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

On July 9, the New York Mets, along with the rest of the league's 29 teams, will be holding the 2023 draft. In this edition, the level of depth among the candidates offers several potential impact players in MLB.

The Mets will not take their first pick until Competitive Balance Round A, with number 32 overall dropping ten spots because they exceeded the competitive balance tax threshold by more than $40 million. Regardless of this, the team could have an impact player in this pick, and this time we describe which of them best fits, which the team would like to be able to draft, and who they will end up selecting.

One player the Mets won't get in the first round: Yohandy Morales

The best approach in each draft is to select the best available talent at each pick, regardless of the organization's current need. The product of the University of Miami, third baseman Yohandy Morales meets these conditions for a pick around position 30.

Morales has an intriguing profile. He's an athletic hitter with good bat speed and aggression at the plate who has scouts raving about his ability to drive the ball hard on every contact.

The young man of Cuban descent has a power level of 60 on the 20/80 scale, indicating he is a hitter with above-average power potential in MLB. Despite these qualities, due to his high tendency to chase pitches and his propensity to hit ground balls, scouts do not view him as a top-20 player.

Despite this, Morales can stay at third base because of his arm, which makes him an important target. The Mets would be delighted to land Morales at pick 32, but with his raw power, Yohandy Morales will be selected earlier in the draft.

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.