Mets Draft Liveblogging

I divided the liveblogging and the history of 62 picks into separate articles. I'll keep this updated as the Mets make their picks, so keep checking back.

Pick #62-- The Mets selected Villanova RHP Kevin Mulvey. Hard thrower, 6' 2" righty in a developing program. I like the pick, as it's pretty safe. The numbers may not be pretty, but he will complement Humber and Pelfrey nicely as hard-throwing college righties in the system. He was ranked as the 22nd best pitcher in the draft by BA and has been clocked at 94 MPH while constantly 88-92. Throws a curve and a a changeup as out pitches against lefties; they batted only .214 against him this year.

Pick #94-- The Mets selected Wright State University RHP Joseph Smith. Drafting the prophet of the Church of Latter-Day Saints on 6-6-06? Somebody running things in Flushing has a sense of humor. He's a reliever who comes from a sidearm delivery who can throw in the low 90s with a good slider and change. Also 6' 2". ERA of 0.98 in 55 innings with a BAA of .179. Only 16 walks compared to 63 strikeouts. Allowed 0 HR.

Pick #124-- The Mets selected Salt Lake Community College RHP John Holdzkom. Big kid, 6' 8", drafted in the 15th round by the Mariners last year out of Rancho Cucamonga HS in CA. Did not sign. 3-2 with a 4.66 ERA there this year in 10 G (9 starts). Struck out 44 in 31.2 innings and only allowed 18 H. BAA of .167, but allowed 40 walks in that span. Control is biggest problem. Has been clocked at 96+ MPH. Says hobbies are "power-walking, line-dancing, making the world a
better place." (source: SLCC baseball page; go to the bottom of the page)

Pick #154-- The Mets selected University of Rhode Island RHP Steve Holmes. Similiar build to the first two. Has been incredibly successful in college, finishing off 2006 with a 10-2 record and 1.30 ERA. He threw 5 CG in his 13 starts and uses his average stuff well on the mound. Struck out 93 in 104 innings pitched while allowing 72 hits and 20 walks for a BAA of .191. However, he keeps the ball down well and allowed only one homer and four doubles on the year. Hit 14 men. Career leader in WPCT at URI. Good safe fourth round pick. Comparable to Brian Bannister stuff-wise.

Pick #184-- The Mets selected Pasadena (TX) Memorial High School RHP Scott Schafer. He is a 6' 1" righty who dominated in high school last year going 5-1 in 10 games (6 starts). The righty had a BAA of .172 with a dominant 64 K in 33.2 innings of work. He was named to the Texas High School Baseball All-Star Team and will pitch for them on June 18.

Pick #214-- The Mets selected Greenwood (AR) High School OF Daniel Stegall. He's 6' 3" and is strong from the left-hand side of the plate. He hit .500 this year. He holds school records in almost everything. However, he has signed to play football at Miami (The U), one of the nation's top programs. This may mean that he's unlikely to sign.

Pick #244-- The Mets selected Barton County Community College RHP Nathan Hedrick. He's a 6' 10" pitcher who likes to bring the heat. He was a reliever for BCCC, working in 27 games, all in relief. He went 6-1 with 10 saves, whiffing 41 but walking 18 in 36.2 innings of work. His BAA was a strong .198 and he allowed 0 HR on the year.

Pick #274-- The Mets selected Klein (TX) HS OF Jeremy Barfield. He's a big kid as well, 6' 5", 240 lb. He's got good power and strong bloodlines as well, as his father Jesse used to play in the big leagues and his brother Josh is going strong at second base for the Padres. Barfield will most likely be confined to first base, but if he's anything like his younger brother, he should play well there defensively and provide some pop. A good pick for a ninth rounder.

Pick #304-- The Mets selected Western Nebraska Community College RHP Phillips Orta. Lest you forget how much Omar Minaya likes last names for first names, he signs a guy named Phillips. He's a 6' 2", 175 lb. RHP who consistently throws 88-92 with his fastball. He started 11 games this year (3-6) and struck out 70 in 54 innings of work. He, like the bulk of this draft class, allowed 0 HR on the year. The batting average against Orta, though, was a rather high .261. He also walked 22. A good pick for strikeout potential, but a relatively low ceiling on the whole.

