No surprise here. After drafting two high school players in the first round and the supplemental round, the Mets went with a College player with their second round pick at overall #71. Cory Mazzoni is a pitcher for N.C. State and is a power pitcher with a mid 90's fastball and as some articles have described him online. “devastating” off speed stuff.
The draw for Mazzoni is probably his raw skill set right now (like his fastball), and his age. he will be turning 22 in October, and he has enough experience that if he performs well in the minors, he is the type of player that will spend 2-3 years instead of 3-5 years before maturing up. Here are some of his college numbers over the last couple of years:
2011: 3.30 ERA, 114.2 IP, 6-6, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 137 K
2010: 5.20 ERA, 91.2 IP, 7-3, 89 K
2009: 6.57 ERA, 38.1 IP, 1-5, 30 K
When he came in, he was mainly a relief pitcher and then in his second year he became a starter for the Wolf Pack. The number to look at for him is his strikeouts. In his first year, just slightly below one per inning, in his second year, very close to one per inning, and in his final year, he was well above one per inning. I would guess he will get a shot to start in the Mets system, but with the strikeout numbers, him in the pen wouldn't be bad either if he can't cut it as a starter.
