Today is the big day. Not only will several lives change, but the trajectory of some teams can as well. The MLB Draft is officially upon us.

Day one of the draft is tonight, beginning at 7:00 pm ET, and is compromised of the first two rounds. Meanwhile, day two (rounds 3-10) and day three (rounds 11-20) will follow in the coming days. Day one can be viewed on both ESPN and MLB Network, while the following days can streamed via MLB.com.

The Mets biggest pick will be at 19th overall. It’ll be the first Mets draft under President of Baseball Operations David Stearns and VP of Amateur Scouting Kris Gross. The team will have the 20th-largest bonus pool available: $9,572,200.

Kaelen Culpepper. (photo credits: K-State Athletics)

Mets Day 1 Picks

First Round: 19th overall ($4,219,200)

The Mets saw their first round pick drop 10 spots due to the competitive balance tax penalty. They were originally slated to select ninth overall. The San Diego Padres and New York Yankees also saw their selections drop.

Second Round: 46th overall ($2,031,700)

Other Notable Picks

Third Round: 82nd overall ($934,800)

Fourth Round: 111th overall ($656,400)

Fifth Round: 144th overall ($476,200)

Sixth Round: 173rd overall ($363,100)

Seventh Round: 203rd overall ($283,800)

Eighth Round: 233rd overall ($226,000)

Ninth Round: 263rd overall ($196,700)

10th Round: 293rd overall ($184,300)

Potential First Round Targets

With selection No. 19 in the first round, below are some of the prospects that have been mocked to the Mets in recent days:

• OF Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina
• SS Kaelen Culpepper, Kansas State
• OF Carson Benge, Oklahoma State
• OF Slade Caldwell, Valley View HS (AR)

Draft Order

1. Cleveland Guardians
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Oakland Athletics
5. Chicago White Sox
6. Kansas City Royals
7. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Los Angeles Angels
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Washington Nationals

The remaining order of picks can be found here.

MMO Draft Content

Below are links to our two main articles analyzing Sunday’s draft:

• Draft Preview
• What The Mocks Are Saying

The post MMO MLB Draft Thread, 7:00 P.M. appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Mets are said by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel to be considering “explosively athletic types” with their first selection, and there are several prospects in the 2024 class that fit that description. Let us take a look at recent notable mock drafts, and where they see the Mets going in president of baseball operations David Stearns and scouting director Kris Gross’ first year at the helm.

Note, our full draft preview article can be read here.

Carson Benge. Photo by The Oklahoman

The Athletic 

The Pick: RHP/OF Carson Benge, Oklahoma State
ESPN Rank: 18
The Athletic Rank: 18
MLB Pipeline Rank: 18

Carson Benge, the seemingly consensus 18th-ranked prospect in this year’s draft, was mocked by Keith Law and The Athletic to the Mets at 19th overall. Benge was one of the nation’s most notable two-way player this year, and would be the second Oklahoma State Cowboy two-way player drafted by the Mets in as many years, joining 2023 third-round selection Nolan McLean.

Benge, 21, dominated from both sides of the plate this year for the Cowboys. In 61 games, he posted a .335/.444/.665 slash line with 18 homers and 24 doubles. One of Benge’s best tools is his lack of strikeouts, as he struck out just 51 times in 2024, compared to 49 walks. His strong eye and lack of strikeouts strike as skills that will immediately translate to the professional game. The right-handed hitter isn’t the most imposing figure, standing in at only six-foot-one, but still has room to grow into his frame, as he is listed at just 185 pounds.

On the mound, Benge mainly came out of the bullpen, posting a 3.16 ERA over 18 appearances, four of which were starts. Over 37 innings, he struck out 44, walked just 11, and allowed only four home runs. His fastball is lively, and can reach the upper-90 mph range. He has a solid duo of a slider and changeup to compliment the fastball, and he has solid command for his pitches.

Despite this, Benge is said to prefer hitting much more to pitching, and there is some questions as to whether or not he will want to continue pitching in the professionals. However, even just as a bat, Benge is an intriguing prospect and worthy of a first round selection. He fits the McDaniel assertion of an explosive athlete.

ESPN

The Pick: OF Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina
ESPN Rank: 25
The Athletic Rank: 41
MLB Pipeline Rank: 22

Vance Honeycutt is one of the more polarizing figures in this year’s draft. The former Tar Heel posted an astounding 1.124 OPS for his junior year, a season in which he clubbed 28 homers, 43 total extra base hits, and stole 28 bases. Overall, he posted a slash line of .318/.410/.714 over 302 plate appearances across 62 games.

