I had originally planned for my article to cover seven years, but that turned out to be prohibitive. So rather than present everyone with a 3000 word article, I decided to write a shorter article with a journal to supplement it for those interested.

2000

General Manager: Steve Phillips
Scouting Director: Carmen Fusco
Number of players to reach majors so far: 3 (4, if Chris Basak appears in a game)
First-round pick(s): Billy Traber (#16) and Bob Keppel (#36)

Traber was a tall, left-handed junior out of Loyola Marymount University. Considered someone who would move quickly, he was a finesse pitcher featuring a deceptive fastball that only touched 90, a nice curve, and a splitter. He dominated in the minor leagues, advancing three levels in his first season of pro ball before being included in the Roberto Alomar deal. He pitched very well in 2002 and made the Indians in 2003 pitching somewhat effectively before Tommy John surgery set him back nearly two years. It was a struggle getting back to the majors for Traber, who finally did as a National last season. He’s currently pitching out of their bullpen.

Keppel, drafted out of a Missouri high school, was a tall righty with a low-90’s fastball. He signed with the Mets rather than taking a scholarship to go to Notre Dame. Keppel’s two-seam fastball and great control resulted in few walks and homeruns, but his lack of a quality breaking pitch also meant few strikeouts at any level. The Mets released him in 2005, and he made it to the majors with the Royals last season and is currently pitching poorly at Colorado Springs.

Other highlights: Second-rounder Matt Peterson, a righty from a Louisiana high school with a good fastball, looked promising until he was traded to the Pirates for Kris Benson. There, he imploded, and finally seems to be finding AA success as a reliever…Third-rounder Josh Reynolds, out of Central Missouri State, struggled out of the gate before righting himself at St. Lucie in 2002, just in time to be traded for Steve Reed. He was out of pro baseball by 2004…Sixth-round pick Chris Basak (University of Illinois) was just called up by the Yankees yesterday after spending seven years in the Mets farm system; he can hit a little and could make a decent utility man with a few breaks…Seventh-rounder Jeff Duncan (Arizona State) spent time with the Mets in 2003 in center field and displayed good speed, patience at the plate, and great defense, but ultimately didn’t have enough contact ability or power to make it as a regular player…45th round pick Brett Harper (H.S., Arizona) had intriguing power but was derailed by shoulder injuries.

Final thoughts:The Mets used the top of their draft to go after pitching (18 of their first 25 picks were pitchers). Other than Traber, they focused on high school pitchers they thought could be molded into useable players. As a result, a few didn’t sign, and several more never turned into much by any standard. Oddly enough, three of their most successful products (Duncan, Basak, Harper) were position players. The end result is two marginal pitchers, a AAA outfielder, a potential utility guy, and a minor league slugger with nowhere to play.

2001

General Manager: Steve Phillips
Scouting Director: Carmen Fusco
Number of players to reach majors so far: 5
First-round pick(s): Aaron Heilman (#18) and David Wright (#38)

Heilman, a senior at Notre Dame, projected as a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher, with a low-90’s sinking fastball and one of the best sliders in the draft. He was considered a guy who knew how to pitch and would advance quickly. And he did; by the end of 2002, he already had 49 AAA innings under his belt. The results were very encouraging despite weak AAA strikeout numbers; he kept the ball in the park and controlled his walks. After 100 more AAA innings in 2003, the Mets brought him up, and Heilman got rocked. He spent almost all of 2004 in AAA, where his control suffered, causing the Mets to turn him into a reliever in 2005. Ever since, he’s been quite successful.

Wright was considered one the nation’s top high school hitters, a fairly polished hitter with a good work ethic. His defense wasn’t great, but many scouts thought he had the tools to become a pretty good defender. John Sickels loved the pick, calling Wright “a steal in this slot.” Early on, his contact skills weren’t great in the Appalachian League, but he showed good patience and gap power. In St. Lucie the next year, he added a little more power, emerging as a top prospect. His tremendous performance in the Arizona Fall League clinched it, and he was a solid contributor by the second half of 2004.

Other highlights: The Mets’ first second-rounder, Alhaji Turay, was a toolsy high school outfielder out of Washington with great batspeed and power potential. Unfortunately, he lacked patience, couldn’t turn the potential into actual power, and had an enormous chip on his shoulder. He left the organization after last season…With their second pick in the second round, the Mets took another toolsy high schooler, infielder Corey Ragsdale. Ragsdale is speedy and a good defender, but is completely lost at the plate; he’s currently repeating AA for the second time…Third-round lefty Lenny DiNardo was drafted out of Stetson College, was lost to Boston in the Rule 5 draft, and has emerged as a capable soft-tossing long reliever…Fifth-round selection Danny Garcia (Pepperdine University) was one of my favorite Mets prospects, a solid all-round second baseman who didn’t do anything particularly well. He was released by the Mets in 2005 and had injury problems afterward…16th round pick Joe Hietpas (Northwestern) was known as a great catcher who probably wouldn’t hit, which is exactly what he became. Recently, he switched to pitching…21st round pick Blake McGinley (Texas Tech) has a chance at making some injury-plagued team as a LOOGY someday, but time’s running out. He was let go after last season.

Final thoughts: Heilman and Wright automatically make this a good draft, but the Mets didn’t get tremendous depth in the later rounds. After the previous year’s high school pitcher-heavy draft, the Mets went after polished college players, with more of an emphasis on positional depth, despite spending top picks on high schoolers Turay and Ragsdale, both of whom have been busts.

2002

General Manager: Steve Phillips
Scouting Director: Jack Bowen
Number of players to reach majors so far: 2
First-round pick(s): Scott Kazmir (#15)

Due to free agent signings, the Mets didn’t have a pick after their first until the fourth round, so they had to make it count. The took Kazmir, a Texas high school lefty, who was considered a top talent but fell into their laps due to signability issues. He immediately pitched well, posting phenomenal strikeout and homerun rates, but lousy walk rates. Considered one of the best pitching prospects in the game, he was eventually traded for one of the best pitchers in the game…

Other highlights: The Mets’ second pick, Bobby Malek, was an outfielder out of Michigan State who allegedly provided line-drive hitting, decent speed, and good outfield defense, but ultimately didn’t hit. He was released earlier this year…Fifth-rounder Jonathan Slack was a speedy outfielder out of Texas Tech, but didn’t hit enough to stick around…Tenth-round choice Matt Lindstrom was selected from an Idaho junior college. He was an older guy for a raw pitcher due to his going on a Mormon mission, but had a great arm. He was traded to the Marlins last offseason…Thirteenth round pick Shawn Bowman is a toolsy third baseman with power potential signed out of a Canadian high school. He’s shown flashes of ability and great defense, but back injuries have hurt him considerably…48th round pick Ian Bladergroen (Lamar CC) got off to a great start before getting hurt. He was sent to the Red Sox for Doug Mientkiewicz.

Final thoughts: Keith Law recently said that the Mets had the fifth best draft in 2002, considering their lack of picks. He may be right, but the Mets haven’t actually realized any of the rewards, as both pitchers to make the majors have done so for other teams. Kazmir makes the draft pretty good, and Lindstrom might close someday, but nothing else has come out of the draft so far.