Wednesday was a special day at Citi Field for the New York Mets’ 2026 first-round draft selection, Carson Wiggins.
The University of Arkansas product and the Mets officially came to an agreement, inking the 21-year-old to the full $3,466,500 slot value. He was the 16th player to be selected in the first round from Arkansas in draft history. The Mets drafted him No. 27 overall.
Wiggins, brother of Chicago Cubs’ Top-100 prospect, Jaxon Wiggins, was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 88 draft prospect, He was in New York on Tuesday and on Wednesday, where he donned No. 26 in the orange and blue.
Carson Wiggins.
“Wiggins is an electric arm, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the organization,” Mets vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross said in a statement. “He’s an elite athlete that offers premium velocity, two swing-and-miss breaking pitches, and an emerging changeup. We are confident he will continue to grow in our player development system and are excited to watch what he can do.”
The righty out of the University of Arkansas had arguably the best fastball in the MLB draft, averaging 99 mph and touching 102 mph in 2025 prior to undergoing internal brace surgery.
His first time back on a mound prior to the draft was at the MLB Combine, where his fastball velocity was touching 92 – 97 mph over the course of eight pitches; his curveball hit 75-78 mph, with his changeup and cutter hitting 87 mph and his slider hitting 84.
The Mets potentially could slot Wiggins into minor league games, but that has yet to be determined.
With the signing of Wiggins, the Mets have now locked in their top draft pick since 2021, when it was just Kumar Rocker who went unsigned due to injury concerns.
