Hopefully they'll grow into Mets
Throughout the day TRDMB will be taking a brief look at the young men that The New York Mets select in the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Please check back here for any updates.
- The Mets had no first round pick. Their pick was sent to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as compensation for the signing of free agent Francisco Rodriguez.
- Round 2, Pick 72 – Steven Matz, r/l, lhp, Ward Melville High School, East Setauket, NY. For more information, as well as some video of Matz on the mound, please visit this link. For a scouting report on him published in the New York Post before he was drafted, click here. Matz had committed to playing collegiate ball at Coastal Carolina. For their perspective on potentially losing him, and to find out what kind of signing bonus Matz is expecting from the Mets, click here. For Newsday’s log of the Ward Melville HS baseball team’s season, click here. To completely overdose on all things Matz, visit Perfect Game USA here. Post draft interview and more video here. Article and pic here. Interview and pic here.
- Round 3, Pick 103 – Robert Shields, r/r, ss, Florida Southern College, Lakeland, FL. For some video of Shields hitting, click here. In the interest of full disclosure I’m not sure if this is the same person or not, but you can find a brief scouting report on a 2B/SS from Florida named Robbie Shields here. Apparently Robbie and Robert are indeed the same guy, tampabay.com has an interview with Robbie after he was selected by the Mets here. Also theledger.com has a picture and an interview with his college coach here.
- Round 4, Pick 134 – Darrell Ceciliani, l/l, cf, Columbia Basin CC. For scouting video, click here. If you are a paying member of scout.com (I am not) you can read a Q & A with Darrell here. At tri-cityherald.com there are some stats of his here. You can find a 3-week old interview with his proud grandmother here. Darrell sounds as if he has a good attitude in these quotes leading up to his college tournament here. Nice interview and pic here.
- Round 5, Pick 164 – Damien Magnifico, l/r, rhp, North Mesquite HS. Damien’s profile on HS sports social networking site Takkle can be found here. His junior year stats are here. NY Post article here. They mention his 94mph fastball here.
- Round 6, Pick 194 – David Buchanan, r/r, rhp, Chipola JC. For scouting video, click here. Paying members of scout.com can read his Q & A here. NY Post brief scouting report here.
- Round 7, Pick 224 – Darin Gorski, l/l, lhp, Kutztown University. For scouting video, click here. Incredibly in depth analysis of Darin by RBI Magazine here. The College Baseball Blog listed him as their #1 Atlantic Collegiate Summer League prospect here. The Allentown Morning Call has some stats here. The Reading Eagle places him on the All-PSAC 1st team here. The “Golden Bear with the Golden Arm” here. NY Post scouting info here.
- Round 8, Pick 254 – John Freeman, l/r, c, McNeese State University.
- Round 9, Pick 284 – Jeffrey Glenn, r/r, c, Winter Haven HS. Read about his participation in the Polk County All-Star Game here. What college he might attend if he doesn’t sign and a pic here.
- Round 10, Pick 314 – Nick Santomauro, l/r, rf, Dartmouth College. Perfect Game USA has some old scouting info on Nick from when he was in HS here. His Dartmouth sports bio is here. A 3 week old interview with him is here. Nice article which notes he is Ivy League Player of the Year here.
- Round 11, Pick 344 – Samuel Honeck, l/l, 1b, Tulane University. His Tulane bio is here. The Baseball Cube has some stats here. He is listed on the All-Conference USA 1st team here.
- Round 12, Pick 374 – James Ewing, r/r, 2b, University of Southern Mississippi. His Southern Miss profile here. The Hattiesburg American describes him as slick fielding here. ESPN spoke with him about the college tournament here. This might be his old profile here.
- Round 13, Pick 404 – Zachary Dotson, l/l, lhp, Effingham County HS. Some scouting video here. Examples of his hitting and pitching exploits here.
- Round 14, Pick 434 – Ronald Harris, l/l, cf, Northwood University. Player of the year in the Red River Athletic Conference.
- Round 15, Pick 464 – Casey Schmidt, r/r, rhp, University of San Diego. Casey’s profile at USD here.
- Round 16, Pick 494 – Jeffrey Greene, r/r, cf, West Boca Raton Community HS.
- Round 17, Pick 524 – Alexander Gregory, r/r, of, Radford University. Alex’s own blog here. Story about his batting eye here. They think he’s one of the three best pure hitters in the Big South Conference here.
- Round 18, Pick 554 – Cody Holliday, l/l, of, Wilmington University. Cody named ECAC player of the year here. Cody as veteran leader of his college team here.
- Round 19, Pick 584 – Nelfi Zapata, r/r, c, English HS. If this video is truly him, he looks strong. Nice article on him from the Boston Globe here. Short video of impressive swing here. Quick quote to the Boston Herald about being drafted here. Multiple pics, stats and links here.
- Round 20, Pick 614 – Joseph August, l/l, of, Stanford University. For scouting video click here.