Honeycutt, as his rankings show, has the consensus all over the place. He brings great power, great speed, a great arm, a great glove, but there is tons of concern regarding his hit tool. There is concern that Honeycutt will not hit for much average at all given the major swing-and-miss issues. He possesses multiple 60-grade tools, but if his hit tool falls through, which some consider to be as low as 40, then Honeycutt might not reach his full potential.

If all breaks right for the 21-year old, he will end up a strong fielding center fielder, crush over 30 homers, and steal 30-plus bags a season. The best scenario for Honeycutt would make him one of the game’s best. However, if the hit tool can’t develop, he is a power threat outfielder with a strong arm that can steal bases. This could be a useful player, but might not be worth the 19th-overall selection.

Honeycutt’s biggest weakness will pose an interesting task for the Mets. The organization hasn’t developed as many hitting prospects with weak hit tools as other organizations, and considering that he is already 21, they won’t exactly have as much time as they would have had with a prep prospect. Vance Honeycutt would be a test of the Mets’ revamped player development team, but he could be worth the risk.

Kaelen Culpepper. (photo credits: K-State Athletics)

Baseball America

The Pick: SS Kaelen Culpepper, Kansas State
ESPN Rank: 28
The Athletic Rank: 30
MLB Pipeline Rank: 31

Kaelen Culpepper is one of the safer prospects in the draft, and would be a solid selection for the Mets. The former Wildcat posted a .993 OPS with 11 homers, 15 doubles, and six triples in his junior season. Culpepper was a three-year starter for the Wildcats in the Big 12, and was the biggest bright spot on one of the conference’s worst offenses. His strength came in his on base ability, posting a .402 career OBP over his collegiate years.

Culpepper isn’t a smaller shortstop, standing in at six-foot and 185 pounds, a solid frame for an infielder. Evaluators believe that Culpepper has a solid chance to stick at shortstop long-term, and could even become a glove-first player. However, if he were not to last as a shortstop, he would then likely become a strong second or third baseman. His arm is considered to be fairly strong, which could point to a future at third base if he doesn’t remain at short. Culpepper has already made the move, but in reverse. Initially a third baseman, he made the rare jump over to short, but found much success there on the Wildcat infield.

Culpepper, unlike the aforementioned Honeycutt, possesses a fairly safe hit tool, decent power, and a strong eye. In the 2024 NCAA College Baseball Playoff, Culpepper hit .474 for the Wildcats as they went on a strong playoff run. Culpepper’s playoff excellence was highlighted by a cycle against Louisiana Tech, the first of his collegiate career.

Kaelen Culpepper has the chance to become the first first-round pick in Kansas State baseball history, and very well could do so with some help from the New York Mets. He fits the athletic mold that the Mets are said to be looking for, but his lack of future power could severely limit his game, especially if he were to move to third base and need to produce more power. He is a safe pick and will be one of the Mets’ better prospects almost immediately, but his ceiling could be severely limited if he can’t grow into and develop more power as he goes through the system.

MLB Pipeline

The Picks: OF Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina (Jim Callis), OF Slade Caldwell, Valley View HS, Jonesboro, Ark. (Jonathan Mayo)
ESPN Rank: 25/41
The Athletic Rank: 41/12
MLB Pipeline Rank: 22/27

As analyzed above, Vance Honeycutt was a dynamic player for North Carolina, however, certainly comes with his blemishes. He would provide huge upside but a considerable amount of risk as well.

As for the only High Schooler on this list, Slade Caldwell was named the top high school player in Arkansas as a junior in 2023. MLB Pipeline assigns him with slightly above average hit tool and strong fielding and running projections. He is a smaller player, listed at five-foot-nine and his style has directly garnered comparisons to current top Mets prospect Jett Williams.

As for his approach at the plate, Caldwell fits what is reportedly the type of player David Stearns and VP of Amateur Scouting Kris Gross like to target. He is a line-drive hitter that is reportedly already quite advanced for his age. He is not expected to hit for much power, as evident by a 45-power grade.

Caldwell is currently committed to play at Mississippi.

The post What The Mock Draft Are Saying The Mets Will Do At No. 19 appeared first on Metsmerized.

Let’s examine four mock drafts from four major outlets — ESPN, The Athletic, Baseball America and MLB Pipeline — and see who they have heading to Queens.

