2015 Mets Draft Profiles: Rounds 36-40

And our final installment of Mets draft profiles:

Round 36: Anthony Gordon

Gordon was best known as Terra Nova High School’s quarterback, a guy who broke all kinds of passing records during his career. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to land a commitment from a big school and is only slated to attend the City College of San Francisco, a two-year program. It was a little surprising that a player who put up the numbers he did failed to garner any interest from a four-year program, but it may make him more signable for the Mets. That said, he may have his eyes focused on football, preferring to play for CCSF so that he can hopefully get noticed by a larger school.

As a baseball player, he plays in right field, showing some athleticism and the arm you’d expect to see from a right fielder. There’s a chance he could also play third, but I think right is the more likely destination. At 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, Gordon has the room to add a lot more strength to his frame, and the hope is that he’d develop into a power hitter in time. As it is, his power is more of the gap variety. A left-handed hitter, he will need to adjust his swing path, which is very flat, and I am concerned about his ability to hit for contact. He has a monster of a leg kick, and I fear it can lead to timing issues aplenty.

With the Mets pressed up against their limits financially, Gordon won’t be signing with the club.

Round 37: Geoff Hartlieb

Hartlieb is a draft-eligible sophomore at Lindenwood University, a Division II institution. The righty didn’t have an especially effective season for Lindenwood, posting a 6.02 ERA and a 39:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 43 innings. Hartlieb is more interesting than that, however. Standing physical at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, he can touch 95 with his fastball despite more commonly sitting at 90-92, and he’ll also bring a slider that shows some nice late break to it.

His delivery is somewhat clean, as he takes a long stride and his arm moves so quickly that is catches up to his body despite a lot of length to the back end of his arm action. He does have a cross-fire delivery, and that may be affecting his command and velocity negatively. Perhaps getting him to take a more direct path toward the plate will help, because he desperately needs to refine his command and control, both of which are well below average.

I have no idea whether to expect a signing here, but Hartlieb has some leverage due to his still having two years of eligibility remaining. Probably not.

Round 38: Jacob Wyrick

Wyrick is a freshman southpaw at Cleveland State Community College, and I can’t imagine there’s any chance of a signing here. And I say this as someone who knows virtually nothing about the kid.

Wyrick is on the shorter side at 6 feet and 165 pounds, and missed his senior year in high school due to a knee injury. He allegedly came back strong after a slow start, but I don’t have a scouting report on him at all. He is expected to return to Cleveland State next year and hopefully improve his stock or attract an offer to a Division I school.

Round 39: Chad Luensmann

Another guy who will not sign. Tall at 6 feet, 3 inches and 215 pounds, Luensmann might still have a little projection left, but if not he’ll be stuck at 88-90, below-average velocity for a righty. However, I’m not convinced he’ll need much more than that. His fastball is very heavy and his high three-quarters release puts a lot of life on the pitch—the Pennsylvania prep product is known to be a ground ball machine.

He also brings a slider, curve, and changeup to the table, but all three are below-average pitches, with the slider having the most promise right now. Which makes sense, given his arm angle and reliance on a sinking fastball.

Mechanically, his delivery isn’t the smoothest, but that does offer some deception—in particular he has an extremely high leg kick, and he’ll need to work on streamlining his arm action to an extent. But he’s interesting and committed to Nebraska, so there’s no chance he’ll sign.

Round 40: Nick Conti

The grandson of Mets pitching coordinator Guy Conti, Nick is an undersized second baseman hailing from the Orlando area where I make my home. This pick was completely done as a favor to Guy: There is zero chance that Nick signs with the team, and he would not have been picked here if he weren’t related to Guy.

That said, he’s not a worthless player. He’ll end up at second due to a lack of range at shortstop, and he could be a good one. He has smooth infield actions, soft hands, and a strong arm, having also been a pitcher who could throw in the low 80s. At the plate, he shows good hand-eye coordination and a swing that isn’t quite rotational, but he squares up well and sprays line drives to all fields.

And much like you’d expect from the grandson of a baseball lifer, Conti is a hard-nosed sort, the type of guy scouts and coaches love to see play.

He’s committed to Eckerd College and will attend.

That does it for our 2015 Mets draft coverage. It’s been an honor and a pleasure, everyone. I’ll be back after the signing period ends with some bonus content before Eric Simon pulls the plug and stows me away in a storage locker outside Paramus, New Jersey.