When is the first Mets draft pick in 2023?

The MLB Draft will begin on July 9 and last through for three days. A year after having two first-round draft picks, the New York Mets will have to hang around for a little while longer for their first one.

Because the Mets exceeded the luxury tax threshold by more than $40 million, their draft positioning fell 10 spots to 32nd. This will be in what’s considered the Competitive Balance Round A. A part of this round is meant to help the smaller market or smaller revenue teams. Then there are teams like the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers who are being penalized for spending money on players.

The first pick for the NY Mets in the 2023 MLB Draft comes in at the number 32 spot

Picking 32nd may not sound ideal except for the fact that we don’t have to look very far to find talent there in MLB history. Aaron Judge was taken with the 32nd overall pick back in 2013 by the New York Yankees. Imagine snagging a player like him this summer.

Oddly enough, the second-highest WAR in MLB history among those drafted with the 32nd overall pick was a guy the Mets took. Dave Magadan was the fourth player taken in the second round back in 1983. His 21.1 WAR in the big leagues is only behind Judge.

Plenty of other quality players have been selected here. Jake Odorizzi, Will Smith (catcher), Jose Berrios, and Ke’Bryan Hayes are some of the better and active players taken in this spot. The Mets would be fortunate to land anyone of their caliber. Even another Magadan wouldn’t be so bad.

The MLB Draft is often referred to as a crapshoot for how impossible it is to predict or scout players. The 32nd spot in the draft isn’t a buried position and for it to not have a single Hall of Famer right now is a little disappointing.

Well, there is Judge one day. And whoever the Mets take this year. We can cross our fingers and hope they get a good one.