Kevin Parada, Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning, Mets fans!
The Mets selected Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada and high school shortstop Jett Williams in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft. Parada was ranked seventh by MLB Pipeline in their top 100 draft prospect, and he hit .361/.453/.709 with 26 homers and 88 RBIs this past season. Williams was ranked 15th by Baseball America, and he’s held in high regard because of his speed and hitting tools. A native of Rockwall, Texas, Williams hit .411 this past year for Rockwall-Heath High School. The Mets also drafted Tennessee righty Blade Tidwell with the 52nd pick and Gonzaga College High School outfielder Nick Morabito with the 75th pick.
Latest Mets News
The Mets dropped their series finale with the Cubs, 3-2. David Peterson allowed one unearned run, three hits, and three runs with eight strikeouts, but the team left seven men on base and Drew Smith allowed two runs in the eighth inning. The Mets enter the All-Star break with a 58-35 record and a 2 1/2 game lead in the NL East. The Mets will resume play on Friday at Citi Field against the Padres, though Pete Alonso will aim to win his third straight Home Run Derby tonight in Los Angeles.
Buck Showalter said that Taijuan Walker went back to New York after his start to get checked out before the All-Star break. Showalter says that this isn’t a big deal and that Walker is expected to be in the rotation to start the second half.
Showalter also said Tomás Nido‘s MRI on his forearm came back with “nothing newsworthy.” Nido still wasn’t available in the finale with the Cubs.
Starling Marte will sit out the All-Star Game. Freddie Freeman will take the roster spot.
Mets minor leaguer Stanley Consuegra hit a home run that traveled 504 feet for the Brooklyn Cyclones.
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Jackson Holliday and Druw Jones went first and second overall in the MLB Draft, but Kumar Rocker was a surprising pick by the Rangers with the third pick. Rocker was selected by the Mets 10th overall in 2021, but the team didn’t sign him due to concerns about his medical reports.
Jordan Romano, Devin Williams, Liam Hendriks, and Ty France were named to the All-Star Game as replacements for inactive players. With Mike Trout sitting out due to a back injury, Byron Buxton will be moved into the starting lineup.
The Tigers optioned struggling rookie Spencer Torkelson to Triple-A Toledo. The former first-overall draft pick is hitting just .197/.282/.295 in 298 plate appearances thus far.
Red Sox ace Chris Sale suffered a nasty finger injury when he took a comebacker off his pitching hand in the first inning against the Yankees. This was just Sale’s second start of the season after coming back from a fractured rib.
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James Villani recaps the Mets’ loss to the Cubs in their series finale.
John Sheridan takes a look at the Mets’ history with drafting.
On This Date in Mets History
2000: The Mets hit three homers, including Mike Piazza‘s third grand slam of the season, as they beat the Blue Jays in Toronto, 11-7.
2006: Carlos Beltrán hits a grand slam for the second game in a row, and the Mets beat the Reds at Great American Ballpark, 8-3. Xavier Nady and Jose Valentin also hit homers while Mike Pelfrey tosses six innings of two-run ball to get the victory.
2021: After a disastrous first inning that puts the Mets in a 6-0, the team comes back and salvages the series finale in Pittsburgh, 7-6. Travis Blankenhorn hits a three-run homer for the first long ball of his MLB career, and Michael Conforto hits the game-winning two-run homer off Richard Rodriguez in the ninth.
Birthdays: Joe Torre (82), Robert Gsellman (29)
Let’s go Mets!
