It’s a no-brainer, but actually signing your first-round draft picks would be a great first step for the Mets.
We’ve discussed this at length, but the Mets do not have much to show in the last several drafts. After having no first-round pick in 2015, the Mets drafted #16 (for compensation) and #31 (for being World Series runner-up) in 2016. With those picks, they drafted RHP Justin Dunn, who is with Seattle, and LHP Anthony Kay, who is with Toronto.
In 2017, the Mets took LHP David Peterson, who showed us he can compete at baseball’s highest level during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Hopefully he can rebound nicely in 2021 after struggling then going out with injury. In 2018, they took OF Jarred Kelenic with the sixth overall pick. Then they traded him to Seattle for Edwin Díaz, which hasn’t panned out so far.
The Mets took 3B Brett Baty with the twelfth pick in 2019. He’s joining the Arizona Fall League this year and will hopefully make an impact with the MLB team next season. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong was the Mets’ fifth-ranked prospect (taken in 2020) entering this last season. Then they traded him to the Chicago Cubs for Javier Báez.
RHP Kumar Rocker was taken with the tenth overall pick this past July. The Mets failed to sign him. It’s the second time in franchise history that they failed to sign a first-round draft pick.
It’s hard to believe the Mets had a great reason not to sign him. Only two of their last seven first-round picks remain in the organization. It’s the reason they rank so low.