NewsDrafting pitching is Mets' final-day priority
Organization selects 11 moundsmen in last 20 picks
By Tim Britton / MLB.com
06/11/09 6:43 PM ET
NEW YORK -- The Mets loaded up on pitching on Day 3 of the First-Year Player Draft, hoping to add depth to their Minor League system.
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1 WAS: S. Strasburg
2 SEA: D. Ackley
3 SD: D. Tate
4 PIT: J. Sanchez
5 BAL: M. Hobgood
6 SF: Z. Wheeler
7 ATL: M. Minor
8 CIN: M. Leake
9 DET: J. Turner
10 WAS: D. Storen
11 COL: T. Matzek
12 KC: A. Crow
13 OAK: G. Green
14 TEX: M. Purke
15 CLE: A. White
16 ARI: R. Borchering
17 ARI: A. Pollock
18 FLA: C. James
19 STL: S. Miller
20 TOR: S. Jenkins
21 HOU: J. Mier
22 MIN: K. Gibson
23 CWS: J. Mitchell
24 LAA: R. Grichuk
25 LAA: M Trout
26 MIL: E. Arnett
27 SEA: N. Franklin
28 BOS: R. Fuentes
29 NYY: S. Heathcott
30 TB: L. Washington
31 CHC: B. Jackson
32 COL: T. Wheeler
36 LAD: A. Miller
72 NYM: S. Matz
75 PHI: K. Dugan
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Eleven of the Mets' 20 selections on the Draft's last day were pitchers. The first six pitchers the team chose on Thursday are coming out of college, and the last five were all high school products.
The Mets grabbed LaSalle junior left-hander Thomas Chism in the 32nd round. Chism has had an up-and-down career as a pitcher for the Explorers. Following a tremendous freshman season as a reliever, he pitched only eight innings as a sophomore, serving primarily as LaSalle's first baseman and cleanup hitter. He appeared in 10 games as a junior this past season, putting together a 1-3 record with a 7.80 ERA, striking out 34 in 30 innings.
Chism is joined by fellow lefties Lance Hoge from Kansas State, Brandon Sage from South Alabama, James Wooster from Alvin Community College in Texas and Joseph Mantiply from Tunstall High School in Virginia.
The Mets also selected right-handed pitchers in Wesley Wrenn of The Citadel, Anthony Whitenton of Darton College, Jacob Johansen from Allen High School in Texas, John Pilkington out of Oxford High School in Alabama, Joshua Easley from Weatherford High School in Texas and Zachary Godley out of Bamberg Ehrhardt High School in South Carolina.
Rudy Terrasas, the Mets' director of amateur scouting, said the team did not have a strong preference between high school and college talent, simply opting for the best players available.
Mets -- Top five selections | |||
Pick | POS | Name | School |
| 72 | LHP | Steven Matz | Ward Melville HS |
| 103 | SS | Robert Shields | Florida Southern Col |
| 134 | CF | Darrell Ceciliani | Columbia Basin CC |
| 164 | RHP | Damien Magnifico | North Mesquite HS |
| 194 | RHP | David Buchanan | Chipola JC |
| Complete Mets Draft results > | |||
On Day 3, those best players available tended to be from traditional baseball hotbeds in the South. After selecting a Long Island product in the first round, Steven Matz of Ward Melville High School, the Mets took four players from Texas, three from Florida and two out of Arizona.
The Mets' first pick of Day 3 was right fielder Mitchell Haniger out of Archibishop Mitty High School in California. Haniger has a reputation as a power hitter with a strong arm from the outfield.
One day after taking three catchers, the Mets selected two more backstops in Camden Maron and Ryan Gunhouse. The left-handed-hitting Maron is another local product, coming out of Hicksville High School on Long Island. Gunhouse is another Texan from Clear Creek High School.
The Mets drafted only three outfielders after stockpiling 10 of them on Day 2.
Overall, the Mets selected 22 pitchers, 13 outfielders, nine infielders and five catchers in their 49 picks.
Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
