Mets: Reminder to thank Daniel Murphy’s free agency for Anthony Kay

New York Mets prospect Anthony Kay is this year’s star minor leaguer capturing the attention of fans everywhere. The only reason the Mets were able to draft him is because Daniel Murphy walked away after 2015.

This year’s star pupil in the New York Mets minor league system is pitcher Anthony Kay. The lefty who hails from the same high school as Steven Matz is making Double-A batters look foolish. Many believe we could see the 24-year-old with the big league club as soon as this year.

Before he ascends to greatness in the major leagues, let’s take a moment to appreciate how the Mets were able to land him in the first place.

The supplemental round has been kind to this franchise. When teams lose free agents, they’re able to get a compensatory pick between rounds one and two to make up for the loss. For instance, they were provided with the 38th overall pick in 2001 because Mike Hampton chose to sign with the Colorado Rockies. We can thank the Denver school system for our Captain, David Wright.

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More recently, it was the decision to move on from Daniel Murphy which helped give the Mets the 31st overall selection back in 2016. It hurt to see the Mets move on from Murphy after his historic October. When we watched him become an MVP candidate with the Washington Nationals, the pain grew even larger.

Well, it’s 2019 now and Kay is dominating the minor leagues. Players from the 2016 MLB Draft are finally starting to make their mark in the big leagues with Nick Senzel as the most notable player from the first-round currently hoping to win a starting job. Although it may feel like centuries since Murphy last played for the Mets, the compensatory pick they received for letting him walk is right on schedule to make his glorious MLB debut.

Thus far, the 2016 MLB Draft looks like it may go down as a productive one for this ball club. In round two, they took Pete Alonso. We can also look at their other first-round pick from 2016, Justin Dunn, as a key part to acquiring closer Edwin Diaz.

Kay is far from achieving what Murphy did in his big league career. However, things are looking up. With the potential loss of Zack Wheeler to free agency this offseason, the Mets may have the next great young arm primed and ready to perform.

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So, every time you see a new story about Kay dominating in the minor leagues, remember it was all made possible because of Murphy leaving this squad. With any luck, the cycle repeats and we get a historic postseason out of him with a happier ending.