Sometimes, it’s all about the picks you don’t make
Full list of 2009 Mets draft picks
Welcome to this edition of disappointing Mets draft classes. Looking back at Mets draft classes is typically a masochistic exercise, but 2009 could be the most painful since 1966. If it’s any consolation, at least this time you can’t fault the Mets for who they picked in the first round because they didn’t pick anyone. And, technically, the nobody they picked turned into Randal Grichuk, who still ended up being more valuable than the entire Mets draft but did not go on to become the best player in baseball. The distinction is largely academic though; the Angels had both this pick and the next, which they used to take Mike Trout.
You’re probably wondering how we got here. After enduring two consecutive September collapses, the Mets needed to make some moves to get back to the far-off glory days of 2006. Their solution? Signing Proven Closer(TM) Francisco Rodriguez (no way that one’s going to come back to punch them in the face…). As a consequence of that move, the Mets would lose their first round pick to the Angels, who were bleeding free agents and stockpiled five compensation picks in the first 50.
Now, that’s never a guarantee of a solid return. Just ask the 2010 Red Sox, who were given a gift of four picks in the first 60 from the Mets and ended up with, um, Brandon Workman? So losing your first round pick isn’t exactly the worst thing in the world. But missing out on Mike Trout? Yeah, that’s a tough one. To be fair, 21 teams had passed on Trout before the Angels were on the clock and the Mets almost certainly would have made it 22. Still…
Anyway, the Mets did make a few selections later on. Steven Matz would be their top pick and needed Tommy John surgery less than a year later, delaying his MLB debut until 2015. Matz remained a starter until 2020, when he was demoted to the bullpen amid the Mets’ starting pitching shortage (only to return to the rotation, with the same terrible results). That’s a better outcome than most, but disappointing compared to the other Mets prospects to make the rotation around him.
We can really stop there. Only one other pick would make the majors with the Mets, Darrell Ceciliani for all of 39 games. 3rd-rounder Robbie Shields didn’t make it past St. Lucie and 13th-rounder Zach Dotson (not to be confused with Pirates 4th-rounder Zack Dodson, who played professionally for over a decade without reaching the majors) got an autograph from Donruss (and a $500k bonus from the Mets) and then washed out in rookie ball. Darin Gorski may have had the most notable minor league career of the bunch, making 46 starts for Binghamton over three seasons and getting as far as AAA before leaving affiliated ball, somehow never getting an autograph card along the way.
That’s not to say that the Mets’ picks were a complete disaster. Among the picks the Mets failed to sign, five would make the majors (four with autographs), including Damien Magnifico and David Buchanan, picked in rounds 5 and 6, respectively. While their MLB careers turned out to be of little consequence, it’s still a bad sign when you don’t sign two of your top five picks. The big miss was Mitch Haniger, who was drafted in the first round in 2012 by the Brewers, made the majors in 2016 with the Diamondbacks, and was named an All-Star in 2018 with the Mariners. And then a foul ball off his groin ended his season in 2019 with a ruptured testicle. He has not appeared in a game since, but his brief career to date has already been more valuable that the rest of the Mets’ 2009 draft combined, signed or not. Ain’t that a kick in the nuts.
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| 2 Steven Matz | 3 Robbie Shields | 4 Darrell Ceciliani | 5 Damien Magnifico (DNS) |
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| 6 David Buchanan (DNS) | 7 Darin Gorski | 13 Zach Dotson | 19 Nelfi Zapata |
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| 31 Mitch Haniger (DNS) | 32 T.J. Chism | 39 Taylor Whitenton | 50 Zack Godley (DNS) |
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