FanSided’s MLB mock draft has the NY Mets taking another two-way player

New York Mets fans aren’t glued to the MLB Draft like they may be for some of the other sports in the Big Apple. Whichever NFL, NHL, or NBA team you happen to root for in New York has been involved in some of the top picks in recent years. The MLB Draft is much different and with the way it is set up to punish big spenders, the Mets are often dropping 10 spots from where they should be.

In July, the Mets will pick 27th. FanSided put together an early mock draft and the choice has them repeating a theme from the last few seasons by taking a two-way player. This one is a bit more unique. Jared Grindlinger is a high school prospect the Mets would try to tempt with to skip university and go straight to the pros.

The Mets are following a familiar pattern if they end up with Jared Grindlinger

Eventually we’ll find another two-way player in Major League Baseball not named Shohei Ohtani and have some sort of success. Many of those players eventually choose one or the other, Michael Lorenzen opting to focus on pitching as one example.

The Mets drafted Nolan McLean and gave him a chance to start as a two-way player. After struggles hitting in Double-A, he dropped the bat and took off as one of the league’s best young arms. They didn’t even mess around with Carson Benge. He stuck as an outfielder and won’t pitch a game until maybe he’s a little further into his career and the Mets are trailing 18-1 in the ninth.

Grindlinger is a 17-year-old pitcher/outfielder who swings and throws left-handed. He reclassified earlier this year to enter the 2026 draft when, at the time, he was only 16. He is believed to be very much a “legitimate” two-way player with pitching being the bigger strength at the moment.

MLB Pipeline has Grindlinger ranked as the 49th best prospect in this year’s draft, well behind where the Mets will get their first chance to add to the system. The risk with drafting him is that Grindlinger could always not sign and head off to become a Tennessee Volunteer and re-enter the draft in a future year. The Mets would gain a pick the following year, likely the 28th overall pick barring any changes in the CBA, and go from there. 

Last year, the Mets may have reached for Mitch Voit. MLB Pipeline had him ranked 63rd. The Mets took him 38th. In 2024, they took Carson Benge 19th overall. MLB Pipeline had him 18th.

Just because players are ranked in one place hardly means they’ll develop in the way scouts believe. In 2023, Colin Houck was the 12th best prospect by MLB Pipeline. The Mets took him with the 32nd pick. He didn’t end up as the steal they had hoped, hitting only .219 since getting drafted.

Grindlinger coming to the Mets organization follows the theme McLean and Benge brought to the system. MLB.com has him going 11th to the Washington Nationals. For the Mets, outfielder Aiden Robbins of Yardley, Pennsylvania and formerly from Seton Hall and now a Texas Longhorn is their pick. If the MLB Draft stays consistent, someone on nobody's list gets picked.

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