Mets Draft Grade Reflects An Effort To Restock Farm System

The New York Mets had an eventful season when it comes to both their prospects and their farm system as a whole, and their draft grade from Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Eddy came up with a total of 11 categories for the Mets draft picks, so let’s look at some of the highlights and see what he picked out. 

Best Power Hitter: Aiden Robbins OF

Eddy noted that there weren’t many pure contact hitters in the Mets group, but the Mets focused on power given their needs right now and Robbins has plenty of it. He played for Texas, and according to the writer he can do plenty of damage. Robbins had 24 homers, and he has above average power. Eddy also mentioned Arkansas outfielder Kuhio Aloy, who may have more raw power but also has some swing-and-miss issues that need to be resolved.

Robbins is also a complete player who was mentioned in a couple of other categories -- specifically, the fastest runner and the best defensive outfielder. That’s high praise, and it will be interesting to see how his career plays out given the kind of success the Mets have already had with outfielders like Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, the latter of whom started his career as an infielder.  

Best Pro Debut

Catcher Ryan Tayman was listed in another category including best pure hitter, and he showed it by playing 21 games with Low-A St. Lucie and posting a slash line of .316/.432/.579 with five home runs and five doubles. He also led all Mets hitters making their debut with a 1.011 OPS.

Another Mets prospect who had a good debut was outfielder John Smith out of Central Florida, who played for both St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn. He hit .305/.373/.542 with three home runs and five doubles and actually had better results against High-A arms. 

Best Pitching Prospect: Carson Wiggins RHP

Wiggins has huge size and “massive” arm talent, which is why he intrigued so many teams. He was already touching 99 mph in high school, and there’s family lineage here, as he’s the younger brother of Chicago Cubs catching prospect Jaxon Wiggins, which is why he got some pre-draft publicity. 

The caveat with Wiggins is that he didn’t pitch at all this spring due to arm issues, but he’s also hit 102 mph, which will always draw a lot of attention. Wiggins would be a big add, both literally and figuratively, if they can find a way to keep him healthy.