new york mets 2021 draft recap
Courtesy Twitter: @PSLToFlushing

The New York Mets further added potential future pieces to the big league club during the Monday portion of the draft.

The 2021 MLB Draft continues after the Mets drafted two right-handers to commence the annual event.

At No. 10 overall, the organization executed a steal with the selection of stud Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker before taking Calvin Ziegler out of TNXL Academy (FL) at No. 46 overall.

How did the team fare from Rounds 3-10?

Round 3, Pick 81: Dallas Baptist RHP Dominic Hamel

From MLB Pipeline:

AGE: 22
BATS: R
DOB: 03/02/1999
THROWS: R
HEIGHT: 6-foot-2
WEIGHT: 206

After going undrafted for four straight years at an Arizona high school, Yavapai (Ariz.) JC and his first season at Dallas Baptist, Hamel should go somewhere in the third- to fifth-round range in 2021. That might have happened a year ago if not for the shortened season, as teams didn’t have enough time to figure him out. In his lone full season with the Patriots, he finished second in NCAA Division I with 13 victories and set a school record with 136 strikeouts in 91 2/3 innings. 

Hamel is a darling of teams that favor analytics because his fastball, slider and curveball all have high spin rates. He works at 91-94 mph and reaches 96 with riding life up in the zone with his heater, which he likes to bust inside on hitters. His breaking balls can blend together at times but they play well off his fastball, with his low-80s slider featuring late bite and his mid-70s curveball showing downer action at their best. 

Hamel exhibits feel for changing speeds and shape with his breaking pitches, and he also has some aptitude for using a low-80s changeup with some sink. Scouts who have seen him the last two years think he’s doing a better job of pitching under control and locating his pitches this spring. He has a ceiling of a No. 4 starter and also could be a useful multi-inning reliever at the next level.

Round 4, Pick 111: UCLA 1B JT Schwartz

From MLB Pipeline:

AGE: 21
BATS: L
DOB: 12/17/1999
THROWS: R
HEIGHT: 6-foot-4
WEIGHT: 215

A solid high school prospect from Corona del Mar High School in California, Schwartz wasn’t drafted in 2018 largely because of his strong commitment to UCLA. After redshirting his freshman year because he wasn’t going to break into a talent-laden Bruins lineup, he became the team’s first baseman in the shortened 2020 season. He’s continued to hit in his redshirt sophomore season, though his profile is a bit tough to figure out.

A big 6-foot-4, left-handed hitter, Schwartz has hit pretty much wherever he’s been, whether it’s been high school, the West Coast League the summer before he entered college, the Northwoods League the summer of 2019 or in his time at UCLA. He has an advanced approach at the plate with a knack for contact and getting on base. He looks like he should be able to hit for average, but how much power he’ll have remains to be seen. There’s been more extra-base authority in 2021, but the over-the-fence pop is still more raw and projectable, with some worried hip issues he had in 2020 might limit his output.

Being able to get to that power is important because while he played multiple positions in the Northwoods League, he’s a first baseman only at the next level. With that limitation comes pressure to be a run producer and power source, though teams definitely were taking note of his increased production this spring as the Bruins’ cleanup hitter.

Round 5, Pick 142: Florida RHP Christian Scott

From MLB Pipeline:

AGE: 22
BATS: R
DOB: 06/15/1999
THROWS: R
HEIGHT: 6-foot-4
WEIGHT: 215

Calvary Christian High School in Fort Lauderdale has a pair of top Draft prospect arms this year in Andrew Painter, a first-round talent, and Irving Carter. Three years ago, Scott was a bit of an off-the-radar pitcher there, with a University of Florida commitment. He went undrafted and has spent three years pitching effectively, largely out of the bullpen, for the Gators.

A 6-foot-4 right-hander, Scott had a lot of success in 2021 leaning mostly on his fastball and slider. He’s touched 98 mph with his heater and is regularly up to 95 mph, rarely thrown straight. He throws his mid-80s slider almost as much as his fastball and he does miss a fair amount of bats with it and is most successful when he stays down in the zone. He had a curve and changeup when he first arrived on campus and while he does mix in the occasional offspeed offering, he’s largely shelved them.

Scott threw a ton of strikes in 2021, though he’s more control over command with a head whack and some effort in his delivery limiting him somewhat. He’s limited to a bullpen role, but he’s shown his stuff should be effective with a similar gig at the next level.

