Mets will target arms in Draft to replenish farm

NEW YORK -- While the Mets wait to call up Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith -- their top prospects at Triple-A Las Vegas -- they are keeping one eye toward restocking the bottom tiers of their farm system. The Mets will again look to replenish their system next week.
The 2017 Draft will take place from Monday through Wednesday, beginning with the Draft preview show on MLB Network and MLB.com at 6 p.m. ET on Monday. MLB Network will broadcast the first 36 picks (Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A), while MLB.com will stream all 75 picks on Day 1. MLB.com will also provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Day 2, starting at 1 p.m. Then, Rounds 11-40 can be heard live on MLB.com on Wednesday, beginning at noon.
Go to MLB.com/draft to see the Top 200 Prospects list, projected top picks from MLBPipeline.com analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the complete order of selection and more. And follow @MLBDraft on Twitter to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying.
:: 2017 MLB Draft coverage ::
Here's how the Draft is shaping up for the Mets, whose first selection is the 20th overall pick.
In about 50 words
Early returns on last year's Draft class are tepid, with first-round pick Justin Dunn struggling and two of their other top selections -- pitcher Anthony Kay and infielder Blake Tiberi -- recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Mets again don't have a high first-round pick, making it more difficult to supplement last year's talent in the lower levels of their farm system.
The scoop
Senior director of amateur scouting Tommy Tanous spent his top two picks last year on pitchers, a departure from the strategy of previous Draft head Paul DePodesta. The Mets still have more potential impact hitters than pitchers in their system.
First-round buzz
Callis recently mentioned high school right-hander Sam Carlson as a possibility at No. 20 overall, while Mayo tied the Mets to Louisiana State righty Alex Lange. If the Mets instead look for hitting, Callis said outfielder Keston Hiura and shortstop Logan Warmoth are possibilities.

Money matters
To ensure competitive balance, MLB's Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that each team has a bonus pool to spend based upon the number and position of its Draft picks. The more selections a team has and the earlier it picks, the larger the pool. Any club that overspends its budget is subject to taxes and, in extreme cases, a loss of picks in future Drafts.
Any team going up to 5 percent over its allotted pool will be taxed at a 75-percent rate on the overage. A team that overspends by 5-10 percent gets a 75-percent tax plus the loss of a first-round pick. A team that goes 10-15 percent over its pool amount will be hit with a 100-percent penalty on the overage and the loss of a first- and second-round pick. Any overage of 15 percent or more gets a 100-percent tax plus the loss of first-round picks in the next two Drafts.
This year, the Mets have a pool of $6,212,500 to spend in the first 10 rounds, roughly $1.4 million less than last year. That includes $2,994,500 to spend on their first selection.
Shopping list
Don't be surprised if the Mets take a pitcher in the first round again. Years of spending high picks on hitters has left the system relatively barren of impact pitchers at the upper levels, particularly with the organization's three top pitching prospects -- Dunn, Thomas Szapucki and Kay -- all either injured or struggling.

Trend watch
To that end, the Mets snapped a streak last year of selecting a hitter with their top pick for five consecutive years. It remains to be seen if they started a new streak in the process.
Recent Draft history
Rising fast
Catcher Patrick Mazeika has turned heads with his early-season performance at Class A St. Lucie. An eighth-round pick out of Stetson two years ago, the 23-year-old Mazeika has the potential to rise in a hurry, perhaps making it to the upper levels of the Minors later this season.

Cinderella story
Invited to his first big league camp this spring, Phillip Evans has come a long way since the Mets drafted him in the 15th round in 2011. Now playing at Triple-A Las Vegas, Evans is on the cusp of defying the odds to make the big leagues.

In The Show
Many of the Mets' most productive players are former Draft picks, including Lucas Duda (seventh round, 2007), Jacob deGrom (ninth round, '10), Robert Gsellman (13th round, '11) and Michael Conforto (first round, '14).
The Mets' recent top picks
2016: Justin Dunn, RHP, Class A St. Lucie
2015: Desmond Lindsay, OF, Class A Columbia
2014: Michael Conforto, OF, Mets
2013: Dominic Smith, 1B, Triple-A Las Vegas
2012: Gavin Cecchini, SS, Triple-A Las Vegas