Mets Draft: 1 player they won't get, 1 they will pass on, 1 they will select

One player the Mets should select but won't: Travis Sykora

Travis Sykora is a high school pitcher from Texas. Despite being of considerable size at 6/6 tall and 2020 pounds, the 19-year-old still has room to gain body strength.

Sykora has the fastest fastball in his class, which travel between 95-98 mph and hit 100 mph consistently. His fastball, combined with a good splitter and above-average slider, allowed him to be the most dominant pitcher at both, the PDP League and the Area Code Games, according to the MLB pipeline.

His secondary pitches are efficient even though his slider doesn't have enough spin rate. The complementary plus is his splitter, which works as a change-up, that combined with his powerful fastball could be a devastating arsenal for his opponents.

Sykora's progression since 2019 has been massive, gaining 20 mph on his fastball. His delivery is compact and slow, but he picks up speed with little effort, which is a significant factor.

The factors against Sykora that teams will reserve in this draft are his advanced age for a high school pitcher and his commitment to the University of Texas. This last reason will represent a fear of the Mets for drafting another pitcher who does not want to go to MLB, even as the most recent case of Brandon Sproat last season.

Due to his age and potential, the Mets should select Travis Sykora as their first pick, as he would advance quickly in the minor league circuit due to his maturity at the plate and would come to strengthen a weak area in the organization. Unfortunately, the Mets will be more cautious in the way they will use this pick, migrating to another safer player.