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Mets take OF Wilson with first pick of third round

At the end of Day 2 of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, the Mets looked at their new group of players with significant satisfaction. As each round passed, they found themselves taking players they were legitimately pleased to welcome to the organization.

"Just like any Draft day, we sort of alternate between excitement and disappointment. You never get every player you want, but you get really excited when you get one of the guys you do," said Paul DePodesta, the Mets vice president of player development and amateur scouting. "Fortunately for us today, I think we got more than our share of excitement. It really went well for us."

The Mets continued their stretch of drafting high school players in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft by selecting Ivan Wilson in the third round on Friday with the 76th overall pick.

An outfielder from Ruston High School in Louisiana, Wilson has good power and can hit home runs to any part of the ballpark. This past season, he hit .383 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs.

"Really a unique mix of power and speed," said Tommy Tanous, the Mets' director of amateur scouting. "As close to a five-tool athlete as you're going to find."

Wilson's combination of tools and athleticism was among the best of this year's prep outfielders. He is listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds with good strength and plus speed.

He takes advantage of his power-speed combination thanks to good instincts on the basepaths. Wilson has excellent range in the outfield and a strong enough arm to play right field if he can't stay in center.

Wilson is committed to play for Grambling if he doesn't end up signing for the Mets.

The Mets went on to select Casey Meisner out of Cypress Woods High School in Texas just eight picks after Wilson. Meisner is a 6-foot-7, 185-pound right-hander who has a fastball that sits around 90 mph consistently, but could reach 94 mph as he continues to develop.

The Mets also drafted a college player whose family has some history with the organization. New York selected UConn second baseman L.J. Mazzilli in the fourth round. He's the son of former Mets fan favorite Lee Mazzilli.

L.J. was the first college player the Mets took in the Draft.

In the fifth round, the Mets drafted Jared King, a switch-hitting left-fielder from Kansas State. King's a solid hitter who has the potential to hit for both average and power.

The Mets drafted Champ Stuart in the sixth round. Stuart is a center fielder from Brevard College in North Carolina. A native of the Bahamas, Stuart is still learning the game and is considered a work in progress. But he has some raw tools that will help him continue to develop in the pros.

In the seventh round, the Mets drafted a power-hitting first baseman from the University of Oklahoma. Matt Oberste has impressive numbers this season, as he's hitting .376 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs.

The eighth round brought Ricky Knapp to the Mets. The son of former Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp, Ricky has a tremendous feel for pitching and an impressive arsenal.

In the ninth round, the Mets drafted Patrick Biondi, a left-handed-hitting outfielder out of Michigan who is a top-of-the-order hitter with plenty of speed.

Wrapping up Day 2, the Mets selected Luis Guillorme, a slick-fielding shortstop from Coral Springs Charter High School in Florida.

Day 3 of the Draft continues with Rounds 11-40 streamed live on MLB.com on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. ET.

MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 100 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of Draft-eligible players. You can also keep up to date by following @MLBDraft on Twitter. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.

In the pipeline:

The Mets have good pitching in the system, with such players as Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaad. In this year's Draft, the Mets brought on some talented position players to supplant those high-quality pitchers.

Wilson gives the Mets a solid, power-hitting outfielder who has good speed on the basepaths. Only two of their current top 20 prospects are outfielders. Overall, the Mets drafted four outfielders through the first 10 rounds. They've very high on the ability of Jared King, who gives them another power-hitting outfielder for the future. Patrick Biondi doesn't fit the bill of a power hitter, but he's a quick, hit-for-average-type outfielder who could fit nicely at the top of the lineup down the line.

With the selection of Matt Oberste, the Mets have two good first basemen from the Draft. Dominic Smith is more of an RBI type, whereas Oberste possesses plenty of power.

The Mets also managed to mix in a couple of good pitchers. Casey Meisner is a big right-hander, and if he adds some muscle to his lanky frame, he could develop into a quality power pitcher. Ricky Knapp, with his formidable arsenal, gives the organization another quality pitcher. Both Meisner and Knapp add to a nice foundation of pitching in the organization.

Chris Iseman is an associate reporter for MLB.com.
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