The best college hitter in the 2014 draft is not yet in the Mets' system.
This morning, Jim Callis reported that the Metshad signed their first-round pick, Michael Conforto, awarding him a $2,970,800 bonus. However, Conforto took to Twitter about an hour later to deny the report. Hopefully it isn't too long before he does sign with the club.
The tenth overall selection in the Rule 4 draft a couple of weeks ago, Conforto, an outfielder for Oregon State, was considered the best college hitter in the draft by many scouts and experts. Here's what Alex Nelson had to say about him:
"[P]ower and patience but questionable contact skills and little defensive value. As far as a comparison goes, I heard someone mention a left-handed hitting Nick Swisher, and I think that sounds about right, although he won’t have the same skills on defense--remember, once upon a time Swisher played center. But Conforto will have similar power, patience, and contact ability."
The reported signing bonus was exactly the amount allotted to the Mets for that draft pick, leaving them $317,500 in their bonus pool to sign the remainder of their picks.
If Conforto does wind up in Brooklyn, I'm sure our minor-league team here at Amazin' Avenue will take the opportunity to do some local scouting of him and report their findings.
You can follow all of the Mets' signings with our draft pick tracker.