The MLB draft is three days away. You'd think that there'd be some cohesion among draft/prospect experts as to who will be going where by now, but there isn't.
What seems very plausible in this draft is the New York Mets going with a pitcher with their No. 13 selection. Out of all the mock drafts I've seen, very few have the Mets going with a position player. It's not a bad idea, they could use an ace-in-the-making, but they could also use an impact position player as well. Either way, the hope is that the new trio of front office/scouting execs make the "right" picks and start to infuse some talent into a pretty weak system.
A tweet by Scout.com's Frankie Piliere spurred me to thinking about profiling Taylor Jungmann, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound right-hander from Texas. Why? Well ESPN's Keith Law (who ranked him the No. 8 best prospect) just released his mock draft (version 3.0) and has the Mets taking Taylor Guerrieri, whom I already profiled. But he does say, "Jungmann would be the choice over Guerrieri if he's available."
Piliere tweeted: "Jungmann to the Mets rumor just getting stronger. Was confident in it anyway but had a couple other good sources confirm it today." Plus, Law says that the "club's new mandate is to take pitching." It's tough to put all the pieces together here, but as draft day looms, it seems that the Mets' potential pick at No. 13 is growing clearer. At least we know it's likely to be an arm.
Jungmann dominated college competition this season: 13-0 record, 0.95 ERA, 67 hits allowed in 122 2/3 innings pitched with 116 strikeouts. From the looks of his scouting report, Jungmann, 20, throws really easy and can get it into the mid-90s, with a "hammer" curveball, as Law describes it. He also does not appear to have any egregious mechanical flaws, though he doesn't use his lower body enough, according to Law.
MLB.com's scout and prospect expert, Jonathan Mayo, ranks Taylor Jungmann his seventh best prospect in the draft, offering up a very comprehensive scouting report (snippets below):
"The big right-hander with a Mike Pelfrey-type frame has three plus pitches and shows the ability to maintain his stuff deep into every start.
His fastball has been around 91-97 mph, even touching 98 mph, and sits comfortably in the 93-95 mph. His fastball has plus movement as well. His curve, with a hard, tight 11-to-5 break, is also a plus pitch, as is his changeup. While his command is average -- he occasionally gets too much of the middle of the plate -- he's got outstanding control, throwing strikes and not hurting himself with walks. He'll have to learn to pitch off the plate more, but that shouldn't be an issue.
Jungmann did have elbow surgery in high school that might concern some teams, but that shouldn't be enough of a red flag to keep him from going off the board in the top half of the first round."
How Jungmann fits in New York: Despite the comparison to Mike Pelfrey, who's had a solid career, but not groundbreaking one, Jungmann is only compared because of their similar tall build, and I think that's a good thing. Pelfrey's biggest problem out of college, to me at least, was that he had a big fastball and he could get away with OK secondary stuff (slider), which has proven to be underwhelming in the majors.
Jungmann seems to have the makings of at least three plus pitches, and really could be a guy that kicks it up a notch when he's challenged more, as Law alludes to. I think this is the type of guy that can move up a system quickly -- he's spent three years already in college. Typically you worry about a guy if he has problems throwing strikes -- Jungmann has the opposite, it seems as he sometimes pounds the plate too much. I'm a bit concerned about the strikeout numbers that don't quite match the innings pitched numbers, but again, the reports I've read suggest he has a power arsenal capable of missing bats. A little minor league seasoning and coaching could do him well in that regard. I'm a fan of this pick if the Mets go this route.