New York Mets Get Elite Shortstop in Recent Mock Draft

In a draft expected to have depth at shortstop, Kevin McGonigle stands out as a player that could give the New York Mets value.

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The New York Mets’ first-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is actually outside of the Top 30 selections, but Baseball America’s recent mock draft has the Mets getting good value for that selection.

Baseball America produced its third version of the mock about a month out from the MLB Draft, which is set for July 9-11 in Seattle during All-Star Weekend.

With that No. 32 overall pick, the Mets are projected to get a shortstop, Kevin McGonigle out of Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, Penn.

Why? The publication believes the depth of the draft might allow the prep standout to fall to the Mets:

It feels a bit shocking to have McGonigle this far down in the draft considering his reputation as one of the best pure hitters in the class, but it’s a competitive and deep high school shortstop class and someone of that pool is going to last a bit longer than we expect. In this scenario the Mets are the beneficiaries and he has some traits the organization might like.

McGonigle projected as a shortstop, but he’s versatile enough to play both second base and third base. He played in the 2022 All-American Class and is already committed to play baseball at Auburn.

Adding McGonigle would give the Mets even more depth in the middle infield. Two of their top four prospects are shortstops — No. 3 Jett Williams and No. 4 Ronny Mauricio, the latter of which is at Triple-A. The Mets also have Jesus Baez, a shortstop/third baseman in the pipeline at No. 10, per MLB.com.