Matt Harvey

A lot of the draft pundits (Jason Churchill of ESPN and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus) LOVE this pick for the Mets, so I have to trust them.

The Upside: Pitcher's body (6'4" 225 pounds) Some scouts say he has the potential for four above-average pitches, which is two more than he has right now. He throws 95-96 1st time through the line-up, and around 91-94 at the 100 pitch mark. His change-up is 79-84 and is a plus pitch already. He throws a curve and a hard, biting slider, but right now neither are a plus pitch. He's cleaned up his delivery this year and has a smooth arm action. He's a ground ball pitcher who has the potential to be a #1 starter. Coming out of high school three years ago, he was the top prep arm, ahead of R Porcello, but the Scott Boras price tag scared teams away. He is also a tri-state product (Mystic, CT), and has appeared in two College World Series, so he's pitched on a big stage.

The Downside: He was very inconsistent his freshman and sophomore years before putting it together this year. Still struggles with command and his curve ball has regressed since high school. Could project to a power reliever if he can't develop an effective 3rd pitch (slider or curve). Has still been inconsistent start to start.

Overall I am happy with the pick, as it's very tough to find guys who throw 95+ and our ground ball pitchers. Hopefully we can help this 21-year old develop a 3rd pitch and he can be a front of the rotation cog in 3-5 years.