The Mets finally reached an agreement with their second round pick from this years draft (which was their first pick overall), Steven Matz, basically just before the deadline. It seems the contract will pay Matz over 400K than is normal for that slot (which normally I would be slightly upset about but the Orioles just signed a few later round picks, like one player from the 10th and the 11th round for nearly a million dollars, so by comparison this is fine).
Matz is intrigiuing for a few reasons. First, he is young as he just graduated high school in Long Island. Second, he is from Long Island and his family and himself are all long time Mets fans. It is always nice having young players enter the system as Mets fans (think David Wright). This leads to another sense of optimism and pride for that player when he is on the field. Matz is really intriguing though because of his stuff. At his age his fastball is topping 94 mph and has a curveball and changeup well along in development. Criticism for him comes from his violent delivery which I'm sure will be looked at and talked about if the Mets orginzation thinks its going to be harmful for his career.
In a season where the Mets need as much optimism as they can get, prospects seem to be a great source of it. Lets Go Mets!