ESPN

The Pick: Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa
ESPN Rank: 23
The Athletic Rank: 16
Baseball America Rank: 28
MLB Pipeline Rank: 21

As the No. 16 prospect on Keith Law’s list for The Athletic and a top 30 prospect on ESPN, Baseball America, and MLB Pipeline, Brecht is one of the highest-ranked pitchers in this year’s draft. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN said he has triple-digit velo and a good slider in a wide receiver’s body. Oh yeah — Brecht, standing at 6-foot-4, was a wide receiver for the Iowa football team. He had nine receptions for 87 yards in the 2022-23 season before focusing solely on baseball for his final year. 

As a junior on the diamond, Brecht made 15 starts with a 3.33 ERA in 78 and ⅓  innings. He struck out 128 and walked 49. MLB Pipeline gives him a 70-grade fastball and a 70-grade slider with a 50-grade splitter and 40-grade control. Law said he’ll need to make some adjustments to his motion, but his athleticism should help him do so. The Mets, who have had a lot of success in the pitching development department recently (Christian Scott, Brandon Sproat, Blade Tidwell, Jonah Tong, etc.), could be a good fit for him.

He would also certainly fit the Mets type as an athletic, hard-throwing college arm — they drafted Sproat twice.

This mock draft also has the Mets taking Slade Caldwell in the second round at No. 46, but more on him later.

Carson Benge, Photo by The Oklahoman

The Athletic

The Pick: Carson Benge, OF/RHP, Oklahoma State
ESPN Rank: 18
The Athletic Rank: 18
Baseball America Rank: 15
MLB Pipeline Rank: 18

Benge is listed as a two-way player, which is sure to make eyes light up, but he is very likely to be a hitter only once he turns pro. A left-hand hitting outfielder, Benge is more hit-over-power but still has some pop, hitting 18 home runs this season for the Cowboys. Law said Benge has great bat speed, makes great swing decisions and hits the ball hard. He said his swing path is more slap style, leading to lower launch angles. On the mound, Benge had a 3.16 ERA in 37 innings this season, mostly in relief. Law said that his fastball would sit in the low-to-mid 90s, and he had a plus curveball. He also says the Mets have been linked to Benge for a while. 

MLB Pipeline gave Benge both a 55-grade hit and power tool and wrote that few hitters in this class have his combination of bat-to-ball skills. They’re also more bullish on his future as a pitcher, giving him first-round potential as a hitter and third-round potential as a pitcher. Benge comes from Oklahoma State, the same school as current Mets two-way prospect Nolan McLean, so maybe this program produces two-way players.

Seaver King, Photo by Cory Knowlton-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball America

The Pick: Seaver King, SS/OF, Wake Forest
ESPN Rank: 16
The Athletic Rank: 17
Baseball America Rank: 17
MLB Pipeline Rank: 17

The first thing BA’s Carlos Collazo says in his article is King could very well be gone by the time the Mets are on the clock. It would make sense, all four publications have him ranked No. 17 or better, and the Mets pick at No. 19. Collazo also says the Mets have been linked to Benge, and names Tommy White, Billy Amick, Dakota Jordan and Vance Honeycutt as other players who could make sense. King hit .308 with a .954 OPS in his only year at Wake Forest after two years at Wingate University, a DII school. 

The Athletic has the right-hand-hitting King as an aggressive hitter who rarely swings and misses, and he can hit for power too. He struck out just 34 times in 284 plate appearances this year, which was again his first year playing Division I baseball. MLB Pipeline gives him a 55 hit tool, 45 power tool and 65 run tool. He is also a very strong and versatile fielder, playing 36 games at third base, 21 games in center field, 10 games at shortstop and two games at second base.

MLB Pipeline

The Pick: Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View HS, Ark.
ESPN Rank: 41
The Athletic Rank: 12
Baseball America Rank: 19
MLB Pipeline Rank: 27

Caldwell is simultaneously the highest-ranked and lowest-ranked player any of these mocks have the Mets selecting. Pipeline, which gives Caldwell a 55-grade hit tool, 45-grade power tool and 65-grade run tool, compares him to the outfield version of Jett Williams. Jonathan Mayo, who created this mock, said there’s buzz the Mets could be leaning towards taking a high school bat. If the Mets do go the prep route, contrary to what most people expect, Caldwell could be the pick. 

A left-hand hitter, Caldwell, is listed as 5-foot-6 on The Athletic and 5-foot-9 on MLB Pipeline. Regardless of which one is correct, he is undoubtedly on the shorter side — contributing to the comparison to 5-foot-7 Williams. Mayo also links the Mets to prep bats Theo Gillen or Kellon Lindsey and college bats Dakota Jordan and Kaelen Culpepper.

The post Examining Recent MLB Mock Drafts appeared first on Metsmerized.