Mets’ draft will shape 2015 Cyclones roster on Coney Island

June 11, 2015 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Columbia’s George Thanopoulous, selected by the Mets in this week’s draft, could be getting his first taste of pro baseball experience right here on Coney Island next week. AP Photo

Share this:

The New York Mets, parent club of our very own Brooklyn Cyclones, made 39 selections in this past week’s Major League Draft, some, if not many, of whom will make their professional debuts on Coney Island this summer for the Class A short-season Baby Bums.

Though it’s always a crap-shoot to predict exactly who will show up here next week when the Cyclones kick off their historic 15th season at MCU Park, the Eagle will take a quick look at some of the potential incoming talent that could stock the team’s official roster.

Though they didn’t have a first-round pick, the Mets grabbed right-handed hitting outfielder Desmond Lindsay with the 53rd overall selection in the second.

Described as “an offensive machine”, by the team’s scouting director, Tommy Tanous, Lindsay missed a good portion of his senior campaign at Florida’s Out-of-Door Academy with a strained hamstring.

The 18-year-old slugger likely would have gone in the first round, were it not for the injury, according to Mets vice president of player development and scouting Paul DePodestra.

“We think that without the hamstring injury this spring, we don’t think there would be any way that he would have lasted until the 53rd pick in this draft,” DePodesta told MLB.com.

“There’s just too much talent there and the combination of power and speed that’s just very difficult to find. We felt like it was an opportunity for us – in a year where we didn’t have a first round pick – to maybe reach up and try to get a first round talent and that’s what we did.”

If Lindsay signs quickly enough, he could be gracing the lush outfield grass in Coney Island by the time the Cyclones host the Yankees in Brooklyn for the home opener next Saturday night.

If not, he could provide the team with a midseason jolt, as did last year’s first-round selection, Michael Conforto, who batted .331 over the season’s final 42 games to drive the Cyclones to the brink of a New York-Penn League playoff spot.

The Mets used 28 of their 39 picks on pitchers, and southpaws like Max Wotell (third round) and Thomas Szapucki (fifth round), are both fresh out of high school, making them candidates to at least get a taste of action here in Brooklyn this summer.

As far as local talent, the Mets took St. John’s alum and Queens native Thomas Hackimer in the 15th round and fellow right-handed hurler George Thanopoulos out of Columbia in the 35th.

“It’s an honor to be drafted by anyone, but especially when it’s basically your hometown,” Hackimer told MLB.

“[Hackimer] throws strikes, sinks the ball and gets a lot of outs, to simplify it,” Tanous noted. “Anytime you get a college pitcher that throws strikes and has the ability to sink the ball, pitches in a good conference, this kid was very appealing to us.”

Infield prospect David Thompson, the Mets’ fourth-round pick, led the entire nation with 19 homers and 87 RBIs this past year for the University of Miami.

Also, the team picked up the NCAA leader in batting average, Kevin Kaczmarski, who hit an eye-popping .465 at Evansville as a center fielder, and added Division I ERA champion Corey Taylor (0.31) in the seventh round out of Texas Tech.

With recent Cyclone alums like catcher Kevin Plawecki, outfielder Darrell Ceciliani and flame-throwing right-hander Hansel Robles currently on the Mets’ 25-man roster, it’s clear that Brooklyn is producing big league talent at an efficient pace for the parent club.

But this next crop of talent must form its own identity over the grueling 76-game summer slate along Surf Avenue.

By next week, Brooklynites will know exactly whom they will be rooting for during the next three months.

“We were certainly happy with the depth of the Draft,” DePodesta said. “We felt like there were going to be a lot of good players as we continued to move through some of the middle rounds. We were certainly excited about what we did [Day 2] and even [Day 3].”

The Cyclones will officially begin Season 15 with a road game in Staten Island next Friday night.

Manager Tom Gamboa will be back for his second straight season with the Cyclones after guiding the club to a 42-34 record.

Brooklyn lost out on the league’s final playoff seed via a tiebreaker with Connecticut, but led the NYP and all Minor League short-season affiliates in attendance for the 14th straight year.