The Mets' draft was one of the more surprising of the event. They started off by taking projected third rounder Carson Wiggins in the first round, then grabbed projected first rounder Aiden Robbins in the third round. It's not uncommon for players to slip around the draft as teams play bonus pool games, but that was not the case here as both signed for close to slot value. As it turned out, the Mets played most of the draft pretty true to slot value, always more or less staying pretty close. It was a very pitching-heavy class that saw just six position players drafted out of nineteen picks, including just one of their first seven. Wiggins and Robbins are the crown jewels but many pitchers in this class possess sleeper traits that could make an impact on future pitching staffs in Queens.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-27: RHP Carson Wiggins, Arkansas
Slot value: $3.47 million. Signing bonus: $3.46 million ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #82. MLB Pipeline: #88. ESPN: #90.
In one of the biggest surprises of a first round that was full of surprises, the Mets selected Carson Wiggins far earlier than most expected. Failing to crack the top 75 at any major publication, the Mets are betting on his tremendous arm talent to justify an early jump. Carson Wiggins pitched at Roland High School in eastern Oklahoma alongside his brother Jaxon, now one of the top prospects in the Cubs organization, where he was a nationally-known draft prospect and turned down large offers to attend Arkansas. He flashed his massive upside as a freshman in 2025, touching as high as 102 with his fastball and striking out over a third of his opponents, but went down with Tommy John surgery after just 14 innings and missed the rest of the season. Controversy surrounded his 2026 season as he remained sidelined, where conflicting reports about his health and availability frustrated the Arkansas coaching staff, especially after he appeared fully healthy at the MLB Draft Combine shortly after the Razorbacks were eliminated in the Lawrence Regional. Wiggins' stuff revolves around his arm talent. His fastball sits in the upper 90's in short stints, blowing by even advanced hitters. He also rips off a plus slider that could become a real big league wipeout pitch with more refinement, while his splitter has flashed upside as well to give him a potentially lethal three pitch mix. The 6'5" righty doesn't throw with a ton of effort, making his triple digit velocity even more impressive, but he has always struggled immensely with command. Wiggins has very little pitchability at this point and mostly relies on power and movement to overwhelm hitters, but in many cases pitchability can be taught. The potential for two 70 grade pitches cannot be taught. New York will look to get him more consistent with his secondary pitches and learn to work to different parts of the zone, giving him a little bit longer of a development curve than most SEC arms. The upside, however, is tremendous if he can get anywhere close to average command.
3-92: OF Aiden Robbins, Texas
Slot value: $859,900. Signing bonus: $997,500 ($137,600 above slot value).
My rank: #29. MLB Pipeline: #29. ESPN: #74.
Aiden Robbins was projected to go in the late first round or in the comp round, with some projecting him as high as #20 to the Red Sox, so getting him here in the third round is a coup for the Mets. He began his career at Seton Hall, where he hit .438 as a sophomore and earned the opportunity to transfer to Texas. After homering ten times over two years in South Orange, his power exploded in Austin and he blasted 24 while slashing .333/.426/.696 against a much tougher schedule. He is a barrel magnet that consistently finds the fat part of the bat, consistently tapping his above average raw power in games. It's a balanced load and an explosive operation in the plate that gets the barrel long through the zone and elevates consistently. He has a very patient approach and has performed everywhere he has gone, including hitting .339/.423/.697 in SEC play against many of the country's best arms this past spring and hitting .323/.390/.543 over 33 combined games in the elite Cape Cod League the previous two summers. Robbins' main weakness at the plate is in-zone swing and miss, running higher rates than many teams would like and leading to an elevated 28.4% strikeout rate on the Cape. Still, he is adept at making adjustments and has performed everywhere he's been, and even struck out at a lower clip in SEC play (20.8%) than he did against a softer schedule outside of it (24.7%). The Mets clearly are believers in the hit tool and think the Philadelphia-area product can become a 20+ home run, decent on-base bat that could fit as a #5 hitter-type in the lineup. An above average runner, he has enough arm strength to profile in right field or could fit as an above average left fielder. Either way, most of his value will be tied up in his right handed bat, so the Mets will look for him to hit and hit for impact.
4-120: LHP Shane Sdao, Texas A&M
Slot value: $645,100. Signing bonus: $642,600 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #115. MLB Pipeline: #95. ESPN: #159.
