The New York Mets finished the first half of the 2023 season 42-48, six games below .500. As such, tensions are high both in the clubhouse and among fans.

In response to the team’s poor first half, Mets owner Steven Cohen met with the media in July. He expressed his frustrations with the team’s performance and also discussed the importance of what the Mets are doing in the farm system to develop players.

With the team putting more and more emphasis on building the farm system, this week’s MLB draft took on even more significance. The Mets continued to show their interest in developing pitchers by using 17 of their draft picks to pick up pitching. They drafted 13 right-handed pitchers, two left-handed pitchers, and a two-way player who will serve primarily as a pitcher.

The Mets’ other draft picks included three shortstops, two third basemen, a catcher, and an outfielder.

The Mets drafted mostly collegiate players, with 17 picks coming from colleges and six being drafted from high school prep schools. The age ranges of this year’s drafted players included six 18-year olds, one 20-year-old, nine 21-year-olds, and seven 22-year-olds.

Steve Martone, the Mets’ special assistant to the general manager, draft operations, spoke with Will Sammon of The Athletic upon the conclusion of the draft. Marton said the Mets focused on players they felt could get them closer to becoming a winning organization and that could impact the game.

“Our goal here is to build a sustainable winner and we like these players help us get closer to that goal … We targeted players that play up the middle, premium positions that are able to impact the game in the batter’s box, on the pitcher’s mound, on basepaths, and in the field,” said Marton.

The Mets’ 2023 draft selections rounded out as follows

  • Round 1, Pick No. 32 – SS Colin Houck – Parkview HS (GA)
  • Round 2, Pick No. 56 – RHP Brandon Sproat – University of FL (FL)
  • Round 3, Pick No. 91 – Two-Way Player (RHP/OF) Nolan McLean – Oklahoma State (OK)
  • Round 3, Pick No. 101 – RHP Kade Morris – Nevada (NV)
  • Round 4, Pick No. 123 – RHP Wyatt Hudepohl – UNC Charlotte (NC)
  • **Round 4C, Pick No. 134 – SS A.J. Ewing – Springboro HS (OH)
  • Round 4C, Pick No. 135 – RHP Austin Troesser – Missouri (MO)
  • Round 5, Pick No. 159 – LHP Zach Thornton – Grand Canyon University (AZ)
  • Round 6, Pick No. 186 – RHP Jack Wenninger – Illinois (IL)
  • Round 7, Pick No. 216 – RHP Noah Hall – South Carolina (SC)
  • Round 8, Pick No. 246 – SS Boston Baro – Capistrano Valley HS (CA)
  • Round 9, Pick No. 276 – 3B Nick Lorusso – Maryland (MD)
  • Round 10, Pick No. 306 – RHP Christian Pregent – Stetson University (FL)
  • Round 11, Pick No. 336 – RHP Brett Banks – UNC Wilmington (NC)
  • Round 12, Pick No. 366 – RHP Brady Kirtner – Virginia Tech (VA)
  • Round 13, Pick No. 396 – RHP Ben Simon – Elon University (NC)
  • Round 14, Pick No. 426 – RHP John Valle – Jefferson HS (Tampa, FL)
  • Round 15, Pick No. 456 – RHP Justin Lawson – NC State (NC)
  • **Round 16, Pick No. 486 – 3B Jake Zitella – St. Charles East HS (IL)
  • Round 17, Pick No. 516 – RHP Bryce Jenkins – Tennessee (TN)
  • Round 18, Pick No. 546 – LHP Gavyn Jones – White Oak HS (TX)
  • Round 19, Pick No. 576 – RHP Christian Little – LSU (LA)
  • Round 20, Pick No. 606 – OF Kellum Clark – Mississippi State (MS)

    [** = Signed]

The Mets’ first three picks were notable selections. They drafted a prep shortstop, Colin Houck from Parkview High School (GA), who they’ve had their eyes on in round one. In round two, the Mets once again drafted a name fans may be familiar with Brandon Sproat from the University of Florida. The Mets drafted Sproat in 2022, but failed to sign him as Sproat decided to return to Florida to finish out his senior year. Now, Sproat finds himself with the option once again to become a Met.

The Mets’ third round pick was one that will be intriguing to watch in two-way RHP/OF Nolan McLean from Oklahoma State.

Round 1, Pick No. 32 – Shortstop Colin Houck

With their first round selection at No. 32 overall, the Mets drafted prep shortstop, Colin Houck from Parkview High School in Georgia. Houck is 18 years old and stands at six-foot-two and 190 pounds. He is a Mississippi State commit who Martone said the Mets had been looking at for a while.

“We scouted him heavily,” said Martone. “We think that there’s plus-athleticism there, body awareness. We’re not going to put a limit on him. We’re going to run him out there as a shortstop and let him develop as a shortstop,” he said.

In 2023, Houck had a 1.446 OPS with Parkview. He was also a two-sport athlete who played football, and he was ranked by MLP Pipeline as the No. 12 best prospect in the 2023 MLB draft.

Houck spoke with the media upon being drafted in the first round and expressed his excitement to be a Met:

“I’m very excited that the Mets picked me up. I couldn’t be more excited, so it’s awesome.”

