Mets draft a “Bat” and a “Wolf” from Texas in rounds one and two

Rounds one and two of the 2019 MLB Draft are over. The New York Mets came away with a “Bat” and a “Wolf.”

Admittedly, I’m not as up-to-date on college or high school baseball as some who follow the game. So, when I saw the New York Mets drafted Brett Baty in the first round and Josh Wolf in the second, my excitement couldn’t extend beyond loving their names.

A bat and a wolf are exactly what the 2019 Mets could use. Their offense is stagnant and their attitude is more sheepish than anything else.

The pair have more in common than becoming the latest round one and two selections of the Mets. Both are high school kids from Texas. According to Google Maps, which I still call MapQuest, by the way, it would take three hours to travel the 175.5 miles from one high school to the other. This is at around 5AM Texas-time.

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As with any MLB Draft, it’s a shot in the dark finding a star. Let’s never forget Mike Piazza was drafted as a favor after hundreds of men in a round that no longer exists. Plenty of high picks have also fizzled out and just as many early selections have chosen not to sign with the team that drafted them.

Baty becomes the latest 12th overall selection. Based on history, it’s not exactly elite company. Josh Naylor, who was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2015, is the latest to make his big league debut. Previous to him, you have to go back to when the Mets last selected 12th overall and decided to take Gavin Cecchini.

Other notable 12th overall selections include Nomar Garciaparra, Kirk Gibson, and Billy Wagner. There’s also the all-time home run hitter from this spot in the draft, Jay Bruce. I’d also do a poor job at naming people we know if I skipped over the former prized Mets prospect Lastings Milledge whom the team took in 2003.

I hate to curb my enthusiasm already. However, most of these names aren’t franchise-changers.

As you may expect, the crop of players taken 53rd is far less notable. The 2013 pick, Andrew Knapp of the Philadelphia Phillies, is the most recent pick to make his MLB debut. The Mets also had this pick in 2015 when they took Desmond Lindsay. His professional baseball career has not gone as planned.

One thing the 53rd overall pick has over the 12th overall selection is a Hall of Fame player in its midst. Way back in 1972, the Montreal Expos took a high schooler named Gary Carter at this spot. By far the best man ever taken here in the MLB Draft, it’s good company for Wolf to keep.

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It will be years before we see Baty or Wolf suit up for the Mets, if ever. After seeing the team unceremoniously deal Jarred Kelenic last winter to the Seattle Mariners, I think we’re all ready for everything and nothing at all from these kids.