5
2012
My Thoughts On Last Night
An article by 
Well as is usually the case Day One of the First Year Player Draft was filled with surprises. Mark Appel didn’t go first, or second, or even third, we was selected with the eighth pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I don’t remember seeing too many mocks that had shortstop Carlos Correa in the number one slot do you? In fact rumors circulated that Appel was not only a sure thing for the Astros, but that he had already agreed to a deal with them. So much for sources.
Where the Mets are concerned, I can’t say I was shocked that they selected Gavin Cecchini. In fact our own Ben Yoel nailed it in his final Mock Draft which was posted here on May 31. Of course he had Courtney Hawkins off the board in his mock and I wonder if he would have put the Mets down for Hawkins if he had been on the board when the Mets selected in his mock? I’ll have to ask him.
As for me, I was shocked we took a pass on Hawkins. I keep hearing about how this front office likes to draft high ceiling guys, and I asked nine different draft aficionados who had a higher ceiling Hawkins or Cecchini, and it was unanimous for Hawkins. Then he had to go and do that back flip to rub it in.
Anyway, Cecchini looks like a good kid and comes from a baseball family which always appeals to me. He’ll never hit 30 home runs or steal 50 bases, but I’m told he can do a little bit of everything and is well rounded.
Our comp pick was a little puzzling as well and there’s some doubt as to whether he can develop into an everyday catcher among the experts and as you heard John Hart and Harold Reynolds talk about after he was selected. But we need some catchers in the system and if this was who the Mets felt offered the most promis for the organization, who am I to judge them. I’ll embrace both players and hope they can be the best they can be and exceed all expectations like I do with all Mets prospects.
I would imagine that we’ll focus on some college arms today especially given the glut of them left on the board. There’s no dramatic differences separating most of these pitchers because the cream of the crop have all been drafted and accounted for. Today will be about makeup, ability and signability. Look for the Mets to fill in the gaps on their organizational depth charts as they get ready for the start of short-season ball in a couple of weeks.
The time for draft day steals or reaches has come and gone. I don’t believe the Mets got any steals, but at least they didn’t make any wild reaches either.
I’m sure when this is over there will be a conference call with DePo and maybe even Cecchini. If you have any good questions you’d like to have me ask them, leave them on this thread.
Yesterday, I received a few updates on Evans and Nimmo and I’m setting up a call with one of the agents later today and will have some clear cut roles as to who will be playing where once short-season begins, so check back tomorrow sometime.
It was a great draft last night in terms of excitement, let hope the Mets hit it out of the park today. LGM!
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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Joe D, not everyone likes this pick… Specially because hawkins was available, now, i am not an expert, but i will wait for Petey P to give his take on this pick and why the front office didn’t go with what most are saying will be a stud in hawkins…
Based on what I have read it is basically they project this guy to be more polished than Hawkins and a safer pick. Also it appears he may have the ability to stick in the middle IF which based on reports fills a need in the system as well. Who knows why they picked him instead of Hawkins only in that they liked him better.
Don’t forget as well how these new rules may also come into play.
Here were their comments on the pick:
“[He was] somebody that we had targeted all year,” said Tommy Tanuous, director of amateur scouting. “An offensive shortstop, but doesn’t give much away defensively. We feel like he’s going to bat in the top of the order.“He’s a tremendous makeup kid. … This is a kid who is a mix of tools, but also baseball instincts.”
Exactly, and that’s something the farm system is lacking. There’s a million and five corner guys in the system and all the scouts say this kid has great instincts to play up the middle. I would have liked Hawkins, sure, but I’m going to trash this pick. He looks like a solid choice.
Pick a name out of the other 60 players that were drafted yesterday and I can post for you similar quotes. You don’t understand that every team thinks they drafted the best player available. The guys making these pics have huge egos. Also, no competing team will say anything unless it’s positive about competing teams picks too. You shouldn’t get hung up on draft day quotes as the basis for whether a pick was good or not. I think the Marlins and A’s made HUGE mistakes not taking Hawkins. Those were the two teams that everyone targeted for him. When they opted for something else, Hawkins basically fell into our laps and we let him go to the next team who were absolutely giddy with delight. When half the people in their war room had their mouths agape after the Mets selected, you just knew we just made a big mistake. Hart, “Didnt see that coming”. How’s that for a quote?
That’s not the point. What are we basing this on? We have no idea what they saw in their pick or what they didn’t see in Hawkins. Calling anything a bad pick or a screw up at this point is laughable. This isn’t the NBA or NFL we don’t get to see and follow these guys 24/7. So time will tell.
I believe you’re a little out of the loop here and need to educate yourself on how drafts and rankings work. There are these departments in every organization called Scouting Departments. In addition to advance scouts, they employ up to a dozen other scouts who roam the country for the entire year and watch these high schoolers and college kids play first hand. Sometimes these scouts even share information and opinions. Almost all of them communicate with Baseball America and similar interested parties like Keith Law. This constant stream of information is non stop and leads to how and where each player is ranked. You seem to think this is a blind process and that all these picks are selected by chance. They are not. There is plenty of data, statistical and also physical attributes, that are known well in advance. As draft day gets closer the top 100 participate in months of showcases to further show of their talents. So when the consensus is that Hawkins is better than Cecchini, dont belittle years of hard work from hundreds of talent evaluators by saying nobody really knows. It only makes you sound ignorant.
I am talking about us… so unless you are an MLB scout then you have nothing to go by except what you read. Thus just because Law liked Hawkins more doesn’t mean the Mets didn’t feel like Gavin Cecchini was the better player or the better fit. Again, it is impossible to say that a team screwed up in picking someone in a baseball draft on draft day and basing that just on what we have read.
