Florida prep right-hander Matthew Allan wasn’t selected on Day 1 of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft because teams felt they wouldn’t be able to sign him and he would instead fulfill his commitment to the University of Florida.

The Mets decided to take a risk with their third round pick and drafted Allan with the 89th overall pick. The pick has a slot value of $667,900 and Allan was rumored to be looking for around $4 million to sign.

Despite the signability concerns that slid a first round talent to the third, Mets vice president of amateur scouting Tommy Tanous is confident they will sign Allan as he told Tim Britton of The Athletic, “We fully expect Matthew to sign.”

The Mets finished off day 2 of the draft with seven straight college seniors in an effort to save money to sign Allan. College seniors have no leverage in bonus negotiations and all of the ones selected by the Mets would’ve went significantly later in the draft if taken on talent alone.

For example, the Mets took Jack Mangum in the fourth round. If they sign him for $10,000, the Mets would be getting him for $487,890 underslot. Adding that to the slot value assigned to the third round pick and the Mets would then have $1,115,790 to offer Allan. The Mets will look for similar savings with picks from rounds 5-10.

Here are the slot values for the seven college seniors the Mets drafted following Allan:

4th: $487,900
5th: $364,400
6th: $277,100
7th: $216,600
8th: $174,400
9th: $154,600
10th: $145,300

The Mets took prep third baseman Brett Baty with their first round pick (12th overall), which has a slot value of $4,366,400. Mets could have some savings here as Baty was expected to go later in the first round. Also possible the Mets are able to get second round pick RHP Josh Wolf under his slot value of $1,370,400.

If the Mets were able to sign Baty, Wolf, and Allan, it would be quite the coup as noted by Tanous, “You throw Matthew Allan with Brett Baty and Josh Wolf, and I can’t remember starting the draft with the Mets, or any other team I’ve been with, better than that.”

According to MLB Pipeline’s top 200 draft prospect rankings the Mets would be getting three of the top 36 players in the draft. They had Allan ranked No. 13, Baty No. 17, and Wolf No. 36.

Would certainly be a great way for Brodie Van Wagenen, Tanous, and the rest of the Mets front office to improve the farm system.