While most of the attention of Minor League Mondays focuses on an individual prospect in the New York Mets' farm system, this week's version is a bit different. With the All-Star Break giving most affiliates some extended time off, now is a good opportunity to take a look at the most recent class of players the Mets added in the draft. We'll take a broad strokes look at the class in this edition of Minor League Mondays.
The draft was held over three days last week with the first and second rounds coming on Sunday night, Rounds 3-10 on Monday and Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday prior to the All Star Game. The Mets' first pick was dropped 10 slots from No. 9 to No. 19 as a result of their luxury tax penalties, but they still managed to land an intriguing talent in Oklahoma State outfielder Carson Benge.
Benge, like his one-time collegiate teammate Nolan McLean, was a two-way player for the Cowboys. Unlike McLean, who the Mets announced as a two-way prospect before he decided to drop hitting this year, Benge will work as just an outfielder since his upside in the batters box is significantly higher than his potential on the mound. Power is Benge's calling card as he has produced some towering blasts for Oklahoma State and he looks to be extremely advanced as a hitter. The Mets will need to work on a swing adjustment for Benge in order to tap into his power with more regularity, but he also offers solid defensive ability as well.
The current plan for Benge is to have him start his development in center field with a move to right field a decent possibility. Benge has a plus throwing arm, making right field a likely long-term home for him.
The Mets' second-round pick also has some significant first-round upside in Duke lefty Jonathan Santucci. Scouts love Santucci's arsenal, as he struck out over 35 percent of batters he faced for the Blue Devils with a strong fastball/changeup/slider arsenal, but command has been an issue for him. Santucci has already signed his entry-level contract with the Mets, so he could cameo at a lower-level affiliate later in the year like Blade Tidwell did a year ago.
The Mets made pitching a focus as they added quite a few intriguing arms, including third-rounder Nate Dohm out of Mississippi State, Will Watson (sixth round from USC) and Ryan Lambert (eighth round from Oklahoma). There are also two intriguing position players from Day 2 in NC State outfielder Eli Serrano, who attended the same prep academy as current Mets' prospect Ryan Clifford, and fifth-round SS Trey Snyder, the team's only high-school prospect in the first 15 rounds of the draft.
Snyder currently is committed to Tennessee, the reigning College World Series champions, but the expectation is that the Mets will get him to sign by offering him an over-slot bonus to break his commitment to the Volunteers. Scouts like what they've seen from Snyder, who has a chance to develop into a well-rounded player that may end up at third base as he continues to grow into his frame.
The deadline to sign players from this year's class is August 1st. As of post time, the Mets have signed eight players from their class and an additional five undrafted free agents.
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