MMO Roundtable: What Grade Would You Give the Mets Draft?

The Mets loaded up on arms in the 2021 draft. But, what grade would you give them?

Doug M
Grade: A-

I give the Mets draft an A- grade. The first three picks are especially exciting and earn top marks in my book. Not only were they able to get a talent in Kumar Rocker that likely should not have even been available at 10th overall, but they were still able to get a bunch of other upside arms in Zeigler and Hamel, while trying to balance the remaining bonus pool allotment.

Both Zeigler and Hamel have fastball/breaking ball combinations in place that are appealing both traditionally and analytically, and can be seen as picks that were likely guided in part by the renewed focus to bring more analytics into the amateur scouting department decision-making. The same alluring velocity and spin profiles were obtained into the 9th round, particularly with the Seymour and David picks.

One of the few places the draft fell a bit short of my hopes was with the 4th round pick, J.T. Schwartz, who reminds me of the Winaker and Brodey picks as a Pac-12 performer without much defensive value or loud tools. But we also have to see if this pick is where they were able to save some of the money that will have to be found for Kumar Rocker’s over-slot bonus. The final ten rounds were completely devoid of clearly projectable high school talent, but this was a motif for many teams this year, as prepsters seemed especially difficult to sign league-wide and MLB clubs look to bring in more advanced prospects to a minor league system that has been under a state of contraction.

James Villani
Grade: A-

The New York Mets started the draft out with a bang, drafting a top-5 prospect in Kumar Rocker. Given this, it seemed the rest of the Mets’ draft may suffer given the over-slot Rocker was, but at the end of the day they still had a nice haul.

One of my favorite picks of the draft was fourth rounder UCLA college bat JT Schwartz, several had a 2nd round grade on him.

Overall, an A-minus seems fair for the Mets. Started with a bang with Rocker and was able to salvage the rest of the draft by finding good value despite the heavy over-slot in the first round.

Joseph Langan
Grade: A-

For the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, the New York Mets earned a grade of A- in my book. With Kumar Rocker falling to the number ten slot, the Mets were able to get one of the steals of the draft. The Mets continued addressing their need for pitching by drafting ten more pitchers after selecting Rocker.

As for position players, I feel the selection of J.T. Schwartz in the fourth round was another steal for the organization. The first baseman from UCLA didn’t have much playing time at the NCAA Division-I level, but when he did, he shined. The Mets certainly took a chance, but I feel it will pay off. While they did address the pitching concerns, I would have liked to see the Mets draft more left-handed pitchers. Out of the 11 taken only, only three ended up being later round lefties.

I would have also liked to see the organization go after an outfielder during the earlier rounds in the draft. While they did draft three college outfielders in the later rounds, I feel there is still a significant gap in the farm system. Overall great draft for the New York Mets, who most certainly got the most value for their picks.

Jack Ramsey
Grade: B+

I’d say I’d give the Mets a B+. With the indication that they’ll sign everyone, they took two high ceiling prospects at 10 and 46, but no one else that really projects as an above average major leaguer after that. However, they took college names that have high floors, with most of them providing a solid tool or two. Aside from Rocker and Ziegler, University of Virginia RHP Mike Vasil projects as a starter that, if he pans out, could slot into the back of the rotation for a bit. Jack-Thomas Wold, by way of UNLV, bring some serious pop to the table.

Wyatt Young, a Pepperdine product, received rave reviews from some scouts regarding his defense. The main critique of the Mets’ farm system is that they have a great group at the top seven or eight, but there is not much depth after that. The Mets brought in some names that could start to fill in the back end of their rankings, and provide some much needed that to a top-heavy system.