Drafting Jarred Kelenic was still the right move by the NY Mets in 2018

Revisiting the 2018 MLB Draft, and seeing Jarred Kelenic taken sixth overall by the New York Mets, one can wonder if things went differently on selection day. Used in the trade for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz which was highly debated but later became a Mets win, we can ponder the other path which would have had Kelenic or another amateur coming to New York. Was there anyone taken immediately after who could have altered the franchise?

As the sixth overall selection, Kelenic has the distinction of being the second-highest draft pick since 2000 by the Mets with only Phillip Humber in 2004 as the third overall selection topping him.

The first round of the 2018 MLB Draft wasn’t loaded with a whole lot of incredible first round talents. In fact, if we look at those taken immediately after Kelenic, we see little doubt the best Mets history probably had them going the way they did.

Who else could the Mets have drafted instead of Jarred Kelenic?

Immediately after Kelenic was pitcher Ryan Weathers. Still rising up as a credible big league pitcher, he doesn’t move the needle enough and, as he was, possibly been used in a trade anyway.

Things get fascinating after Weathers. Carter Stewart was taken next by the Atlanta Braves. Stewart didn’t sign with Atlanta due to a low-ball offer on a signing bonus. He has been pitching in Japan for several years.

The Braves were rewarded with a pick the following year which was used on Shea Langeliers. Are we so certain the Mets, if the same outcome surfaced with Stewart, would have taken Langeliers in the 2019 draft?

The funny doesn’t stop there. Kyler Murray was the ninth overall pick in this draft. He did sign with the Oakland Athletics. Choosing NFL over MLB, there was no compensation.

The next few picks don’t get any better. Travis Swaggerty, Grayson Rodriguez, Jordan Groshans, and more help round out some of the earlier selections after Kelenic. Logan Gilbert, Brice Turang, and Nico Hoerner were taken 14th or later and to rewrite history to suggest the Mets would have been wise enough to draft any is unfair or at least unrealistic.

Second-guessing draft picks years later is easy for fans. In this case, the fallout of acquiring Diaz in exchange for Kelenic was, no doubt, the best outcome.

Several of the 2018 draft picks were used in trades by the Mets to try and win a championship. Second-rounder Simeon Woods-Richardson went to the Toronto Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman. Fourth-rounder Adam Hill went to the Milwaukee Brewers for Keon Broxton. Seventh-rounder Kevin Smith went to the Baltimore Orioles for Miguel Castro in the successful yet often forgotten trade for Miguel Castro.

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