Mets select Zach Greene in Rule 5 Draft

Dec 7, 2022 - 10:33 PM

With the 27th overall pick in the Rule 5 draft, the Mets selected RHP Zach Greene from the Yankees. Greene, a 26-year-old eighth round pick from 2019, pitched to a 3.42 ERA mostly out of the bullpen at Triple-A last year, striking out 12.64 batters per nine while walking 4.21. He features a fastball without high-end velocity but that has a lot of ride out of a low arm slot, allowing him to achieve a very flat vertical approach angle (VAA). His primary off speed offering is a sweeping slider in the high 70s that also induces whiffs. We don’t have public-facing pitch metrics to confirm this, but from the description it sure sounds like a pitch that falls into the “sweeper” bucket popularized by the Dodgers in recent years.

Greene frequently worked multiple innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and even got a couple spot starts. He could fill a similar role for the Mets, utilizing his intriguing two pitch mix to get 3-6 outs as a middle relief or opener option. The Mets certainly have plenty of openings in the bullpen currently, giving Greene a very real chance of making the team out of Spring Training. Even if he winds up getting returned to the Yankees at some point, his characteristics and potential role in a weak area of the roster make this a good selection.

None of the names the Mets left exposed to the Rule 5 draft - such as Jake Mangum, Josh Walker, and Stanley Consuegra - were selected in the major league portion. Ditto in the minor league portion, though former Met Shervyen Newton was selected by the Royals after signing with the Phillies less than a month ago.