Pitchers dominate Mets' draft

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06/05/2002 5:41 pm ET

Pitchers dominate Mets' draft

By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com




	Scott Kazmir (left) chatted with Houston's Billy Wagner (right) about life as a Major League pitcher. (Alyson Footer/MLB.com)

NEW YORK -- The Mets, like most clubs, didn't draft any players who would have an immediate impact. They did, however, score what many pundits believe to be the coup of the draft by choosing Texas high school phenom Scott Kazmir.

The fire-balling southpaw won't be ready for the Major Leagues until 2004 at the earliest but has been likened to Florida's Josh Beckett in terms of his unlimited potential. He was the premier hurler in what was yet another pitching-heavy draft for the Mets. Of the 48 New York selections, 23 were pitchers.

One hurler who bears watching from Day 2 is Florida high schooler Chris Munn, who has been likened to Pittsburgh Kris Benson.

JUNE 4-5 | NEW YORK CITY
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FULL COVERAGE:
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• Drafttracker
• Complete Draft coverage

"I think we did real well," director of amateur scouting Jack Bowen said. "We got a nice blend of position players and pitchers and of high school and college players.

"We got nice bats in [Robert] Malek and Jon Slack. We feel Slack can end up in center field with his speed. And we know Malek has an elbow injury but we don't think that will hamper him at all. Now we just want to try and sign these guys as quickly as we can because it will be to their benefit to get them out to their respective teams as quickly as possible."


METS 2002 DRAFT PICKS
15	SCOTT E KAZMIR	LHP	CYPRESS FALLS HS
117	ROBERT J MALEK	CF	MICHIGAN ST U
147	JONATHAN H SLACK	CF	TEXAS TECH U
177	ADAM R ELLIOT	RHP	CLAYTON VALLEY SCHOOL
207	JAMES J ANDERSON	C	U CALIFORNIA
237	TYLER S DAVIDSON	RF	U WASHINGTON
267	CHRISTIAN B COLONEL	SS	COL SOUTHERN IDAHO
297	MATTHEW R LINDSTROM	RHP	RICKS COL
327	KELVIN A GARAY	LHP	COLEGIO SANTA CRUZ
357	SHAWN D BOWMAN	3B	DR CHARLES BEST SS
387	BLAKE J WHEALY	SS	U EVANSVILLE
417	JEFFREY A BREWER	RHP	U BRITISH COLUMBIA
447	ELVYS S QUEZADA	RHP	SETON HALL U
477	ZACHARY A CLEMENTS	C	CHRISTIAN BROTHERS U
507	LARON C WILSON	LF	LONGWOOD COL
537	IVAN MALDONADO	RHP	INDIAN HILLS CC
567	BRYAN R KING	RHP	MESA ST COL
597	WILLIAM H HUDSON	SS	OREGON STATE U
627	BRENDAN K WINN	CF	BREVARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
657	TIMOTHY P MCNAB	RHP	FLORIDA ATLANTIC U
687	RASHAD S PARKER	CF	U CALIFORNIA
717	ROBERT B PAULK	RHP	NORTH FLORIDA JC
747	NATHAN D KISER	1B	LEBANON HS
777	KYLE A CULLINAN	3B	FULLERTON JC
807	RICHARD J STEIK	RHP	JOHN F KENNEDY HS
837	CHRISTOPHER L MUNN	RHP	SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS HS
867	TIMOTHY J DIDJURGIS	RHP	PIMA CC
897	CHRISTOPHER J ROBINSON	C	LORD DORCHESTER SS
927	MARCOS M CABRAL	SS 2B	SOUTHWEST MIAMI HS
957	TODD A DULANEY	2B	WABASH VALLEY COL
987	TIMOTHY W JONES	CF	MORRISTOWN HS
1017	CHASE LAMBIN	SS	U LOUISIANA
1047	JOHN H FINDLEY	RHP	NETTLETON HS
1077	JOSEPH R HUSKINS	C	FOUNTAIN VALLEY HS
1107	WILLIAM R WEITZMAN	RHP	BRIARCLIFFE COL
1137	DEREK E ANTELO	RHP	BROWARD JC
1167	DEWAYNE L CARVER	RHP	DAYTONA BEACH CC
1197	JONATHAN MALO	SS	MONTMORENCY COL
1227	STEVEN A ROMERO	RHP	SOUTH HILLS HS
1257	RYAN M DIPIETRO	LHP CF	BERLIN HS
1286	JEREMY B BROWN	CF	SYLVAN HILLS HS
1314	IAN M BLADERGROEN	1B	LAMAR CC
1341	BRIAN O RABBITT	RHP	BROOKDALE CC
1368	DOUGLAS K FINK	RHP	SOUTHINGTON HS
1394	MICHAEL T ROBERSON	RHP	U MIAMI
1420	ALFRED B PROFEET	C	DELAWARE TECH & CC
1446	ESTEBAN LOPEZ	C	CHANDLER HS
1470	JACK R SPRADLIN	LHP	EASTLAKE HS