- Round 21, Pick 644 – Joseph Bonfe, r/r, 3b, Sierra JC.
- Round 22, Pick 674 – Zachary Von Tersch, r/r, rhp, Georgia Tech. For scouting video, click here. His Tech bio is here. He has a geocities page here. Perhaps you’d like to follow him on Facebook. Some baseball cube stats here. Perfect Game USA HS scouting report here.
- Round 23, Pick 704 – John Church, r/r, rhp, University of West Florida. Perfect Game USA HS scouting report here.
- Round 24, Pick 734 – Michael Johnson, r/r, rhp, Concordia University. How he became pitcher of the week in March here.
- Round 25, Pick 764 – Josh Dunn, r/r, 3b, Sickles HS. Scouting report and links to 7 videos of Josh here.
- Round 26, Pick 794 – John Semel, r/r, of, Chapman University. Some February praise for John here. Apparently he’s not only an OF, he was also Chapman’s closer here. The whole Chapman U squad’s statistics, including John’s, here.
- Round 27, Pick 824 – Kurt Steinhauer, r/r, of, Point Loma Nazarene University. Kurt’s bio from Point Loma here. Pic of Kurt after he hit a HR in the NAIA World Series here. Kurt made his all-conference team here.
- Round 28, Pick 854 – Brian Needham, r/r, rhp, Lamar University. Brian’s stats on Baseball Cube here. His Lamar U bio here.
- Round 29, Pick 884 – ZeErika Hall, r/r, of, East Central CC. The Newton Record has some info on ZeErika here.
- Round 30, Pick 914 – Jordan Harrison, r/l, lhp, New Caney HS. Pic of him batting in March and article here.
That’s it for today’s picks. Tomorrow rounds 31-50 finish the draft.
46 comments
Kingman 26
6/10/2009-12:20pm at 12:20 pm (UTC -4)
Fine info Grave, and thanks again.
I am proud to say that I do own a copy of that 62 Yearbook, courtesy of my uncle…I am not THAT old!
rustyjr
6/10/2009-12:23pm at 12:23 pm (UTC -4)
I wish I had one – I have the ’78 edition with torre on the cover along with many from the ’80s
QnsNative718
6/10/2009-12:25pm at 12:25 pm (UTC -4)
That kid’s face is very expressive. He has the look of “Uh Ma, I just crapped all over myself and it’s running down my left leg.”
rustyjr
6/10/2009-12:26pm at 12:26 pm (UTC -4)
Linda like the last out of last nights game
QnsNative718
6/10/2009-12:31pm at 12:31 pm (UTC -4)
What a game, huh, Rust? The vibrations from Citi Field after Santana’s butcher boy hit could be felt on my block 5 minutes away.
Kingman 26
6/10/2009-1:15pm at 1:15 pm (UTC -4)
Chest, I felt it up here in Saratoga!
Kingman 26
6/10/2009-1:14pm at 1:14 pm (UTC -4)
I think little Baby Dirk Diggler there is a little stressed about that diaper pin’s placement…..
rustyjr
6/10/2009-3:52pm at 3:52 pm (UTC -4)
ha boogie mets !!
rustyjr
6/10/2009-12:21pm at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)
Lacks mets says matz has a 90 + mph fast ball with a deceptive arm angle so if we sign him he may be a keeper
dirtysanchez
6/10/2009-12:31pm at 12:31 pm (UTC -4)
how many more picks to the mets have?
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/10/2009-12:36pm at 12:36 pm (UTC -4)
like 2569 more…
dirtysanchez
6/10/2009-12:40pm at 12:40 pm (UTC -4)
lol…its going to be a long day then huh lol
GravediggerHebner
6/10/2009-12:43pm at 12:43 pm (UTC -4)
The draft is 50 rounds, it ends sometime tomorrow. I don’t know what the scheduled hours are for it today or tomorrow though.
GravediggerHebner
6/10/2009-12:56pm at 12:56 pm (UTC -4)
I found out today is rounds 4-30, 31-50 tomorrow.
rustyjr
6/10/2009-1:17pm at 1:17 pm (UTC -4)
Ha ! Just went by matts blog – the greyhound bus terminal of everything mets and he said he is still reviewing comments to be posted for the site LOL – I am so happy Trs Dirty and Mrose created this site
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/10/2009-1:20pm at 1:20 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah I saw that too. Is he really going to review all those “assume” comments?
