The next crop of potential MLB talent is about to emerge. The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft is scheduled to begin on June 6.
Scouts are reporting to their MLB clubs with information on who they feel the team should target on draft day. Likewise, MLB experts and analysts are weighing in on who they feel will be drafted by which teams.
In less than two weeks, the New York Mets will make the 11th selection of the draft, one selection earlier than they had a year ago.
In 2012, with the 12th overall pick, the Mets selected shortstop Gavin Cecchini, a high schooler out of Lake Charles, La.
Bleacher Report’s Mike Rosenbaum and Adam Wells, in their recent mock draft, had differing opinions over who the Mets will target in the first round this year.
Rosenbaum suggests the Mets should take first baseman Dominic Smith, a high-school senior out of Southern California. He is ranked No. 16 on MLB.com’s draft and prospect expert Jonathan Mayo’s 2013 Prospect Watch.
Mayo suggests that Smith’s hitting and run-producing prowess is what will get him off the draft board quickly, and not so much his power. He also notes that “…some see him as the best pure high school hitter in the class…”
Meanwhile, Wells argues that general manager Sandy Alderson and his staff should aim for outfielder Hunter Renfroe. Renfroe, a junior at Mississippi State, is ranked No. 38 on Mayo’s list but is on a more accelerated path to the big leagues. He projects to be a Major League right fielder, according to Mayo.
ESPN’s Keith Law ranks Smith and Renfroe at Nos. 10 and 11 respectively in his latest Top 100 Draft Prospects list.
Law agrees that the Mets could target Smith in his team-by-team draft targets, but he does not list Renfroe as a potential fit, mentioning Austin Wilson instead.
Wilson is an outfielder from Stanford, who ranks 15th on his Top 100 list. Jonathan Mayo ranks Wilson No. 27 in his list, seemingly knocking him for an elbow stress fracture, and being from Stanford.
Personally, I tend to agree with Mr. Wells on this debate. While Smith may be the better-ranked of the two, the Mets currently have a left-handed first baseman in 26-year-old Ike Davis, who was a first-round pick in 2008.
Granted, Davis is seriously struggling at the plate right now. But I find it hard to believe that the Mets will be that quick to give up on him entirely.
Their outfield, however, is currently in need of a major face-lift. Seeing as Renfroe is a college junior, it likely won’t take him as long to get to the majors as it would take Smith.
If Renfroe is still on the board at the 11th pick, the Mets should highly consider drafting this youngster.
If the Mets do wind up taking a chance on Renfroe, he would be a nice complement to the team’s 2011 first-round selection, Brandon Nimmo.
Nimmo is currently patrolling center field for the Mets’ A team, and he boasts a .322 average with three triples in 90 at-bats.
Having Nimmo and Renfroe manning the same outfield at Citi Field should give Mets fans plenty of hope for the future.
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