Mets' top Draft pick can hit triple digits -- and his brother is a Top 100 prospect

NEW YORK -- If it’s velocity you’re after, Carson Wiggins is your man.

Wiggins, whom the Mets selected 27th overall in the Major League Baseball Draft on Saturday, hit 102 mph on the radar gun last year as a 20-year-old. He’s following in his brother Jaxon’s footsteps as one of the hardest-throwing pitchers at any level of the sport, with a chance to join the Jacob Misiorowski-led ranks of modern-day fireballers.

The catch? Wiggins hasn’t actually thrown any of those triple-digit fastballs in more than a year. Now 21, he’s pitched a total of 14 competitive innings above the high school level. As a freshman at the University of Arkansas last spring, Wiggins tore the UCL in his right elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery with an internal brace. He’s been working his way back ever since.

That wasn’t enough to deter the Mets from taking Wiggins with their only selection in the top 91 picks of this year’s Draft.

“Obviously very thankful, very excited,” Wiggins said. “Did not see this coming at all. The Mets taking a chance on me is very surreal to me. I’ve wanted this since I was a little kid.”

Like many teams, the Mets’ interest in Wiggins grew when he appeared in the MLB Draft Combine last month, sitting 95 mph with his fastball, peaking at 97.4 and showcasing an expanding arsenal that has come to include a slider, curveball and changeup. In addition to proving that he’s healthy, Wiggins showed that he is back to being, in his own words, “a very powerful pitcher.”

In 14 appearances for Arkansas before hurting his right elbow, Wiggins logged a 3.21 ERA with 20 strikeouts and nine walks over 14 innings. But between the crispness of his stuff post-surgery and the fact that he has added more off-speed weapons, Wiggins said he’s “a different pitcher than I was two years ago.”

Throwing hard runs in the Wiggins family. Carson’s older brother, Jaxon, is a Top 100 prospect for the Cubs who has been clocked at 101 mph. The two have always had a friendly competition, with Carson trying to beat any milestone his brother achieved. With Jaxon pushing him, Carson hit 100 mph for the first time as a 17-year-old.

“It came out of nowhere,” he said. “I didn’t even know how to explain it. It just kind of happened. And then after that, it just kept going.”

The Mets had just one selection in the top 91 picks of this year’s Draft due to Competitive Balance Tax penalties. While they gained a pick after the fourth round for losing Pete Alonso to the Orioles, they lost both that and their second-round selection as penalty for signing Bo Bichette after the Blue Jays extended him a qualifying offer. The Mets also had their top pick moved from No. 17 to No. 27 due to exceeding the highest CBT threshold by more than $40 million.

As a result, the Mets picked Wiggins at No. 27, then not again until No. 92 overall.