NEW YORK METS IN AMATEUR BASEBALL DRAFT

The New York Mets, despite adversity and a ton of injuries, return to their top spot on-top the National League East Division after making their amateur baseball draft picks.

No doubt, they welcomed the second-straight Home Run Derby championship won by their first baseman Pete Alonso in day one of the MLB All-Star Game.

Just about at full strength again, the Citi Field occupants have looked into their future, and all they see is pitching.

After drafting Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker in the first round and 10th overall, the farm system got another shot in the arm(s) with seven hurlers chosen in rounds two through 10.

In the second round, they selected Canada’s heralded top prospect, 18-year-old Calvin Ziegler, a hard-throwing right-hander who’s fastball hovers in the mid-90s, and has reached 97. His fastball has excellent swing-and-miss potential thanks to its sink. And at his age and at 6-feet, 205 pounds, he will have plenty of opportunities to get stronger.

To the Mets, getting Ziegler was a tremendous group pick, and with their initial look at him, said he had some of the best high school stuff they’ve seen all year. In addition to the fastball, he has a curveball-slider hybrid with dynamic breaking action, and a change-up.

In the third round, the Orange and Blue drafted another righty, 21-year-old Dominic Hamel out of Chandler, Ariz. He’s touted as a high-spin pitcher with a fastball that has high-riding life and sits at about 90-94, and topping out at 96. He also delivers a slider in the low 80s to go with a curve-ball. At Dallas Baptist University, a regular in the college post-season, his record this season was 13-2 to go with a 4.22 earned run average.

J.T. Schwartz, a 21-year-old first baseman, was picked in the fourth round. He was a 2021 PAC-12 All-Conference selection via a consistent left-handed bat, as well as a doubles hitter with a good eye for the strike zone.

In the fifth round, the Mets went for hard-throwing righty-hander Christian Scott. Projected to be a reliever, he has a fastball that can hit 98, along with a mid-80s slider.

The sixth round pick was Kansas State righty Carson Seymour, and in round seven, it was Kevin Kendall, a shortstop and lefty swinger from UCLA. The remainder of the Mets’ Day 2 choices were 21-year-old right-handed Mike Vasil in the eighth round, 22-year-old righty Levi Davis in round nine, and 21-year-old southpaw Keyshawn Askew in the 10th.

The Mets made their final picks up to the 20th round on Tuesday night.

One word of note is that their first round selection in 2020, talented outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, no doubt their top prospect, is recovering from a knee injury and assigned to their double A team in upstate New York, with the next stop in AAA Syracuse.

Crow-Armstrong can do it all. He’s fleet, can cover a lot of ground in center-field, has a strong arm, a great eye at the plate, and is equally adept at hitting the long ball, laying down bunts, and just getting on base similar to present Met Brandon Nimmo.

In one season in the minors, he’s battered .428, hit 14 home runs, drove in 47, stole 24 bases, and usually hit in the lead-off spot. He added 18 outfield assists and threw out six base runners, three at home plate.

There you go, meet the Mets, in first place at the All-Star break for the first time since 2006, and ahead of the second place Atlanta Braves by 3 and one- half games.