It is likely that Houck will  forego his commitment to Mississippi State and head to the Mets, explaining that the opportunity the Mets are giving him is one he will “need to take into account.”

“I do think there are benefits to getting into the system early with pro ball,” said Houck.

Colin Houck.

Round 2, Pick No. 56 – RHP Brandon Sproat

The Mets picked up a familiar name in the second round of the draft. The team previously drafted right-handed pitcher Brandon Sproat from the University of Florida in the third round of the 2022 MLB draft, but Sproat and the Mets failed to come to an agreement and Sproat returned to the University of Florida for his senior year where he helped lead the Gators to a College World Series Championship matchup against LSU. When the second round came around this year, Sproat’s name was once again called by the Mets.

The Mets have been looking at Sproat for a while as a player who can impact the farm system and the team in big ways as a high-ceiling pitcher at the upper levels of the system.

“Obviously, he’s an extremely talented pitcher,” Mets special assistant to the general manager Steve Martone said. “We were impressed with him last year. He got even better this year. He showed improvement. … He bet on himself. It worked out for him, and we’re really excited for the future with him.”

Being selected by the Mets in 2023 was a decision that Sproat had to agree on. In order to be drafted by the same team a second year in a row, a player’s consent must be given, and Sproat gave the Mets that blessing.

“It’s funny how the world works,” Sproat said after the Mets took him Sunday night at No. 56 overall. “I was in that same position last year and couldn’t work out a deal. But I went back, bet on myself and it works out for the better.”

In 2023, Sproat was 8-3 with a 4.66 ERA. He struck out 134 this season and gave up just 55 earned runs over the course of 106.1 innings. His performance in 2023 earned him a spot as a second-team All-SEC member. Now a UF graduate, Sproat said that now that he has his degree, he’s ready to move on.

“At this point, I’m ready to go,” Sproat said. “I got my degree. I’m done with college baseball. There’s really nothing left there for me, so I’m ready to move on, and blessed that the Mets were able to take me again.”

Round 3, Pick No. 91 –  RHP/OF Nolan McLean

In the third round of this year’s draft, the Mets selected a player that will be intriguing to watch: two-way RHP/OF Nolan McLean from Oklahoma State. Martone, the Mets’ special assistant to the general manager, was very pleased with their selection of McLean, and said that he believes the Mets got a special and rare player.

“He’s a premium athlete,” said Martone, who discussed the difficulty of being able to stay a two-way player professionally, but also stated that it’s something the organization is willing to let McLean attempt.  “If anybody were to attempt it and accomplish it, it would be somebody like that,” said Martone. “We’re really intrigued by the power in his game. He has some premium raw power and we’re going to see where it goes in professional baseball… If it’s something Nolan wants to attempt to do, we’re going to let him hit,” he said.

McLean is a player that can hit for power, as he hit 36 home runs over the course of three seasons for Oklahoma State.

So far in the organization’s franchise history, they have never had a “legitimate” two-way major leaguer and they currently have no players in the farm system attempting to do what Shohei Ohtani has mastered for the Los Angeles Angels. Martone stated that they are willing to let McLean attempt it because of the high caliber of his skills both as a pitcher and at the plate.

McLean is a three-pitch pitcher who has a fastball, slider, and curveball. His fastball has reached the upper 90s and his slider has touched the mid-80s. In 2023, he was 1-2 with 34 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched for Oklahoma State. He walked just 17 batters and gave up 11 earned runs.

At the plate, he had an average of .250 with six doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. He had 29 RBIs and 31 runs scored in 39 games started.

Mets director of scouting Drew Toussaint reiterated Matone’s comments about McLean, stating, “It takes the makeup of a player and the willingness to do it… Just from our meetings with him, I think he has the makeup and the drive,” he said.

Drafted Players who are Signing

With the draft now over, discussions of signings are beginning to take place. So far, the Mets’ fourth-round pick SS A.J. Ewing and 16th-round pick 3B Jake Zitella have stated they are foregoing collegiate baseball and signing with the Mets to begin their professional careers. Ewing was committed to Alabama and Zitella was committed to Illinois before agreeing to sign.

Undrafted Free Agent Signing – RHP Dakota Hawkins – WSU

Along with the 23 players the Mets drafted during the draft, they also picked up an 18th pitcher in RHP Dakota Hawkins from Washington State University who signed as an undrafted free agent. Hawkins was signed for six figures.

Hawkins pitched three seasons at Washington State. He appeared in 43 games, 22 as a starter and had 13 wins and a save on his record. He had an ERA of 4.85 over the course of his WSU career and accumulated 157 strikeouts. He was named to All-Pac 12 Conference honorable mentions his senior year.

In 2023, Hawkins was 5-3 with a 4.32 ERA. He struck out 92 batters, which was the ninth-most in a WSU single-season history and fourth in the Pac-12. He walked just 27 in 2023.

The Mets bolstered their farm system, especially their pitching in 2023 MLB Draft. As Steve Cohen mentioned earlier this month, developing pitchers in the farm system is a priority for the organization right now, and they’re hoping that this week’s draft was a significant step towards doing just that.