's no denying he can get on base, though he doesn't walk a lot. In 2009, he walked 15 times; in 2010, only eight — Brown doesn't appear destined to be a lead-off batter.

He does make contact. In both 2009 and 2010, he struck out only 31 times in each season, striking out about once in every seven at bats.

His Mets career could begin today with the Cyclones opener. It will be interesting to watch his performance.

John Sickels has written an interesting review of the Mets 2010 draft.

Cyclones win opener: View the boxscore.

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Close-Up of Adam Kolarek

Adam Kolarek, the Mets 11th draft choice, spent the past three years playing for the University of Maryland. He's the first left-handed pitcher the team drafted in 2010.

The 2010 season was his first losing one. In it, though he pitched the fewest innings, he had the most strikeouts and opponents had the lowest batting average against him. (In 2010, Kolarek couldn't take the mound for a month after suffering an oblique strain.)

On the negative side, in 2010, in 15 fewer innings than in 2009, he gave up only two fewer runs. (Did his injury affect him on the mound?)

Kolarek, who signed for six figures, will report tomorrow to Port St. Lucie, Florida, for a week and then play for the Kingsport Mets, a Rookie League team.

View Kolarek pitching.

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Close-Up of Jeff Walters

Not many baseball players get drafted five times. Jeff Walters is one of them. When the Mets drafted him in the seventh round in 2010, it was the highest he was drafted. In 2009, the Orioles drafted him in the 17th round. The lowest he was drafted was in the 47th round. That's where the Nationals drafted him in 2007.

Walters won't be drafted again: He's signed with the Mets.

After his 2010 season, it's surprising that the Mets drafted him so high --  but then, nothing the Mets do is that surprising.

In 2010, Walters had a 2-6 record for the Georgia Bulldogs. He started 13 of the 18 games he appeared in. As a starter, his ERA was 7.90. As a reliever, it was 17.30. Ouch! In 68.1 innings he gave up 98 hits. He walked 41, second most on his team. Opposing batters hit .338 against him. In two starts he yielded eight earned runs and in another, seven.

Yet the Mets drafted him seventh.

His fastball is in the 88-92 range. Not a blazer. Walters considers it his best pitch.

On the plus side:

• Walters pitched for a bad team. This past season, Georgia's record was 16-37. In the SEC it was 5-23. Away it was 3-17.
• Opposing hitters loved playing against Georgia. They averaged .338. The team ERA was 8.51.
• In 2009, as a reliever (two starts in 27 appearances), his ERA was 4.64 in 42.2 innings -- but then that was a much better team too, finishing the season at 38-24.
• In his last two starts in 2010 his ERA was 2.07.
• In his last start against Kentucky, he pitched seven innings of shutout ball. (Kentucky finished the season at 31-25 -- 13-17 in the SEC.)
• Without the three starts in which he surrendered at least seven earned runs, his ERA as a starter would have been 5.04.

It will be interesting to see whether he starts or relieves as a Met. (In his two seasons at St. Petersburg College, a junior college, he was a starter.)

Watch video of Walters pitching.

Final note: In one 2010 game, Walters faced another Mets draftee, Jacob deGrom. Playing shortstop, deGrom went 1 for 2 against Walters, grounding out and singling.

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Mets sign three draftees

According to nyfuturestars.com, the Mets have signed three draft choices. Among them is their ninth choice: Jacob deGrom, a right-handed pitcher. For the past three seasons, he's played for Stetson University. In 2010 their record was 27-31. The Hatters were much better at home than away. At home, they were 22-15; away, they were 5-14.

In 2008, his freshman year, he started 28 games at third; in 2009, he started 36 games at shortstop, pitching one inning. In 2010, he switched to the mound. He started 12 of the 17 games he pitched in, winning four and losing five. His ERA was 4.48. In 83+ innings, he walked 16, struck out 5, and yielded 103 hits. Against him, opposing batters hit .309. But then, none of Stetson's pitchers was a standout. Their team ERA in 2010 was 6.70. Opposing batters hit .325.

In his last regular season game, in 9-2/3 innings deGrom surrendered one run, gave up five hits, and struck out nine. The Hatters lost in 11.

In 95 at bats, deGrom hit .263.

His pitching stats aren't that impressive. But then, before his junior season he pitched just one inning. Maybe the Mets believe that if he can't make it on the mound the team can return him to the infield.

View deGrom on YouTube.

A Quick Look at the Draft

It's hard to tell if any of the Mets 2010 choices will make it to the majors — so many of their previous choices never advanced from the minors — and most of those who have haven't had success, reliever Eddie Kunz a prime example. Right now Kunz is starting at Binghamton in an attempt to revive his career.

Hopefully, this year's top pick, Matt Harvey, will be able to pitch himself into the Mets starting lineup faster than Mike Pelfrey, the pitcher to whom Harvey's being compared.

A strange aspect of the Mets draft is how many college players they drafted. One Mets official said the team didn't focus on collegiates; it just happened that way. However, college players might be easier to sign than high school players, especially college seniors.

Another interesting statistic is that eight of their first 11 draftees are pitchers, and only one of them is a lefty. Of the other three, two are centerfielders and one is a catcher. All three are question marks, especially the Mets second selection, Blake Forsythe. After hitting .347 in 2009, he didn't reach .300 in 2010; however, The Hardball Times viewed him positively.