Who will the Mets take with their first pick in the '26 Draft?

The Mets had a chance.

It was 0.67 percent of a chance, but it was a chance.

New York went into the Winter Meetings as one of 15 teams with an opportunity to win the 2026 No. 1 overall pick in the Draft Lottery. Instead, the organization moved to what would have been No. 17 but is instead projected to be No. 27 after the 10-spot penalty for exceeding the second competitive balance tax threshold.

The 2026 Draft will take place July 11-12 in Philadelphia, meaning we’re still seven months away. There’s a lot of baseball to be played between now and then. But it’s never too early to come down with a bout of Draft fever.

MLB Pipeline came out with its Top 100 Draft Prospects list last week, and with much of the order set after the lottery, let’s take a look at the Mets’ recent history at the top of the Draft and who they could be considering at No. 27 next July:

Recent history
2025, 38th overall: Mitch Voit, 2B, Michigan
2024, 19th overall: Carson Benge, OF, Oklahoma State
2023, 32nd overall: Colin Houck, SS, Parkview (Ga.) HS
2022, 11th overall: Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
2022, 14th overall: Jett Williams, SS, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) HS
2021, 10th overall: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt
2020, 19th overall: Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) HS

The Mets have been heavy on a few demographics at the top of their recent Drafts: bats and collegians.

Six of their seven first-rounders have been primary position players (and we use primary for a reason to be divulged below), and four of the seven have been from the NCAA ranks. We could even go four of six, if you don’t count Williams (though it’d feel odd to leave a top-15 pick out of this discussion).

The focus on bats is more obvious, and it becomes even more so when you remember that Rocker didn’t sign in 2021, leading to the Mets being awarded picks 11 and 14 in ‘22. Take a look at the Mets’ top pitching prospects right now, and you’ll see arms from the second round (Brandon Sproat), third round (Nolan McLean) and seventh round (Jonah Tong). New York has done a nice job of identifying pitching talent later in the process and then developing that talent into legitimate Top 100 or Top 100-adjacent prospects -- scouting working hand in hand with development.

Another area where the Mets have had success is in taking two-way players.

McLean and No. 2 prospect Carson Benge played both ways at Oklahoma State but have taken off since narrowing their respective focuses to pitching and hitting. Voit hopes to follow a similar path. The former Michigan star became an infielder-only after needing internal brace surgery in July 2024, and while you’ll still find a “TWP” designation next to his name on the Draft tracker, he’s expected to stick to the plate and dirt, as he did in the early going at Single-A St. Lucie this summer.

Potential picks

Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas (No. 29): Jim Callis had the Mets going with the Razorbacks' backstop in his first full mock draft. Helfrick is advanced behind the plate -- he already calls pitches -- and has the receiving, framing, blocking and throwing tools to be a defensive asset. He also possesses enough right-handed pop to be a 25-homer threat. Though it shouldn’t draft for need alone, New York lacks a catcher among its top 14 prospects right now. Helfrick could give the organization someone with No. 1 upside.

Eric Becker, SS, Virginia (No. 21): Becker might be a stretch to reach No. 27. He’s been a two-year performer with a .366/.459/.637 career line over 395 plate appearances in Charlottesville, and he’s a left-handed-hitting shortstop with a plus hit tool projection. Those aren’t easy to find in the Draft. His other tools grade out more average though, and if he doesn’t get to a little more power, it’s possible he’s there for the taking later in the first round.

Coleman Borthwick, RHP, South Walton (Fla.) HS (No. 23); Cole Koeninger, SS/RHP, Keller (Texas) HS (No. 58): We’ll group these two together in the two-way bucket.

Borthwick is a 6-foot-6 right-hander and powerful corner infielder. He can get up to 97-98 mph with his fastball with good life, and there’s a mid-80s slider that already looks at least above average. That’s enough to dream on him as a pitcher, and you could imagine the Mets’ pitching group wanting to work on someone with that frame and arsenal.

Koeninger has some good stuff of his own with a 92-95 mph fastball and a potentially plus curve, but his power-speed combination is worth considering at short. The Tennessee commit will have the spring to prove where his true strengths lie to scouts, who remain split on his future.

Blake Bowen, OF, JSerra (Calif.) HS (No. 33): A former football player, Bowen is on the upswing after a strong summer of showcase events, where he erased some of the swing-and-miss questions that had previously dogged his profile. There’s tons of raw power in his 6-foot-3 frame, and his running and throwing earn plus grades too. While those above take off as they focus on one position, Bowen could take off further with focus on one sport, perhaps might even be out of the Mets’ reach by July.

Gabe Gaeckle, RHP, Arkansas (No. 24): On Day 2 last year, the Mets chased stuff over all else by taking college arms Peyton Prescott (Florida State), Nathan Hall (Central Missouri) and Cam Tilly (Auburn) despite injuries or lack of a track record of starting performance. Could they be willing to do the same if Gaeckle is available much earlier at No. 27 overall?

The Razorbacks righty’s mid-90s fastball can be unhittable at times with exceptional carry out of a low release, and his upper-80s slider also looks like a plus option. There’s depth here too with a curveball and a changeup. Gaeckle can face command issues and still hasn’t stuck as a starter in college, but again, the Mets have proven they’re up for the challenge so long as they like the stuff.