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5 biggest draft busts in Mets history

By Tim Boyle |
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The New York Mets have nailed some draft picks. Dwight Gooden. Darryl Strawberry. They’ve also stolen some gems. Jacob deGrom. Jeff McNeil. There are plenty of success stories.

Like any other team, the Mets have had their share of misses as well.

In the first round of the MLB Draft, these five stand out at the biggest busts the Mets have ever selected.

5) Biggest NY Mets first-round draft bust: Terry Blocker

The fourth-overall pick from the 1981 MLB Draft went to the Mets. Their pick was a center fielder named Terry Blocker. He’d play only 18 games for the Mets. While this didn’t define his entire major league career, Blocker was nothing spectacular beyond his days in New York.

Blocker ended up traded to the Atlanta Braves after the 1987 season for one of the many players who’ve worn a big league uniform named Kevin Brown. Blocker would spend parts of two years with the Braves and was done in the majors by the end of the 1989 campaign.

His MLB career would end up including only 110 games, 258 plate appearances, and an awful .205/.242/.266 slash line. Only 1 of his 50 hits came as a member of the Mets. During his brief time with the club in 1985, Blocker was just 1 for 15.

For some context, there were some pretty good draft picks surrounding Blocker. Mike Moore, Joe Carter, and Dick Schofield were all taken before him. Also within the top ten were future Mets Kevin McReynolds and Ron Darling.

Instead, the Mets ended up with a forgotten amateur bust.

4) Biggest NY Mets first-round draft bust: Randy Sterling

Years before the Mets went bust with Blocker, they wasted their 1969 fourth overall selection on a pitcher named Randy Sterling. The high schooler would appear in 3 games for the 1974 team. That was it for his entire MLB career.

Sterling had several decent years on the farm with the Mets yet his career came to an end after the 1975 season where he spent all year in Triple-A. Sterling was viewed as an up-and-coming future star for the Mets from the time he was drafted. From a few places I read when doing some research on him, fans who were around when he was drafted still view him as a “forever future Mets star.”

The first-round of the 1969 draft wasn’t flush with talent at the top. After Jeff Burroughs and J.R. Richard at number one and two, you won’t find too many memorable names.

3) Biggest NY Mets first-round draft bust: Les Rohr

Scouting wasn’t a strength of the Mets early on. It does seem like they had plenty of misses early on. One of their biggest was the second-overall pick from the 1965 draft. Pitcher Les Rohr, a man born in the United Kingdom and drafted out of Montana, was the pick.

Rohr’s bust status is a little different. He did appear in parts of three seasons with the team from 1967-1969. By playing in just one game and allowing 3 earned runs in 1.1 innings of work, he’s one of the strangest players in Mets history to earn a World Series ring.

His place in the 1965 draft was an unfortunate one for the Mets. The only player ahead of him was Rick Monday, a successful MLB player who accumulated a 33.1 WAR in his career. Behind was Joe Coleman and his 23.2 WAR. Rohr was the meat between them with a -0.3 WAR and only 6 MLB games.

2) Biggest NY Mets first-round draft bust: Shawn Abner

There is a difference between getting picked first and second overall in the draft. In 1984, the Mets had their pick at the top of the draft. They went with outfielder Shawn Abner. He’d never play a single game for the Mets. With three other clubs, Abner would appear in 254 games and bat .227/.269/.323.

Abner ended up as one of the players the Mets traded away in the deal for Kevin McReynolds. Also included was yet another guy named Kevin Brown—this one never made it to the majors.

Abner was one of the biggest busts of the 1980s. Life after baseball hasn't been any better with an arrest for animal cruelty. Later in the first-round of the draft we find quality players such as Bill Swift, Jay Bell, and Mark McGwire. Imagine Big Mac on the Mets roster replacing Keith Hernandez.

1) Biggest NY Mets first-round draft bust: Steven Chilcott

I’ve seen his name listed both ways. Steve Chilcott or Steven Chilcott. Whichever one he prefers, the first overall pick from the 1966 MLB Draft is the biggest bust the Mets have ever selected.

Chilcott stands out from these others because of his failure to even reach the majors. More painful, the second pick in the draft was Reggie Jackson. Mets fans would’ve even settled for Ken Brett, Gary Nolan, or Richie Hebner who were taken after.

For Chilcott, it was a shoulder injury in the minors which completely derailed his path toward stardom. It’s the one thing no amount of talent can cure. It will be hard for the Mets to ever have a worse draft pick.

Next. 3 best prospects the Mets traded away in deals they still won. dark

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