Kingman 26
6/10/2009-1:21pm at 1:21 pm (UTC -4)
Hey, it ain’t no Acropolis for the Met Populace!
rustyjr
6/10/2009-1:27pm at 1:27 pm (UTC -4)
LOL btw u see we got magnifico ?? Will we be the magnifico mets if he is ever called up ?
rustyjr
6/10/2009-1:19pm at 1:19 pm (UTC -4)
Btw anyone notice that Jason werth looks like an original oompa loompa ?!?
dirtysanchez
6/10/2009-1:19pm at 1:19 pm (UTC -4)
lmaoooo
Kingman 26
6/10/2009-1:20pm at 1:20 pm (UTC -4)
Wow, you are right!
udontmesswthejohan
6/10/2009-1:25pm at 1:25 pm (UTC -4)
I’m gonna order me up some tix for the Ward Melville High Prom anyone want one?
rustyjr
6/10/2009-1:28pm at 1:28 pm (UTC -4)
Sure
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/10/2009-1:30pm at 1:30 pm (UTC -4)
LOL I’ll get 5 of them if it only guarantees Matz will be the next Mets ace!
stickguy
6/10/2009-1:37pm at 1:37 pm (UTC -4)
you scoff, but having just bought a pair recently (for my son, not me), it might be cheaper to get good field level seats at Shea v2.0
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/10/2009-1:45pm at 1:45 pm (UTC -4)
Your son is Steven Matz?
GravediggerHebner
6/10/2009-1:48pm at 1:48 pm (UTC -4)
Let’s Go Matz!
rustyjr
6/10/2009-1:48pm at 1:48 pm (UTC -4)
Will he be ok matzblog?
rustyjr
6/10/2009-1:52pm at 1:52 pm (UTC -4)
Be on matzblog that is – of he plays during Passover does that mean we will gave a piece of matz- oh
rustyjr
6/10/2009-1:56pm at 1:56 pm (UTC -4)
Damn iPhone and my sausage fingers
stickguy
6/10/2009-1:57pm at 1:57 pm (UTC -4)
I wish. I would be at the porsche dealer right now picking out my new car.
DIfferent prom.
trs86
6/10/2009-3:52pm at 3:52 pm (UTC -4)
Great job Grave.
dirtysanchez
6/10/2009-4:02pm at 4:02 pm (UTC -4)
awesome job with this grave
GravediggerHebner
6/10/2009-4:07pm at 4:07 pm (UTC -4)
It’s unreal. The draftcaster comes with an audio feed. The host says “Cleveland” and then a Cleveland front office guy comes on and says “Cleveland picks item # 8635B, re-draft, John Public, right handed pitcher from Albany State.” Then the host repeats it, then says “Arizona” and Arizona picks. There’s a pick like every 10 seconds.
dirtysanchez
6/10/2009-4:19pm at 4:19 pm (UTC -4)
lolll wow i never knew this thing was so complicated
sabermetrician
6/10/2009-4:30pm at 4:30 pm (UTC -4)
Has Ryan Fleckenstein of the Oregon Ducks been drafted?
GravediggerHebner
6/10/2009-4:54pm at 4:54 pm (UTC -4)
Not as of pick 854
stickguy
6/10/2009-4:11pm at 4:11 pm (UTC -4)
I was hoping it was like a fantasy draft, where all the pickers were half bagged, and someone tried to draft a kid that went 10 rounds earlier, and the other GMs all made fun of him.
Guess not…
There's Always '09
6/10/2009-4:36pm at 4:36 pm (UTC -4)
Round 15
Drafter: I still have Albert Pujols available. I’m gonna take Pujols. How did he slip that far?
Other people say: dude, he was a keeper. You moron!!! (laugh and point)
QnsNative718
6/10/2009-4:35pm at 4:35 pm (UTC -4)
Grave, great work here, bro. Very informative.
There's Always '09
6/10/2009-4:38pm at 4:38 pm (UTC -4)
Yea, today basically told me there is a 1/125 shot that any of these guys will see one day in the big leagues in the next 10 yrs.
sabermetrician
6/10/2009-4:41pm at 4:41 pm (UTC -4)
Informal poll:
Do you believe Ibanez is on the juice?
stickguy
6/10/2009-4:54pm at 4:54 pm (UTC -4)
I didn’t, but in the philly paper today, he went way overboard with the denials (offering to give all his salary to anyone that could prove it, etc.) That’s always suspicious!
Hard to get away with Roids now, but hey, HGH isn’t tested for…
TO be fair, he was way more homers than normal, but someone had a breakdown that showed the majority were hit in bandboxes, but he still looks way too stronger than before for a 37 YO.
He should at least pull a quad soon, right? Isn’t that what old LFs do?
There's Always '09
6/10/2009-5:00pm at 5:00 pm (UTC -4)
Only to return in December, hit .400+ and get his option picked up.
There's Always '09
6/10/2009-4:59pm at 4:59 pm (UTC -4)
He is not on the roids. Look at the differences in the parks he has played in. 355 to the gaps in CBP, compared to 375 at Safeco. It’s a bandbox. Has more to do with the field than anything. This guy was always a good doubles hitter.
Kingman 26
6/10/2009-6:16pm at 6:16 pm (UTC -4)
Thanks for the good sense.
Ibanez ain’t a juicer, has always been really good, and has played on rotten teams with no offense and in pitchers’ parks his whole career.
He should have ignored the zero doofus moron who made the allegation.