New York Mets 2009 Draft ten years later: Where are they now?

A full decade ago, the 2009 MLB Draft took place. Whatever happened to the guys chosen by the New York Mets?

Ten years have passed since the 2009 MLB Draft. It wasn’t an especially fantastic one for the New York Mets, but it did land them one guy we’re all familiar with. Lacking a first-round pick one year after coming off their second straight collapse, the draft didn’t include the same firepower of talent as others to follow.

In the second round, with the 72nd overall pick, the Mets selected left-handed pitcher named Steven Matz. It’s hard to believe an entire decade has passed since Matz was drafted by the Mets. At the time, many likely only believed he was perfect for the Mets because of the similarity to his name and the organization.

Matz hasn’t had the big league career many wanted him to have. Though a proven big leaguer, he has had too many lows along the way. Matz is third or fourth starter material at his absolute best and it doesn’t seem like things will get much better for the East Setauket native.

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Overall, though, Matz was a fine draft choice from round number two. As the draft continued, he was by far the best.

The organization lacked a third-round pick which meant the next body they were able to select came in round number four. With the 134th overall pick, they took a guy named Darrell Ceciliani. Believe it or not, the outfielder from Texas did play 39 games for the Mets in 2015. His .206 batting average didn’t make it a memorable stint.

Despite success at the Triple-A level, Ceciliani never found it in his 55 career games at the big league level. He played his final 16 of them with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2016 and 2017 following a trade.

The Mets weren’t so lucky in round five and six, selecting Damien Magnifico and David Buchanan with those picks respectively. Neither signed with the team. They want on to play a combined 37 games at the big league level.

Plenty men were chosen to have a future with the Metropolitans over the next few rounds, but it’s not until the 31st round when there’s a guy who made it to the major leagues. However, like Magnifico and Buchanan, he didn’t sign.

Outfielder Mitch Haniger was the 944th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. A high school kid at the time, he wisely chose to stay in school. This led to a first-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers several years later. He’s now with the Seattle Mariners with an All-Star appearance in 2018 on his resume.

You won’t find any other draft picks signed by the Mets in this draft who made it to the show. To save a little egg on their face from bad selections, two more non-signees eventually made it.

The 48th round pick in that year’s draft was a guy named Joe Mantiply. Still active at least check, he has pitched only 5 games in Major League Baseball. These occurred in 2016 as a member of the Detroit Tigers. The result was a 16.88 ERA in relief.

When the Mets made their final pick of the draft, they did choose a kid who is currently active in baseball. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley went to the Mets as the 1,514th pick in the final round. His MLB career hasn’t been much to brag about, but unlike many of the choices made by the orange and blue squad in 2009, he’s one of the few who actually clawed his way through the odds.

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In a draft which included highly toughed prospect Stephen Strasburg going first overall and future best player in baseball Mike Trout also finding a home, the Mets came up short. I suppose if you can pick one future regular in the draft every season you can’t complain too much. The Mets reached the minimum in accomplishing this.

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