2021 Mets Draft profile: Drake Osborn

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Born in Corpus Christi, Drake Osborn grew up in Sandia, Texas and attended the nearby Orange Grove High School. Primarily a catcher who occasionally played in the outfield, Osborn earned First Team All-District Catcher honors in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. He leveraged his high school success into a spot on the Texas A&M- Corpus Christi baseball team when he graduated in 2016. His playing time with the Islander in 2017, his freshman season, was minimal, appearing 12 games in total, starting 3, and going 1-16 with a walk, 6 strikeouts, and a stolen base. He had much more of an impact in 2018, when he hit .293/.345/.488 with 6 home runs, 3 stolen bases, 10 walks, and 27 strikeouts in 48 games, earning Third Team All-Southland honors. That summer, he played for the Battle Creek Bombers in the Northwoods League and struggled. He brought those struggles back to Texas A&M- Corpus Christi for the 2019 season, as he hit .266/.329/.352 in 36 games with 1 home run, 2 stolen bases, and 9 walks to 26 strikeouts. He went undrafted in the 2019 MLB Draft and returned to the Islanders for the 2020 season, his senior year.

Unfortunately for Osborn, he never got a chance to showcase himself to major league teams, as the NCAA ended the season early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The backstop graduated from Texas A&M- Corpus Christi with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology that spring. He was not done with his education, enrolling at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Studying there gave him the opportunity to continue playing baseball, and he joined the Ragin’ Cajuns as a graduate transfer. He appeared in 51 games for them and hit .337/.415/.491 with 3 home runs, 6 stolen bases, and 19 walks to 15 strikeouts.

The 5’10”, 190-pound catcher has a hit-over-power profile. At the plate, he stands square with his hands held low. Utilizing a slight leg kick, he has a smooth, level right-handed swing that sprays line drives around the field, occasionally punishing balls for home run power. As you would want to see from a catcher, Osborn has a good understanding of the strike zone, not striking out excessively and drawing plenty of walks. For his career, the backstop has maintained anywhere between a 25% and 32% caught stealing rate. He experienced shoulder problems in 2020 and 2021, but ironically his 32% caught stealing rate in 2021 was the high-water mark of his career. Owing to his size, he moves well behind the plate and is mobile.