Some of the most entertaining prospects are the ones least expected to succeed. It’s obviously fun to see consensus top picks like Darryl Strawberry and David Wright bloom, but occasionally, those late draft picks are the ones who end up making a difference. Mike Piazza was famously a 62rd rounder by the Dodgers, for instance.
Although the Mets reaped the rewards of Piazza later in his career, they have certainly made good decisions in the waning rounds of the draft as well. Time will tell if Sandy Alderson’s crew can make similarly good calls this year, but at least they will know that there is precedent. The players here were all taken beyond the 10th round and went on to succeed with the Mets, not other teams (apologies to a 12th rounder from 1965 named Nolan Ryan).
No. 5: Benny Agbayani
Drafted: 1993, 30th round
School: Hawaii Pacific University
It is somewhat surprising to realize that fan-favorite Benny Agbayani only had a five-year major-league career, and he was relevant on the Mets for just three of them. However, Agbayani had very good timing, playing an important role on the Mets’ 1999 and 2000 playoff teams and earning him the extra credit to crack this list over less interesting names like Dillon Gee and Ty Wigginton.
Agbayani worked very hard to make a name for himself in the Mets’ system despite being such a late draft pick. He spent 344 games in Triple-A Norfolk with only a couple cups of coffee in the pros before carving out a spot on Bobby Valentine’s club in ‘99 at age 27. He impressed with a .288/.379/.498 triple-slash, 37 doubles, 29 homers, and a .292 TAv during the next two seasons. Postseason play didn’t bother Agbayani either, as he hit .299/.420/.433 in 22 games, most memorably crushing a walk-off homer in Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS against the Giants:
Agbayani departed after the 2001 campaign in the three-team Jeromy Burnitz trade, and his MLB career was over following a season split with the Rockies and Red Sox. Nonetheless, it was an exciting time to be a Met, and this draft unknown sure found the spotlight.
No. 4: Jim McAndrew
Drafted: 1965, 11th round
School: Iowa
A mostly forgotten righty from the Mets’ late ‘60s and early ‘70s ballclubs, Jim McAndrew never had the best of luck. His SABR bio by C. Paul Rogers does an effective job explaining his maladies, but the short version includes catching the flu from a flu shot at an inopportune time, a line drive off his finger, a pregame fly ball collision, and even a robbery. Oh, and his best seasons came not in the Mets’ pennant-winning years of ’69 and ’73 but in two of the mediocre Mets seasons in between. McAndrew earned his World Series ring though, with a 3.59 DRA and 1.9 WAR in the championship ’69 season.
Despite the righty’s misfortune, he did a fine job on the mound during his tenure, recording a 3.54 ERA and 3.45 FIP over six years with 10.4 WARP to his name. McAndrew’s best season came in 1970, when he posted a 2.80 DRA, 4.9 WARP, and threw nine complete games, three of them shutouts. After the ’73 season, he was traded to the Padres and saw his career end in June due to ineffectiveness. But, hey–he will always have that World Series ring.
No. 3: John Milner
Drafted: 1968, 14th round
School: South Fulton HS (East Point, GA)
A hard-hitting first baseman and left fielder out of the Atlanta suburbs, John Milner mashed his way through the minors and made his MLB debut at age 21 late in the ’71 campaign. Given a starting opportunity about a month into ’72, Milner ran with it and hit .238/.340/.423 with 17 homers in 117 games, a .304 TAv that helped him finish third in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind teammate Jon Matlack.
“The Hammer” was a presence in the Mets’ lineup for the next five seasons, crushing 94 homers in his Mets career. He hit 23 in the pennant-winning ’73 season and followed that with a fine World Series performance against the dynasty Oakland A’s. Milner’s plate discipline was underrated in this era, causing his skills to be overlooked and the Mets to perhaps deal him sooner than necessary. Traded to the Pirates after ’77, Milner earned a ring in ’79 with the Bucs and retired in 1982 after a 12-year career.
No. 2: Lenny Dykstra
Drafted: 1981, 13th round
School: Garden Grove HS (Garden Grove, CA)
“Nails” was one of a kind and the sparkplug of the Mets’ last World Series champion. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 314 players were taken ahead of him in the draft, so making the majors after was one of the numerous obstacles he faced. He really caught the Mets’ attention in ’83, when he stole 105 bases in 136 games while hitting .358/.472/.503 for Class-A Lynchburg. That put him on the fast track to the pros, and by the middle of ’85, he was up for good.
Dykstra’s best season in Queens was, of course, 1986, when he batted .295/.377/.445 with 31 steals as the Mets’ leadoff man for a 108-win season. Then in the NLCS, he had a .925 OPS and a key walk-off home run in Game 3. Dykstra homered twice in the World Series against the Red Sox, too, and the Mets won it all. In 544 games during his Mets career, he hit .278/.350/.413 with 15.2 WARP before moving on to another cult icon role in Philadelphia. The zany center fielder spent just four and a half seasons with the Mets, but he sure made them memorable.
No. 1: Daniel Murphy
Drafted: 2006, 13th round
School: Jacksonville University
An old friend strikes again. It was a tough call between Dykstra and Daniel Murphy for the top spot, but “Murph” spent much more time in Queens while also capping it with a postseason to remember. It might not have featured a title as Dykstra’s did, but Murphy meant more to the franchise as one of the last Mets to link the Shea and Citi Field eras. Drafted as a third baseman in 2006, he spent a considerable amount of time trying to be an acceptable second baseman since the latter spot was occupied by Wright. He was never quite pretty there, but he made it work.
Murphy’s success obviously came from his bat. Over seven years, he hit .288/.331/.424 with 228 doubles, 12.8 WARP, and a TAv consistently hovering around .270. He earned an All-Star nod in 2014, but while reasonably well-liked, it was not until the 2015 playoffs that Murphy truly cemented himself in Mets lore.
The new swing. Six consecutive games with a home run. The complete dismantling of Cubs pitching en route to a .529/.556/.1.294 triple slash and NLCS MVP honors. Murphy had everything working, and it was amazing to watch, even though the World Series did not go as well. Although Murphy is a division rival now, those memories won’t be forgotten.
Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports