List of New York Mets first-round draft picks
Introduction alt=Man in a white baseball uniform with "Mets" and "5" on the chest wearing a baseball glove on his left hand and a blue baseball cap.The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball franchise based in New York City. They play in the National League East division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Mets have selected 63 players in its first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, and the team that had the worst record receives the first pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1961 expansion draft in which the Mets initially filled their roster.Of the 63 players picked in the first round by the Mets, 25 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 18 of these were right-handed, while seven were left-handed. 18 of the players picked in the initial round were outfielders, while eight shortstops, six catchers, and three third basemen were selected. The team also selected two players at first base and one at second base. 14 of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, while Florida and Texas follow, with nine and five players, respectively.Four Mets' first-round picks have won championships with the franchise. No first-round picks were on the 1969 championship team. Outfielders Lee Mazzilli (1973) and Darryl Strawberry (1980), shortstop Wally Backman (1977), and pitcher Dwight Gooden (1982) played in the 1986 World Series for the Mets' second championship team. Three first-round draft picks have gone on to win the Rookie of the Year Award with the Mets: Jon Matlack in 1972, Strawberry in 1983, and Gooden in 1984.Gooden went on to win the Cy Young Award in 1985, his second season, after placing second in the voting his rookie year. Gooden is also the only first-round draft pick of the Mets to make the All-Star team in his rookie season.The Mets have made 11 selections in the supplemental round of the draft. They have also made the first overall selection five times (1966, 1968, 1980, 1984, and 1994), tied for the most such picks with the San Diego Padres. The first of these picks, Steve Chilcott (1966), is one of only two first overall picks (along with Brien Taylor) to never play in the major leagues. The Mets have had 18 compensatory picks since the institution of the First-Year Player Draft in 1965.These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the prior off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. One player, George Ambrow (1970), did not sign with the Mets after he was drafted but they received no compensation pick.
Key  '''Year''' Each year links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball Draft. '''Position''' Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play '''Pick''' Indicates the number of the pick within the first round* Player did not sign with the Mets  Indicates a supplemental pick '86 Player played in 1986 World Series for Mets' championship team
Picks alt=A man in black pants and a white baseball uniform with blue and orange stripes down the side holds his hands close to his face while standing on home plate.alt=A man in a light baseball uniform with "New York" on the chest and a dark baseball cap.alt=A man in a white baseball uniform with "Cardinals" and "3" on the chest wearing red cap and armbands.alt=A man in a white pinstriped baseball uniform with "Twins" on the chest holds a baseball bat and a cup.alt=A man in a grey baseball uniform with "New York" on the chest wearing a baseball glove and a dark cap winds up to throw with his left hand.alt=A man in a grey baseball uniform with "New York" and "44" on the chest smiles, surrounded by several men in similar uniforms.alt=A man in a white pinstriped baseball uniform and blue cap winds up to throw a baseball.alt=A man in a navy blue baseball uniform with "43" on the back rears back to deliver a pitch.YearNamePosition School (Location)Pick Ref 1965 Les Rohr Left-handed pitcher West High School(Billings, Montana) 2 1966 Steve Chilcott Catcher Antelope Valley High School(Lancaster, California) 1 1967 Jon Matlack Left-handed pitcher Henderson High School(West Chester, Pennsylvania) 4 1968 Tim Foli Shortstop Notre Dame High School(Sherman Oaks, California) 1 1969 Randy Sterling Right-handed pitcher Key West High School(Key West, Florida) 4 1970George Ambrow* Shortstop Long Beach Polytechnic High School(Long Beach, California) 23 1971 Rich Puig Second baseman Hillsborough High School(Tampa, Florida) 14 