–Originally posted May 22, 2015–
The 2015 first-year player draft will begin Monday, June 8 at 7:00 PM ET and run through June 10.
The Mets forfeited their first-round selection/slot money by signing OF Michael Cuddyer last November, who received a qualifying offer from the Rockies before joining the Mets on a two-year contract.
As such, the Mets will not make their first selection until the second round. They have the 53rd (second round) and 88th (third round) overall selections for their first two picks. It is the first time the Mets will not have a first round pick since Sandy Alderson was named General Manager prior to the 2011 season.
That changes things a little bit for the Mets this year, but not necessarily in the worst way imaginable.
Because the Mets don’t have that first round selection, they’ve obviously focused their scouting and evaluations on players they think might be second round or higher picks. Because of that, people close to the situation feel they have an advantage over other organizations in terms of their knowledge of that part of the draft class.
However, according to Baseball America, the Mets have just $3.6 million to spend in this draft thanks to forfeiting their first round pick/pool allotment. That could further impact their strategy and those they target based on sign-ability alone. So, despite potentially having a deeper knowledge of the class projected after the second round, their targets may be even more trimmed down not just in the second round, but in the subsequent rounds as well.
As such, Keith Law of ESPN said recently in a Periscope chat the Mets are honing in on players they feel will sign at slot, and not over-slot.
People who are involved in this process are still excited despite the limitations. It seems as though it’s been a thought provoking seven months ever since they learned they would not have the first round pick – it should be a very interesting draft for the Mets.
Here is a list of notable second-round picks for the Mets in their history:
Matt Reynolds – 2012
Steven Matz – 2009
Bill Pulsipher – 1991
Todd Hundley – 1987
Dave Magadan – 1983
Mookie Wilson – 1977
Mike Scott – 1976
The 2015 first, competitive and second rounds of the first-year player draft will air live on MLB Network beginning at 7 PM ET on June 8. The following rounds will begin at 1 PM ET on Tuesday June 9, and will air on MLB.com.
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