Also it’s not like the Mets took a player outside the top 100 over Hawkins. In fact according to BA they took the #16 player instead of the #15 player. Wouldn’t that be too close to call at this point?
On that tremendous make-up comment…..read an article on this kid last night that was almost unbelievable. He apparently lives, breathes and eats baseball.
Article started out with a story from his father who woke up in the wee hours of the morning, hearing a noise that turned out to be someone coming in through the front door. It was his son Gavin. Had he snuck out to go partying? Nope. Kid was over at a local track or high school, ‘pulling tires’ for strength. Apparently he snuck out b/c along with his parents, his coaches told him he was working too hard. His response was ‘there’s no such thing’.
Fortunately, they were able to get him to ease up a bit after explaining the effects too much of a good thing can have on a body still developing.
He went on to say he spoke to his older brother who was drafted in the Red Sox (?) system. Brother told him it’s a daily grind and what to expect. Gavin went on to say he’s fully prepared to do what he has to, work hard in the minors, to move on up to the ML when he’s ready.
I have to think that work ethic – or apparent work ethic – is weighted somewhat when deciding who to pick. You can have all the talent in the world but just resting on that alone probably won’t get you very far.
even all the mock drafts and pundits were all over the place. Does hawkins sound promising? Yes. Seems that he needs some work, but certainly upside. But, so does the guy the drafted, maybe with less work needed, but still potential to be a good player. and at a premium position
in any case, guys that do this for a living, and whose jobs ride on it, liked him better, so nothing to do but wiat and see (and hope!) that they were right.
and as TRS noted, with the weird new draft cap rules, signability is even more in play than it used to be.
I admit that some of the predictions for that Hawkins guy are real appetizing though!
On the new drafting rules…..some have sighted that’s the reason that Appel kid dropped to the 8th round, when some predicted Astros would take him with their number one pick.
8th pick right? Not 8th round. Drink some more coffee there SRT LOL.
LOL…yes, 8th pick to the Pirates.
Obviously not enough caffeine yet.
Gavin is a New York Met. Hawkins who?
If he can be glue in the middle infield, swipe some bags (29 for 29……special…no?), and hit 280-290 we are ahead of the game. Baseball family is a very good thing and his brother is doing well in the Red Sox org.
See you in few Gavin you are in the fold
I have a question I’d like you to ask Depod. Last year he said he liked to use his top picks for high ceiling players, it looks like they went for an organization need instead this year. Was that the case with selecting Checcini?
I think it has more to do with up the middle type players.
Off topic, but speaking of drafted players, how is Nimmo progressing?
Getting ready for Brklyn. The last report said he was tearing the cover off the ball in Extended Spring Training.
In some interview posted a few days ago (not sure if it was here) the player being interviewed was asked who was most impressive in EST, and he said Nimmo, who was roping hits all over the place after a slow start (paraprhasiing, but that was the gist of it).
Should be hitting a team soon. Kingsport or Brooklyn? will really be interesting to see what he does in real playing situations.
Thanks, guys.
John Hart (not Jim) also mentioned that a top pick is more of an organizational decisions, whereas later picks the club goes more on the scouting reports and scouting director recommendation.
Sounds like something I’ve said here forever? Phillips, Minaya, Alderson have the most input in the picks from last night. But it’s the later picks that the amateur scouting director earns his paycheck. This is why I never buy into “evaluating” GM’s based on their drafts.
MLB Gm’s are not reading scouting reports and watching tape of over 1,500 amateur ballplayers.
A guy like Ike Davis who was drafted in the 1st round was probably looked at by Minaya and his top people a lot more closely than a guy like Gee who was drafted in round 21.
Alderson had more input on a guy like Nimmo than a guy like Muno for example.
This is why you hire Amateur Scouting Directors.
The reason why an MLB Draft is never a big deal is because it’s near impossible for you or I to evaluate these kids based on what they will become. It’s all just talk. You and I have no idea what Nimmo or Cecchini will become.
They are Mets and now we hope the development staff can get them to the point of being big leaguers. I can’t sit here and be like some and say “wasted pick,” because you’re just talking to hear yourself talk.
All we have to base our opinions on for these kids are opinions of others.
I was listening to Jim Duquette last night on his draft coverage and he said that 90% of the picks made even in the first round were the decision of the scouting director and not the GM. That’s why you pay them. A GM doesn’t have time to be running around the country taking a peek at 100′s of candidates. They take a look at that the director brings them, usually a list of ranked players and then if there is some type of tie among the scouting guys the GM may break the tie. That is unless maybe you have a top 5 pick and there is some organization shifting choices to be made. At least that is according to Duquette.
Jim Duquette? That couldn’t have been live coverage. I read where he donated a kidney to his 10 year old daughter yesterday, who has suffered from kidney disease since she was a baby. Surgery was successful and both doing fine.
Speaking of surgery:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/06/05/mets-niese-ok-after-heart-started-racing-may-have-procedure-over-all-star-break/
Yikes!
Sorry you are right it was Jim Bowden. I get those two confused sometimes when listening to them.
Exactly. I mean look in the first round its much more likely than Alderson, Omar, Phillips get briefings on a few guys and say “if a lefty pitcher on your top list is avail get him”
It’s highly unrealistic that any GM has the time to sit there and read every single report, and watch tape and MEET these guys before the draft.
Will a GM say “Appel is a Boras guy so if these others on your top 5 list are out there, get them instead.” Yes. Will a GM rank 1,500 players? No.
You hire a Dir of Amateur Scouting because you trust him with his team’s ability to scout these players and get players that fit within the organization’s mold.
I will guarantee you that DePodesta, Tanous, MacDonald, and Terrasas have more to do with the Mets draftees over the last 7 years than Alderson and Minaya put together.