Michael Fulmer is Mets Second Pick

The second draft pick chosen by the Mets is righthanded high school pitcher Michael Fulmer, from Oklahoma.

Here is the word on Fulmer, direct from an official Mets press release:

Fulmer, 18, went 10-2 with a 0.72 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 68.0 innings for Deer Creek High School, located in Edmond, OK. The righthander also appeared at first base and third base during his career with the Antlers, hitting .436 with six home runs and 43 RBI this season. He was named a 2011 first-team All-State selection.

The 6-3, 205-pounder received the Ferguson Jenkins Award this year, presented to the top five high school baseball players in Oklahoma.

Fulmer, who committed to the University of Arkansas, was selected with the compensation pick the Mets received when reliever Pedro Feliciano signed with the New York Yankees.

Ironically, the Mets’ first two picks signed commitment letters to play for the University of Arkansas. I don’t know that they are “stealing” from the Razorbacks, as colleges generally have a good idea which players they’re likely to “lose” as a result of the June draft. But it’s still interesting that both Mets picks were also picks of Razorback coach Dave Van Horn.

As with Brandon Immo, I won’t pretend to know anything about Fulmer. So I’ll give you what I found from an Oklahoma local website:

“I think his work ethic is about as good as I’ve ever seen from a young man,” Deer Creek coach Ron Moore said. “The majority of the scouts that have seen him say he’s 18 years old going on 25-30. He’s extremely mature.

“Whether it’s in the SEC or in rookie or Class A ball, Michael’s going to be ready. We’re all proud of him.”

There’s another nice article about Fulmer here.

And, here is video of him from youTube:

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
  1. metsfan June 7, 2011 at 2:33 am
    Hard to make any judgments about these guys at this point. Both 18. This is from a news story I saw today on the first picks:
    ”The draft is key tool for teams to stock their minor league franchises but is far from an exact science as young players can take several years to hone their game before competing on major league diamonds.

    Starting with the selection of Chipper Jones by the Atlanta Braves in 1990 through 2010 top pick Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox, there are just 11 former number one overall picks playing in Major League Baseball.”
    I.E., the draft is a almost a complete crapshoot. Nimmo does seem to have a nice swing though.
    Only concern might be drafting high schoolers but that could just be some Moneyball quotes rattling around in my brain…
    Let’s just hope they beat the odds and end up making it to the show.

    • JoeBourgeois June 7, 2011 at 7:17 am
      “1990 through 2010 […] just 11 former number one overall picks” —
      Actually, just a touch over 50% is a little better than I expected, geven injuries. But yr overall point is good — and it’s good to see the Mets going for high-ceiling guys, rather than college relievers who will sign for slot and pitch like … crap.
  2. Mic June 7, 2011 at 9:22 am
    I am a dissenting voice. I would have gone for lhp bradley as a top near ready lefty. As is these two guys are 3-5 years away.
    • Mike June 7, 2011 at 12:59 pm
      I think the point is upside/ceiling vs. sign-ability and readiness. This FO is showing they will go with upside and not shy away from price tags for higher ceiling guys.
      • izzy June 7, 2011 at 3:06 pm
        praising the mets for drafting a kid who made a demand is kind of a big reach. Claiming he has great upside is kind of a no brainer since every team is claiming today that their big pick has a high ceiling. The only fact is that the Met front office made a clear statement that they are planby ning a very long term rebuilding process not a short one by picking two HS products.
  3. Mic June 7, 2011 at 2:20 pm
    In the minaya regime, we have pelfrey, ike, holt, moviel, reese haven, cory vaughn, den dekker, capt kirk, duda, gee, niese, to show. How many of these were college guys? Meanwhile, jeurys, fmart, urbina are also on the advance.

    I’m not knocking him because you cant really. these guys could combine to be ken griffey and doc gooden remakes. But having 2 high picks, i think bradley would have been a high upside pick too with lower risk.