Shane Sdao is not the most straightforward draft case, but neither was Carson Wiggins and like Wiggins, there is a lot of talent here. Sdao stood out as a freshman reliever on the 2023 Texas A&M team, then took a step forward for an excellent turn as a sophomore swingman in 2024 (2.96 ERA, 55/9 K/BB in 48.2 IP). Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2025 season before it even began, and after ranking #101 on my 2025 big board he elected to return to campus as the top-ranked unsigned college player in the class. As it turned out, 2026 did not go his way as he struggled to a 7.03 ERA including an ugly 9.30 mark in conference play, but his talent kept teams coming back even as he got shelled. Before the injury, he sat in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and touched 97 in short stints, adding a plus wipeout slider and a solid changeup all while pounding the strike zone with plus command. Previously throwing from a low three quarters slot, his release point rose a bit in 2026 coming off the injury and his stuff took a step back. The fastball was more ordinary in the low 90's, while his slider lacked the deep finish and looked more like an above average breaker than a plus one. His walk rate also climbed from 4.6% as a sophomore to 5.9% as a redshirt junior, still a very good number but not quite plus at this point. The Mets believe they are drafting the 2024 Shane Sdao with the wipeout two pitch mix and plus command, and they will work with him to reorient his delivery and get back to the dominant arm he was. Though he'll turn 23 in September, the Houston-area native has a chance to become a #4 starter at peak, or could top out as a mid-leverage reliever if the 2026 Shane Sdao is the real Shane Sdao from here on out.
5-152: RHP Luke McNeillie, Florida
Slot value: $472,500. Signing bonus: $497,500 ($25,000 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #185. ESPN: #113.
Luke McNeillie has a chance to be a sneaky pick for the Mets in the fifth round. A high-end pitching prospect coming out of high school in the Atlanta area in 2023, he spurned large pro offers to reach campus at Florida and has been a fixture for the Gators for three seasons, making 72 appearances. Known for a premium combination of stuff and polish in high school, the former has taken a step forward in college while the latter has stagnated a little bit as he has been unable to break through a crowded Florida rotation picture to earn regular starts. Pitching mostly in shorter stints in relief, his fastball has sat mid to upper 90's and reached 99 at peak with life to miss bats. His tight upper 80's slider stands out both for power and movement, looking like a plus pitch at best that can dive under barrels late. His changeup is a fringier pitch that he uses mostly for left handed batters, rounding out his arsenal. The 6'3" righty has ran walk rates above 10% in all three of his collegiate seasons, leading to his falling behind in many counts and getting hit when he comes back over the plate. The Mets believe there is more to unlock from McNeillie's ideal pitcher's frame and quick right arm, with a bit better body control potentially leading him closer to average command. New York also intends to develop him as a starter, where he'll need to tighten the command further, and he has the upside as a mid-rotation arm if he can do that while bringing along the changeup. If not, he's a fastball/slider relief type who could figure prominently into future Mets bullpen plans.
7-210: RHP Aidan Keenan, Stanford
Slot value: $287,800. Signing bonus: $347,500 ($59,700 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Aiden Keenan, like Luke McNeillie, was a prominent name in the 2023 high school class and earned top five round consideration from teams, though he ultimately withdrew from the draft to attend Stanford. Three years later, he hasn't found much success in Palo Alto with a career 5.79 ERA over just 65.1 innings, working as a full time relieve in 2025 before moving to the rotation in a 2026 season that was ultimately interrupted by an oblique injury. He looked strong in an MLB Draft Combine appearance in June and threw five solid innings in the Cape Cod League leading up to the draft, leading the Mets to take a shot on his considerable arm talent. It's a loud fastball in the mid 90's, averaging the third highest velocity of any pitcher at the combine (97.4 MPH) in addition to the highest spin rate (2587 RPM) and the fifth most IVB (19 inches). With its combination of power and ride, it has a chance to be a plus pitch even if it didn't get great results in college. His slider is another potential wipeout offering in the mid 80's with power and tilt, looking like a potential plus pitch in pro ball, while he also works in a cutter and changeup more infrequently. Keenan has consistently pitched to poor results due to a high effort delivery that has given him below average command, running a poor 14.9% walk rate throughout his college career including an even poorer 19.4% mark in 2026. His style of pitching likely fits better in the bullpen, where he can focus on his fastball/slider combination in short stints and take pressure off his command. Even if he makes significant strides in regards to his pitchability, he still will likely never have average command. This is a loud two pitch mix that could move quickly up the minor league rungs and serve towards the back of the Mets bullpen if he can get to fringy command.
