With their second second-round pick, just four picks after taking Matt Reynolds, the Mets selected prep righty Teddy Stankiewicz, out of Fort Worth Christian High School in Texas. He's not quite your typical projectable prep pitcher. Most of them are tall, throw around 90, and typically have no idea what they're doing on the mound. Yes, he's tall and could stand to add some weight to his frame--he's 6-foot-4, 190 pounds--but he has a degree of polish to him that you don't often see in the high school ranks.
Stankiewicz frequently throws 88-91 with his fastball, but he's been known to bump 94. I wouldn't count on much more velocity, but he might be able to throw a consistent 91-94 down the road. He'll mix in a power slider in the low 80s, and it can be an above average pitch in my eyes. Right now there isn't a ton of depth, but he throws it hard and it has some nice tilt to it. Other times, he'll throw it pretty flat. This is very common for prep pitchers; most of them still need to learn how to spin the ball reliably enough. He'll also add a changeup and a curve. I haven't seen the change, but he has a nice arm slot for one, and he generally does a nice job of getting on top of the ball, so I think he could develop a good one. The curve, frankly, is a joke and should be scrapped. It looks more like a 70-mph changeup than a true breaking ball. There are only two categories of pitchers who should have two types of breaking balls: pitchers with two great ones, and pitchers without an above average one. Stankiewicz has the slider, and I think he'll be better served staying exclusively with that.
What really separates Stankiewicz from the rest of the class is his commmand. He has a simple delivery that he repeats well, and it helps him locate his fastball to either side of the plate. He can really paint the black with the pitch, and it's rare to find a prep kid who can do that. There's also some deception to the delivery, as he kicks so high that his knee obscures the ball upon separation. I, at least, often had a tough time picking the pitch up. Mechanically, there's only one thing I see that gives me pause, and that's some late pronation of his pitching elbow, which may be stressing his shoulder. The team might try and alter that, but most teams are cautious about messing with a pitcher's arm action; you never know what you're going to get after you do.
Signability is a question mark here. Stankiewicz is committed to the University of Arkansas, and most teams were unsure he'd sign. Second-round money might be enough to get him inked, however, and if not the Mets probably saved a little extra from their previous two picks.
So what is Stankiewicz after all this projection and development? Well, if he adds a tick of velocity and winds up with a consistent slider and an average changeup, I can see a #3 or #4 starter. But, much like the other players the Mets have taken so far, I think there's a better chance of him reaching that ceiling than most pitchers at the same point on their development curves.