3 Rule 5 draft eligible pitchers the NY Mets should keep an eye on

The Rule 5 draft is just around the corner. The event is scheduled to take place on December 11th during the Winter Meetings. Minor leaguers who signed at 18 or younger with five or more years of service time or players signed at 19 or older with four or more years of service time are eligible for selection. Once a player is selected, they must stay on their new team’s active roster for the entire season (barring injury) or be offered back to their original team.

Only teams with room on their 40-man roster are allowed to select players. The New York Mets only have 31 players on their 40-man, which gives them the opportunity to take a player in this year’s Rule 5 draft. So, let’s look at a few names that should be on the Mets’ radar if they opt to take someone.

1) Carlos Duran

The Los Angeles Dodgers left Carlos Duran off their 40-man roster despite having a promising season at Double-A and the potential to be a high-upside reliever. The right-hander missed all of the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery, but he returned strong and put up some excellent numbers in the upper levels of the minor leagues this year.

Duran opened the year at A-Ball and struggled, albeit in only 13.2 innings. He was then sent back to Double-A, where he pitched to a 3.05 ERA, 3.72 FIP, and 1.59 WHIP across 38.1 innings of work. His WHIP was poor, but some of that can be chalked up to a batting average on balls in play of nearly .400. Duran carried a robust 27.3% strikeout rate and 0.70 HR/9 ratio. His 10.2% walk rate was his worst peripheral number, but it was roughly league average for the Texas League. Duran was eventually promoted to Triple-A but struggled in his debut.

Duran is an intimidating presence on the mound. He is listed at 6’7” and 230 pounds. His slider is considered a double-plus offering, sitting in the mid/upper-80 MPH range with a ton of spin. Baseball America even went so far as to say it “may be the best individual pitch in the Dodgers’ system” in their write up on Duran last year. His second-best offering is a mid-90s sinker with great running action. It’s a second pitch with plus potential.

Duran will also mix in a four-seamer, curveball, and change-up. But his slider and sinker are far and away his best offerings. Duran has long arm action in his motion, which can impede his command. But he kept his walk rate to a manageable level last year at Tulsa. Duran would be a great high-upside pick for the Mets, as he has the potential to be a late-inning arm.