1972 Richard Bengston Catcher Richwoods High School(Peoria, Illinois) 13 1973 Lee Mazzilli '86 Outfielder Abraham Lincoln High School(Brooklyn, New York) 14 1974 Cliff Speck Right-handed pitcher Beaverton High School(Beaverton, Oregon) 17 1975 Butch Benton Catcher Godby High School(Tallahassee, Florida) 6 1976 Tom Thurberg Outfielder South Weymouth High School(Weymouth, Massachusetts) 13 1977 Wally Backman '86 Shortstop Aloha High School(Aloha, Oregon) 16 1978 Hubie Brooks Outfielder Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 3 1979 Tim Leary Right-handed pitcher UCLA(Los Angeles, California) 2 1980 Darryl Strawberry '86 Outfielder Crenshaw High School(Los Angeles, California) 1  1980 Billy Beane Outfielder Mount Carmel High School(San Diego, California) 23 1980 John Gibbons Catcher MacArthur High School(San Antonio, Texas) 24 1981 Terry Blocker Outfielder Tennessee State University(Nashville, Tennessee) 4 1982 Dwight Gooden '86 Right-handed pitcher Hillsborough High School(Tampa, Florida) 5 1983 Eddie Williams Third baseman Hoover High School(San Diego, California) 4  1983 Stan Jefferson Outfielder Bethune-Cookman College(Daytona Beach, Florida) 20 1983Calvin Schiraldi Right-handed pitcher University of Texas at Austin(Austin, Texas)27§ 1984 Shawn Abner Outfielder Mechanicsburg Area High School(Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania) 1 1985 Gregg Jefferies Shortstop Serra High School(San Mateo, California) 20 1986 Lee May Jr. Outfielder Purcell Marian High School(Cincinnati) 21 1987 Chris Donnels Third baseman Loyola Marymount University(Los Angeles, California) 24 1988 Dave Proctor Right-handed pitcher Allen County CC(Iola, Kansas) 21 1989 Alan Zinter Catcher University of Arizona(Tucson, Arizona) 24 1990 Jeromy Burnitz Outfielder Oklahoma State University(Stillwater, Oklahoma) 17 1991 Al Shirley Outfielder George Washington High School(Danville, Virginia) 18  1991 Bobby Jones Right-handed pitcher California State University, Fresno(Fresno, California)36§ 1992 Preston Wilson Shortstop Bamberg Ehrhardt High School(Bamberg, South Carolina) 9  1992 Chris Roberts Left-handed pitcher Florida State University(Tallahassee, Florida) 18 1992 Jon Ward Right-handed pitcher Huntington Beach High School(Huntington Beach, California)30§ 1993 Kirk Presley Right-handed pitcher Tupelo High School(Tupelo, Mississippi) 8 1994 Paul Wilson Right-handed pitcher Florida State University(Tallahassee, Florida) 1  1994 Terrence Long First baseman Stanhope Elmore High School(Millbrook, Alabama) 20 1994 Jay Payton Outfielder Georgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia)29§ 1995 Ryan Jaroncyk Shortstop Orange Glen High School(Escondido, California) 18  1996 Robert Stratton Outfielder San Marcos High School(San Marcos, California) 13 1997 Geoff Goetz Left-handed pitcher Jesuit High School(Tampa, Florida) 6 1998 Jason Tyner Outfielder Texas A&M(College Station, Texas) 21  1999 ''no first-round pick'' 2000 Billy Traber Left-handed pitcher Loyola Marymount University(Los Angeles, California) 16  2000 Bobby Keppel Right-handed pitcher De Smet Jesuit High School(Creve Coeur, Missouri)36§ 2001 Aaron Heilman Right-handed pitcher University of Notre Dame(Notre Dame, Indiana) 18  2001 David Wright Third baseman Hickory High School(Chesapeake, Virginia)38§ 2002 Scott Kazmir Left-handed pitcher Cypress Falls High School(Houston, Texas) 15  2003 Lastings Milledge Outfielder Lakewood Ranch High School(Bradenton, Florida) 12 2004 Philip Humber Right-handed pitcher Rice University(Houston, Texas) 3 2005 Mike Pelfrey Right-handed pitcher Wichita State University(Wichita, Kansas) 9 2006 ''no first-round pick'' 2007 Eddie Kunz Right-handed pitcher Oregon State University(Corvallis, Oregon) 42§ 2007 Nathan Vineyard Left-handed pitcher Woodland High School(Cartersville, Georgia) 47§ 2008 Ike Davis First baseman Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 18 2008 Reese Havens Shortstop University of South Carolina(Columbia, South Carolina) 22 2008 Bradley Holt Right-handed pitcher University of North Carolina at Wilmington(Wilmington, North Carolina) 33§ 2009 ''no first-round pick'' 2010 Matt Harvey Right-handed pitcher University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(Chapel Hill, North Carolina) 7 2011 Brandon Nimmo Outfielder Cheyenne East High School(Cheyenne, Wyoming) 13 2011 Michael Fulmer Right-handed pitcher Deer Creek High School(Edmond, Oklahoma) 44§ 2012 Gavin Cecchini Shortstop Barbe High School(Lake