Round 6, Pick 172: Kansas State RHP Carson Seymour

From MLB Pipeline:

AGE: 22
BATS: R
DOB: 12/16/1998
THROWS: R
HEIGHT: 6-foot-6
WEIGHT: 260

Kansas State has produced just one top-100 pick in Draft history, second-rounder Jack Woolsey back in 1969, but Seymour has the upside to become the second. His wildness limited him to 7 1/3 innings as a Dartmouth freshman in 2018, but he won pitcher of the year honors in the Hamptons League that summer and joined the Wildcats. Transfer rules dictated he sit out the 2019 season, though he intrigued scouts by reaching 96 mph in the Cape Cod League and touching 99 during fall practice.

Seymour’s physical 6-foot-5 frame produces fastballs that sit at 92-95 when he starts and park at 95-97 in shorter stints, and he uses his size to create downhill plane. He showed the ability to spin a downer curveball on the Cape, though it regressed when he added a mid-80s slider during the fall. His changeup is still a work in progress.

While there’s some effort in Seymour’s delivery, he repeats his simple mechanics fairly well, so he should be able to provide more consistent strikes than he has. If the redshirt sophomore can improve his ability to locate his pitches, he could profile as a starter. He didn’t make any progress and his stuff dropped off after a couple of innings during the brief 2020 season, so he may wind up as a reliever.

Round 7, Pick 202: UCLA SS Kevin Kendall

Round 8, Pick 232: Virginia RHP Mike Vasil

From MLB Pipeline:

AGE: 21
BATS: L
DOB: 03/19/2000
THROWS: R
HEIGHT: 6-foot-5
WEIGHT: 225

At the start of the spring of 2018, Vasil had jumped into first-round conversations as a Boston-area high school pitcher with a ton of upside and projection. An arm issue had slowed him, then he informed teams he didn’t want to be drafted so he could head to the University of Virginia. After a rough freshman year, Vasil has been a beacon of consistency in Virginia’s rotation, serving as the Saturday starter in 2021.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander hasn’t exactly developed into the frontline starter teams envisioned, but does have the kind of repertoire and feel for pitching that points to a future in a big league rotation. He’ll throw his fastball in the 90-95 mph range, touching the upper ranges early in the game, but mostly settling in around 91-92 mph. He’ll throw both a curve and slider, and while some scouts have seen flashes of a plus breaking ball, he typically shows an average ability to spin it. His changeup is probably his best secondary offering, one that is above-average and can serve as an out pitch at times.

While Vasil hasn’t become the Roger Clemens-redux type pitcher some envisioned, he’s greatly improved his strike-throwing ability this year and now looks like a guy with at least three pitches who knows how to use all of them and command them well. That might mean a limited ceiling as a No. 4 or 5 starter, but a team taking him knows what it’s getting.

Round 9, Pick 262: Northwestern State (LA) RHP Levi David

From MLB Pipeline:

AGE: 22
BATS: R
DOB: 06/14/1999
THROWS: R
HEIGHT: 6-foot-5
WEIGHT: 220

A Texas state high school swimming champion in the 50-meter freestyle, David began his college career at McLennan (Texas) CC but pitched just 18 1/3 innings as a freshman and redshirted in 2019 because he struggled to throw strikes. His velocity has picked up since he transferred to Northwestern State and while he still battles the strike zone, he has one of the best curveballs in the 2021 Draft. He had a 72 percent swing-and-miss rate on his breaking ball and hitters went just 5-for-98 with 80 strikeouts against it, the main reason he ranked third in NCAA Division I in whiff rate (15.3 per nine innings). 

David’s curveball can be a plus-plus hammer at its best, sitting at 83-85 mph and reaching 87 with tremendous depth, and he has doubled its usage to nearly 40 percent this spring. When he doesn’t stay on top of his breaker, it plays like a mid-80s slider that’s just as unhittable. He also can run his fastball up to 99 mph and uses his 6-foot-5 frame to create downhill plane to compensate for a lack of life, though he often dials it back to 92-95 in order to try to throw strikes. 

David barely uses a changeup and has averaged nearly a walk per inning in college, so he almost certainly will be a reliever in the long run. He pitches without a windup but still struggles to repeat his delivery, which features some effort. He’s strong and athletic and scouts praise his competitiveness and intelligence, which helped him graduate in May with a business administration degree and a 4.0 grade-point average. 

Round 10, Pick 292: Clemson LHP Keyshawn Askew 

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Ryan Honey
Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.

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