The Mets followed up the Logan Taylor pick by selecting Florida prep righty Rob Whalen in the 12th. Unlike a lot of the Mets' other high school draft picks, Whalen doesn't have much, if any, projection. He has a powerful but mature build at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and he already throws 90-92. It's just not reasonable to expect anything more. Unfortunately, he doesn't really have another pitch right now, so he's still a project despite having present velocity. He throws from a true three-quarters arm slot, so he should adapt to at least a slider, though he may struggle to get on top of a curve or possibly even a changeup. The delivery is a mixed bag. He's fairly loose, but he's inconsistent, occasionally cutting himself off a little, occasionally rushing through the delivery. Either way, there's more effort than you'd like to see. He'll also pronate a tad too late, possibly putting some stress on his shoulder. He might get a chance to start, but due to the command and lack of a true arsenal, I'd say a safer prediction--of course, when isn't it the safer prediction?--is a bullpen arm.
Like Taylor, Whalen's already signed, supposedly for the $100,000 slot limit, so he won't be attending Florida Atlantic.


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