Drafting late in 1st round again, Mets eye strategy that netted Benge, Voit

NEW YORK -- It was just two years ago that Mets vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross used the first pick of his tenure on Carson Benge, a two-way college player who has since become a key part of the Mets’ hope for the future. Already in the Majors, Benge has begun to fulfill his promise.

A year later, Gross added to his haul with second baseman Mitch Voit, who has recently caught fire himself at High-A Brooklyn. While Voit has a long way to go to reach Benge’s level, the Mets harbor similarly high hopes for him.

That Gross unearthed these sorts of talents in the Draft is unremarkable; this is, after all, his job. That he did it without having a single pick above No. 19 in the Draft is what makes his process all the more notable. Benge was the 19th overall pick, passed on by 18 other teams. Voit was 38th.

Things won’t get easier this weekend, either, when the Mets pick 27th in this year’s Draft.

• Day 1 picks: 27, 92, 120
• Bonus pool allotment: $6,730,900
• Last year’s top pick: Mitch Voit, 2B, pick 38 ... A college standout at the University of Michigan, Voit began his professional career slowly but has since gained some momentum, with three homers highlighting a nine-game hitting streak from June 19 through July 1. Voit is the Mets’ fifth-ranked prospect.
• Breakout 2025 pick: Cam Tilly, RHP, pick 223 ... Tilly is still getting used to life as a starter, as he spent most of his college career at Auburn in the bullpen. While Tilly hasn’t been perfect in his transition to the rotation at Single-A St. Lucie, he’s shown flashes of excellence, most notably in recording the first 19 outs of his team’s June 9 combined no-hitter. Though currently injured, Tilly has already made his way onto MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Mets Prospects list, at No. 28.

It’s been a long run of low Draft picks for the Mets, who haven’t had a Top 10 pick since taking Kumar Rocker in 2021. Lately, the Mets’ sky-high payrolls have resulted in various Competitive Balance Tax penalties, including having their top Draft selection docked 10 places for four consecutive years.

In that sense, Gross has been playing from behind as the Mets’ amateur scouting head. Picking low in the Draft generally means making more decisions on the fly, as uncertainty grows the deeper a team gets into the Draft. And this year, it’s not just the Mets’ first pick that will be affected. The team doesn’t have a second-round pick because it signed free agent Bo Bichette, who had rejected a qualifying offer from the Blue Jays. So after their top pick at No. 27 overall, the Mets won’t choose again until deep in the third round, at No. 92 overall.

The ability of Gross and his team to find diamonds in that rough will go a long way towards determining the future of the Mets.