11-330: OF Kuhio Aloy, Arkansas
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $217,500 ($67,500 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
The younger brother of Orioles prospect and fellow Razorback Wehiwa Aloy, Kuhio began his career at BYU but transferred to Arkansas after one year. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore and hit .317/.404/.539 to earn First Team All-SEC honors and position himself as a solid draft prospect for the 2026 season. Though he regressed a bit as a junior, he still provides a high-upside bat for the Mets. He has plus raw power that has helped him hit thirty home runs over his three years in college, but he could tap more of it in pro ball with some improvements to his approach that saw him run a 24.1% strikeout rate to just a 7.5% walk rate in 2026. The Hawaiian's aggressive tendencies consistently leave him behind the count and susceptible to chasing offspeed stuff, also creating poorer contact quality when he does connect. He showed what he was capable of with a wood bat against strong competition on the Cape last summer (.333/.463/.500, 23.9% K to 17.9% BB) when he saw more pitches and accepted more called strikes, and the Mets are likely buying that performance as evidence his prodigious power will play against pro pitching. Aloy split time between right field and DH, with fringy defensive tools that will limit his value in the field. He'll need to hit like the Kuhio Aloy of 2025, both in the SEC and on the Cape, but the Mets are high on his chances to do so. He's also young for the class and only turned 21 shortly after the draft.
14-420: LHP Zach Crotchfelt, Troy
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Zach Crotchfelt has long been a prominent prospect, and after a long winding road, he may be trending towards what he always had the talent to become. A local pick for the Mets, Crotchfelt grew up in Jackson, New Jersey, about fifty miles southwest of Citi Field, where he was a nationally known prospect at powerhouse Jackson Memorial High School intent on fulfilling his commitment to Auburn. He earned significant innings as a freshman swingman for the Tigers in 2023, but saw less action as a sophomore in 2024 and transferred to Texas Tech prior to the 2025 season. Things did not go well for him in Lubbock, where he struggled to a 9.17 ERA over thirteen appearances and fell off the national prospect radar. Transferring a second time to Troy, he had his best season yet where he finally looked like the premium prospect he had been back in high school, pitching the Trojans to a cinderella College World Series appearance. Crotchfelt sits in the low to mid 90's and touches 97 with his fastball, playing up further with carry and crossfire action. He leans on it heavily, but hitters still have trouble squaring it up. The 6'3" lefty drops in a deep, two-plane curveball and a solid fading changeup to round out his arsenal, with both projecting to be roughly average pitches. His command has improved from below average to fringy, helping him project better against more disciplined pro bats as he can guide his fastball just a bit better to play in its strong zones. He is big and durable enough to project as a starter if he can take a step forward with his secondaries and perhaps another half step forward with his command, though he likely projects as a reliever that pitches primarily off his dominant fastball and sits more consistently in the mid 90's. A senior sign, he'll turn 23 in October.
16-480: RHP Gavin Guidry, Louisiana State
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Gavin Guidry, like Zach Crotchfelt, was a top prospect out of the 2022 high school pitching ranks who wound up spending four years in college. Unlike Crotchfelt, a Jersey native who bounced from Alabama to Texas back to the Yellowhammer State, Guidry is a Louisiana native who stayed home at one school in the Pelican State for four years. Initially recruited as a two-way player, he immediately grabbed a prominent role in the LSU bullpen as a freshman where he ran a 3.77 ERA and struck out a third of his opponents. He dropped his ERA to 2.59 as a sophomore and pushed his strikeout rate to 34%, but his walk rate jumped to 17% and he went undrafted. After missing 2025 with a back injury, he was less effective in 2026 with a 6.39 ERA and a 30% strikeout rate over a career-high 43.2 innings. Guidry is a very good athlete and a strong mover on the mound, helping him reach back for low to mid 90's velocity touching 96 in short stints with ride to push past bats. He has a solid 12-6 curveball that creates a lot of empty swings over the top, as well as a tighter cutter to give him something a little more lateral. The Lake Charles native has long been a fan favorite in Baton Rouge with a penchant for coming through in clutch situations, with his bat-missing stuff profiling best in the bullpen going forward just as it did with LSU. While a career 11.7% walk rate is reason for concern, he is athletic enough that the Mets should be able to help tighten the command enough to work in pro ball, where he could be come a solid reliever in the near future. Guidry is very old for the class and hit pro ball already having turned 23.
