New York Mets three worst first round draft picks ever

It’s too early to tell how Jarred Kelenic will turn out, but the Mets have had their fair share of terrible first round picks.

Let’s take a look down memory lane with some of the worst first round picks the New York Mets ever made.

Steve Chilcott: 1966

In 1966, the Kansas City Royals drafted Reggie Jackson with the second pick of the draft. With the first pick in the draft, the Mets could have gotten him, but instead went for Steve Chilcott.

He was everything that they needed, but the fire burned out instantly. In 1966 he combined to hit .176 in the minors. In his second season in the minors, he turned things around.

More from New York Mets All-Time Lists

• NY Mets: 5 worst pitching staffs in franchise history
• NY Mets: 5 all-time worst offenses in franchise history
• NY Mets: 3 worst teams that were still fun to watch play ball
• NY Mets: 3 most memorable games with the black jerseys
• NY Mets: 10 notable Mets trades from the month of August

He hit .290 through his first 79 games in Single A but then he injured his shoulder sliding into second base. That ended his season and throughout the next two seasons, he played in just 26 games.

The longest season of his career came in 1971 where he played he played 91 games, but for Single A, and he was released soon after.

In 1972, he played a bit for the Yankees but ended up retiring as a 24 year old who never played in the majors.

Paul Wilson: 1994

The 1994 draft featured some sick talent. Nomar Garciaparra, Paul Konerko, and Jason Varitek were drafted back to back to back. The Mets, with the first pick in the draft went with Paul Wilson.

Wilson was one of the three players that made up Generation K. In the minors, he was a star. In 1995 he pitched to a 2.41 ERA and struck out 194 batters in just under 187 innings.

He made his debut in 1996 and posted a 5.38 ERA and a severe drop in strikeouts. Then the injury bug and poor skills struck him like lightning. He spent all of 1997 and 1998 in the minors and missed all of the 1999 season.

After that, his time with the Mets was over and he was traded to the Devil Rays and was never able to replicate his numbers from the minors.

Philip Humber: 2004

The Mets had the third pick in the 2004 draft and took Philip Humber. In the minors, he wasn’t the best. In 2005 between St. Lucie and Binghamton, he pitched to a  5.09 ERA. In 2006 with the same two teams, his ERA was below 3.

That was enough for him to skip Triple A and make his debut in September of that year. Humber, who was facing injuries, played in only five major league games for the Mets between 2006 and 2007. In 2007, he gave up six runs in only seven innings.

He was one of the players that we sent to the Twins for Johan Santana.  It’s great that Humber was used as a piece for the guy who would blow out his body to get us a no-hitter, but both with the Mets and afterwards, Humber was bad.

Next: Mets minor leaguers who could have big roles in 2019

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

Throughout their history, the Mets have had a roller-coaster of first round picks. Let’s hope that Kelenic is on the bright side of the spectrum.