2016 Mets draft profile: 2B Nick Sergakis

Name: Nick Sergakis
Born: West Alleghany, Pennsylvania
Age: 23 (4/6/1993)
Height/Weight: 5'8"/185 lbs
Position: 2B
Bats/Throws: R/R
School: Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)

Grission. That is the best way to describe Nick Sergakis. Certainly meaning something in the same vein, Sergakis himself prefers the term ‘dirtbag,' and takes the term as a compliment rather than an insult. A four-year letter-winner at Columbus Academy, Sergakis attended Coastal Carolina University for a year before transferring to Ohio State University. As a Buckeye, he hit his baseball stride, eventually being named co-captain of the team for the 2016 season. In 160 games over the course of three years, the infielder hit a healthy .305/.399/.439. His best individual season came in 2016, his last, when he hit .332/.451/.542 with 10 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

Naturally left-handed, Sergakis grew up hitting from the right side—perhaps ironically, because he was a big Mark McGwire fan as a kid and wanted to grow up to be a home run masher like his idol. Sergakis stands very close to the plate, and as a result, he is regularly brushed back—intentionally or unintentionally—or hit by pitches—intentionally or unintentionally. In 2016, he was hit 18 times in 238 at-bats, good for second most in the NCAA Big 10 Conference. In 2015, he was hit 12 times in 176 at-bats. The right-hander takes it all in stride, wearing his bruises as marks of distinction, physical proof that he is helping his team. He stands square at the plate and does not open much after toe tapping. He has a nice level swing and has shown surprising power out of his frame—though, because it is virtually all upper-body strength, Sergakis needs the ball to be up in the zone to manifest that power.

Sergakis spent most of his time at OSU at either shortstop or third base, winning a Gold Glove Award in 2015 and being named best defensive third baseman in the Big 10 Conference by Baseball America. He has quick reaction times and has some range. At second base, he has good range to both sides of the bag, but his arm looks maxed out when throwing from deep in the hole.

On the whole, Sergakis has a winning attitude. During games, he does all the little things right, from taking good leads and being frisky on the base paths to "coaching" teammates on the field from the dugout. When not actually playing, he is amusingly superstitious and is willing to do all kinds of things in order to help the team win, such as shaving his face and cleaning his bat every time he faces a new opponent because "beards and bats don't recognize days but they do recognize teams."