Pick #334-- The Mets selected Alpharetta (GA) HS RHP Andrew Moye. He's 6' 5" with a high ceiling. He was named one of the Top 150 recruits from the Class of 2006 by Baseball America. Last season he went 8-2 with 4 saves. He posted a 2.04 ERA in 72.1 innings, allowing 19 walks, 51 hits and whiffing 71. He also has plus power, as he hit homers in bunches while hitting last year. A solid pick.

Pick #364-- The Mets selected Simi Valley (CA) HS 3B Nick Giarraputo. He's 6' 4" and bats and throws right-handed. The Simi Valley HS program has generated both of the Weaver brothers (Jeff and Jered). Giarraputo played well, hitting .446 in 28 games with 7 HR and 35 RBI. Giarraputo also was the star pitcher for the team, going 7-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 28 G (10 starts). Giarraputo is a nice player, but it all depends on whether or not these numbers will translate to a higher level. I'm guessing not. Often California pitchers are not the cream of the nation's crop and that is expressed by his team's average being at a solid .335.

Pick #394-- The Mets selected Jacksonville University 3B Daniel Murphy, a four-year college player. He's about average size, 6' 1", 210 lbs. His specialty is contact hitting. He's a line drive hitter who hit .398 on the year and struck out a mere 13 times in 221 AB. He displayed limited power, though, with only 6 HR and 10 2B. He did, however, steal 15 bases. Reminds me of Jeff Keppinger a little except he bats from the left-handed side of the plate. He doesn't project very well, though, as he's a line drive hitter at a power position. He'll have to hit well above .300 to stick at the MLB level.

Pick #424-- The Mets selected College of Southern Idaho LHP Duane Privett. Although the team's website refers to him as Todd Privett and his brother Zak Privett is also a pitcher on the team, this lefty was undeniably nasty. He posted an ERA of 0.92 in 14 starts, while whiffing 84 in 78.2 innings. He went 6-3 with a BAA of .167 and allowed a mere 46 hits and 26 walks. Duane/Todd made All-NJCAA Third Team this year, which isn't all that bad for a fourteenth-rounder.

Pick #454-- The Mets selected Park Vista (FL) Community High School C Justin Dalles. He's a 6' 2" catcher with good power. He hit .411 with 6 HR and 32 RBI this year. He is also a strong leader of good character who handles his pitchers very well. Expect him to renege on his early signing with Florida Atlantic because of his desire to catch professionally.

Pick #484-- The Mets selected Davis & Elkins College IF/RHP Tobi Stoner. A 6' 2" righty who's 22 years old but pitched well this year. He went 8-6 with a 2.90 ERA in 18 games (12 starts, 10 CG) and also recorded 3 saves. He was not a dominant pitcher, allowing 85 hits in 90 IP with 7 HR allowed. He was a good hitter, though, batting .465 in 127 AB. He slugged .803, had 21 extra base hits and drove in 29 runs. However, he had a fielding percentage below .900, which is not strong for a position player. A nice 16th rounder, though, because of the good numbers for the year.

Pick #514-- The Mets selected St. Edward's University C Stephen Puhl. Puhl is a switch-hitting catcher who's not all that big, but he has good bloodlines, as his father Terry was an outfielder for Houston from 1977 to 1991. He hit a solid .333 with a .432 OBP. He led the team with 14 doubles and also threw out about half of the runners who tried to steal on him.

Pick #544-- The Mets selected University of Kansas SS Ritchie Price. He's a bit of a scrappy player, at 6' 2" and 185 lbs. who holds the school's record in hit by pitch. He's a pretty good fielding shortstop and a line drive hitter. He started every game for Kansas this year and was captain of the team, while hitting .286 with 2 HR and 33 RBI. He's a solid player, no doubt, and a nice low-risk player at this point to stock the farm system. Probably projects best as a Joe McUseless type.

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