Minor League Mondays: Meet The Mets' 2026 Draft Class

The present doesn't look great for the New York Mets, who are on their way to a trade deadline sale after underwhelming this season. The future always offers new hope for the franchise and there is a new crop of players entering the organization after the 2026 draft. For this week's edition of Minor League Mondays, we'll take a look at the newest draft class selected by David Stearns and company during the All Star Break.

RHP Carson Wiggins was the Mets' first pick in the 2026 draft.

The Mets began the day behind the eight ball as their first pick dropped 10 selections thanks to luxury tax penalties. That didn't deter Stearns from making an intriguing selection by tabbing Arkansas RHP Carson Wiggins, who has elite stuff but hasn't pitched much in the past two years after undergoing elbow surgery in the spring of 2025.

Wiggins has two nasty pitches to work with, a fastball that sat between 99 and 101 miles per hour prior to his surgery, and a nasty slider. Command was an issue for Wiggins, who needs to improve there and develop a third pitch to succeed as a major league starter, but there is a strong floor here as a closer type. The Mets will likely have Wiggins pitch in the minors this year, which is unusual for a college pitcher, but the fact he didn't throw for the Razorbacks this year means his arm should be ready to begin working in the pros.

The Mets had to forfeit two draft picks after signing Bo Bichette as a qualifying offer free agent, meaning their next selection didn't come until No. 92 overall. That choice became Texas outfielder Aiden Robbins, whose power exploded after transferring to the Longhorns from Seton Hall. Robbins hit 24 home runs for Texas and has the defensive ability to be a solid corner outfielder, but he needs to work on recognizing off speed pitches to have a chance to make it as a pro.

The way the MLB Draft works requires teams not to draft for big league need since a team's needs will be vastly different by the time the draft class arrives in the majors. Going with the best player available is the ideal strategy, and the Mets found a lot of value in pitching, with their next six picks being arms.

Most of these picks have at least a relief floor, including fifth-round RHP Luke McNeillie out of Florida, seventh-round RHP Aidan Keenan out of Stanford and eighth-round pick Landon Koenig out of Mississippi State. The mid-round pitchers fit the typical Stearns archetype of chasing stuff over command, hoping they can work on fixing it in the minor leagues, so time will tell if that strategy is successful.

The Mets did make an intriguing high school pick in the 13th round, when they took catcher Jacob Madrid and got him to forego a commitment to Oregon with a $197,500 signing bonus. Madrid has drawn rave reviews as a plus defender, offering big league upside if he can figure out a way to hit professional pitching.

As of post time, the Mets have signed 18 of their 19 draft picks. The only unsigned pick is 18th-rounder Marcus Ward, a high school outfielder currently committed to Western Carolina. The deadline for picks to sign with their respective clubs is July 27 at 5:00 p.m. ET.