Charles, Louisiana) 12 2012 Kevin Plawecki Catcher Purdue University(West Lafayette, Indiana) 35§ 2013 Dominic Smith First baseman Serra High School(Gardena, California) 11 2014 Michael Conforto Outfielder Oregon State University(Corvallis, Oregon) 10 2015 ''no first-round pick'' 2016 Justin Dunn Right-handed pitcher Boston College(Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts) 19 2016 Anthony Kay Left-handed pitcher University of Connecticut(Storrs, Connecticut) 31§ 2017 David Peterson Left-handed pitcher University of Oregon(Eugene, Oregon) 20 2018Jarred KelenicOutfielderWaukesha West High School(Waukesha, Wisconsin)6 2019Brett BatyThird basemanLake Travis High School(Austin, Texas)12 2020Pete Crow-ArmstrongOutfielderHarvard-Westlake School(Los Angeles, California)19 2021Kumar Rocker*Right-handed pitcherVanderbilt University(Nashville, Tennessee)10 2022Kevin ParadaCatcherGeorgia Tech(Atlanta, Georgia)11 2022Jett Williams (baseball)ShortstopRockwall-Heath High School(Heath, Texas)14 2023Colin HouckShortstopParkview High School(GA)32
See also *New York Mets minor league players
Footnotes *Free agents are evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation eligible. If a team offers arbitration to a player but that player refuses and subsequently signs with another team, the original team may receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent leaves in this way his previous team receives a supplemental pick and a compensation pick from the team with which he signs. If a "Type B" free agent leaves in this way his previous team receives only a supplemental pick. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1980 from the Pittsburgh Pirates for losing free agent Andy Hassler. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1980 from the Boston Red Sox for losing free agent Skip Lockwood. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1983 from the Atlanta Braves for losing free agent Pete Falcone. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1983 for losing free agent Pete Falcone. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1991 from the Los Angeles Dodgers for losing free agent Darryl Strawberry. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1991 for losing free agent Darryl Strawberry. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1992 from the Boston Red Sox for losing free agent Frank Viola. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1992 for losing free agent Frank Viola. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1994 from the Baltimore Orioles for losing free agent Sid Fernandez. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1994 for losing free agent Sid Fernandez. * The Mets lost their first-round pick in 1999 to the Chicago White Sox as compensation for signing free agent Robin Ventura. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2000 from the Seattle Mariners for losing free agent John Olerud. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2000 for losing free agent John Olerud. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2001 from the Colorado Rockies for losing free agent Mike Hampton. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2001 for losing free agent Mike Hampton. * The Mets lost their first-round pick in 2006 to the Philadelphia Phillies as compensation for signing free agent Billy Wagner. * The Mets lost their original first-round pick in 2007 to the San Francisco Giants as compensation for signing free agent Moisés Alou but gained a supplemental first-round pick for losing free agent Roberto Hernández. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2007 for losing free agent Chad Bradford. * The Mets gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2008 from the Atlanta Braves for losing free agent Tom Glavine. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2008 for losing free agent Tom Glavine. * The Mets lost their first-round pick in 2009 to the Los Angeles Angels as compensation for signing free agent Francisco Rodríguez. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2011 for losing free agent Pedro Feliciano. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2012 for losing free agent José Reyes. * The Mets lost their first-round pick in 2015 to the Colorado Rockies as compensation for signing free agent Michael Cuddyer. * The Mets gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2016 for losing free agent Daniel Murphy.
References ;General references**;In-text citations