Mets draft hard-throwing right-hander Carson Wiggins one year removed from elbow surgery

PHILADELPHIA — On a first day of the draft in which there were four rounds of picks, the Mets’ initial selection arrived 10 picks late because of their aggressive spending, and they did not have a second-rounder or a compensatory pick because of their aggressive signing.

So the pressure was on to hit on the picks they did have, which began with right-hander Carson Wiggins from the University of Arkansas.

At No. 27 — the Mets had been earmarked for the No. 17 pick in the lottery, but the selection fell because they exceeded the second luxury-tax level last season — they opted for a 6-foot-5, 215-pound Oklahoma native who underwent elbow surgery in May 2025 and did not pitch with Arkansas this season.

Just 21, Wiggins only pitched in ’25 with Arkansas and posted a 3.21 ERA while striking out 20 in 14 innings as a hard-throwing reliever who reportedly topped out at 102 mph. 

Wiggins becomes the first pitcher the Mets have drafted in the first round since Kumar Rocker (who did not sign in 2021) and, before him, David Peterson in 2017.

Carson Wiggins pitches during the 2026 Draft Combine at Chase Field on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. MLB Photos via Getty Images

The Mets do not have a second-round selection and lost a pick they had gained from Edwin Díaz landing with the Dodgers because they signed Bo Bichette, who had been given a qualifying offer, which cost them their second- and fifth-highest selections.

So after No. 27, the Mets would not select again until 92nd.

Their vice president of amateur and international scouting said the depth of this year’s class would be helpful for a club that was not selecting at the top.

“We’ve sent out our scouts knowing that the crop is very deep this year, and we could have a wide range of outcomes,” Kris Gross said this week ahead of his third draft leading the Mets.

This was the fourth straight year the Mets’ first-round selection tumbled because of Steve Cohen’s spending.

In 2023, they used the No. 32 pick on infielder Colin Houck, who has stalled at High-A Brooklyn. They found more promising prospects in 2024, when outfielder Carson Benge was taken at No. 19 and has rocketed up to the majors, and in 2025, when they grabbed infielder Mitch Voit at No. 38. Voit has excelled defensively and picked up the pace offensively (.777 OPS) in his first full pro season.

Carson Wiggins of the American League Team pitches during the MLB-USA Baseball High School All-American Game at T-Mobile Park on Friday, July 7, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. MLB Photos via Getty Images

Each draft is important, but this season — in a down year for the major league team and farm, Cohen acknowledged there has been “regression” in the system — looms as a significant chance for the Mets to reload.

A system that last year had been ranked by most publications at least in the top half (and, in a few publications, the top few) among farm systems has watched some prospects graduate (Benge, A.J. Ewing, Nolan McLean) and many depart in win-now trades last season and last offseason.