3 best Mets decisions during the 2023 MLB Draft

The Mets went heavy on pitchers with the ability to move quickly through the minor league system

Fans were concerned that the Mets didn't draft pitching with the first pick with potential stars like Charlee Soto and Josh Knott available. However, starting with their second pick, the Mets went heavy on pitchers with potential.

With their second pick, the Mets selected Brandon Sproat, a familiar face to the organization, selected in the 2022 draft in the third round, but the team failed to sign. Sproat possesses one of the most consistent fastballs in the draft traveling between 96-98 mph and reaching 101.

Including Sproat and Nolan McLean (two-way player), the Mets selected 16 pitchers out of the total 23 picks in the draft. Of all these, only one pitcher was from high school, while the remaining 15 were already in their senior year of college, which guarantees the necessary maturity to travel quickly through the minors of the organization.

The Mets prioritized pitchers with high swing and miss potential and good command of their pitches, among which Wyatt Hudepohl and Jack Wenninger stand out, or like late-round picks, John Valle, who has a high spin fastball. The organization prioritized pitchers with great potential who, together with Eric Jagers, director of pitching development, can start testing the pitching lab created by Steve Cohen.

The Mets did the job correctly, boosting their first pick and managing to maximize pitching depth in the organization—something that was a major need. From these talents, we will be able to see how their development will be remarkable and accelerated within the system, being able to become major league-level starters and relievers, something that the Mets have not been able to develop in recent years.

The Mets selected who could be one of the next two-way players of relevance in the MLB

In their first third-round pick, the Mets selected starting pitcher and outfielder Nolan McLean from Oklahoma State with the No. 91 overall pick. McLean is a six-foot-four, 214-pounder athletic player.

McLean enters the draft as one of the players with the highest ceiling and floor gap. At his best, this two-way player manages to push his fastball up to 98 mph with command of his breaking ball, curveball, slider, and changeup.

Likewise, McLean presents an aggressive bat speed that generates massive raw power and elite exit velocity to all fields. This incredible power has been awarded a grade of 60 on the 20/80 evaluation scale.

Scouts and pro teams see Nolan McLean as a pitcher with the potential of a mid-rotation starter or high-power closer in MLB. However, this player's preference is to be a full-time hitter, indicating that the middle ground between both demands would be to continue testing as a two-way player.

As well as having great potential, McLean has the weakness on the mound of not being polished as a pitcher, which could indicate that being a starter could be difficult. Likewise, as a hitter, despite his incredible power, this young man's plate discipline isn't ideal, generating too much swing and miss with a 44% strikeout percentage, which could be worrisome.

Scouts argue that with the right guidance, McLean could be a starting two-way player in MLB, who could manage to be an established starter or elite reliever, while hitting more than 40 home runs per season. The Mets achieved an excellent pick, which with the new player development of the organization could finish developing a future star in MLB.