MLB Draft: Mets To Land 2 Picks Before Yankees' First
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- When commissioner Bud Selig steps to the podium at the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J. to begin Monday night's MLB first-year player draft, he might say UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole's name first.
Or, maybe Rice slugging third baseman Anthony Rendon. Perhaps it will be Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen, or Oklahoma high school righty Dylan Bundy.
But who will the Mets and Yankees select? That's what New Yorkers want to know.
The Mets will get first crack at No. 13.
"Obviously, there's a lot of hit and miss in the draft, but you do have to spend money on talent," general manager Alderson said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Players expected to go early, but could be available for New York, in the three-day draft include: Florida high school shortstop Francisco Lindor, Kansas high school outfielder Bubba Starling and Tennessee high school lefty Daniel Norris.
There are also a handful of right-handers expected to hear their names called in the first round: Vanderbilt's Sonny Gray, Texas' Taylor Jungmann and high school hurlers Archie Bradley from Oklahoma and Taylor Guerrieri from South Carolina.
The Mets, like every other team, will have until August 15 to sign their selections.
"On draft day, I think we're going into it with the idea that when our turn comes to pick in every round, we're going to take the guy that we think is the best player on the board and not worry so much about the signability portion of it," Mets vice president of player development and amateur scouting Paul DePodesta said. "We're going to go after what we believe is talent."
The Mets' next pick comes at No. 44. Still, that's ahead of the Yankees' first.
The Bombers gave up the 31st and 38th overall selections when they signed ailing setup man Rafael Soriano. Their first pick will be at No. 51 overall.
"We will try to find the best available guy we can," Yankees amateur scouting director Damon Oppenheimer told the New York Post. "It doesn't matter if it's high school or college."
Tampa Bay has a plethora of picks this year, getting 10 of the first 60 selections and 12 of the first 89 — mostly as compensation for losing top free agents such as Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano last offseason.
"When you pick higher," said Oppenheimer, "you can center in on guys and get multiple looks. Now, with all the supplemental picks, you don't have a clue what (other teams) will do."
Yankees fans: Will Soriano be worth the draft picks? Sound off below...
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