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Debating who the best first-round picks in New York Mets draft history is a worthwhile argument. It depends on several things set by some agreed upon criteria. Are we talking about purely how they did with the Mets? Is there added math for which spot in the draft they were taken?
If the barstool argument is simply about career WAR, there’s little to debate. The number is definitive and seems to well-represent who the five best first-round picks in Mets history happen to be.
Top five Mets first-round draft picks ranked by career WAR
5) Brandon Nimmo - 26.1 WAR (entering the 2026 season)
A WAR that’ll continue to grow as long as his career doesn’t totally tank, Brandon Nimmo was the 13th overall pick in 2011 by the Mets. His 26.1+ WAR with the Mets is high enough above the next place guy, Scott Kazmir at 22.3 WAR, to ever get removed from the list. He has a long way to go to catch the next guy.
4) Jon Matlack - 39.4 WAR
Jon Matlack might be one of the more underappreciated pitchers in Mets history. Always behind Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, his 39.4 WAR is the fourth-best among Mets first-round picks. He was the fourth overall pick in the 1967 draft. Five years later, he was the 1972 Rookie of the Year.
3) Darryl Strawberry - 42.2 WAR
Not too far ahead of Matlack is one of the all-time Mets greats, Darryl Strawberry. His 42.2 WAR didn’t quite reach the pinnacle of where some believed. He was the first overall selection in 1980. He was a star in the 1980s, but the off-the-field issues robbed him of an even greater career.
2) David Wright - 49.1 WAR
All 49.1 WAR from David Wright came with the Mets. A supplemental round pick in 2001, coming as the 38th overall selection, he’s a bit further down in terms of where he was drafted and yet right there among the best picks the Mets ever made. The story is well-documented as to how the Mets even had their chance. Mike Hampton leaving in free agency for the Colorado Rockies handed New York the draft pick.
1) Dwight Gooden - 53 WAR
Dwight Gooden suffered from a lot of the same outside distractions as Strawberry. The fifth overall pick in 1982 mustered an even 53 WAR in his career beginning with a good decade’s worth of dominance with the Mets.
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