In this series of articles (as
described earlier) the Mets drafts of each year of the decade will be analyzed
in terms of players that made the majors, and for more recent years, players
that were drafted that were traded in key trades (this section will be focused
more on later drafts, where the players haven’t made it to the majors yet).
Since
this article is focusing on the 2000 draft, it will be more of a focus on how
the players that the Mets scouted turned out after they were drafted. There
were four players the Mets drafted that made it to the majors later on in their
careers.
Billy Traber: The Mets first pick in the draft came from the 16th
pick in the first round (via the Mariners) and the Mets selected Billy Traber,
an LHP from Loyola (CA). Traber was part of the trade that brought Roberto
Alomar over to the Mets. Traber himself made his major league debut for the
Cleveland Indians in 2003 where he had a 5.24 ERA over 111.2 innings pitched.
He was then claimed off waivers to the Red Sox in 2004. In 2005 he rejoined via
Free Agency the Indians and then in 2006 made his way over to the Nationals
where he pitched 43.1 innings in the majors and then 39 innings the following
year (ERA’s: 2006-6.44, 2007-4.76). In 2008 he played with the Yankees where he
pitched a little over 16 innings and in 2009 he pitched 3.2 innings with the
Red Sox.
Bobby Keppel: Keppel was the second draftee for the Mets in 2000.
They selected him with pick 36 in the supplemental round. Keppel stayed in the
Mets system until he was released by the Mets in 2005 where he then joined with
the Royals. In 2006 he made his major league debut where he had a 5.50 ERA over
34.1 innings. The next season he was with the Rockies where he had an ERA over
11 over 4 innings of work. He made it back to the majors last season with the
Twins with a 4.83 ERA over 54.0 innings pitched.
Chris Basak: Basak was the 25th pick in round 6 for the
Mets in 2000. He has not had much success in the majors. He was released by the
Mets in 2006. In 2007 he played in 5 games for the Yankees where he had only
one at bat (and didn’t get a hit).
Jeff Duncan: In round 7, the Mets selected Duncan. Duncan was first
drafted in ’97 by the Cubs, but he didn’t sign. He is the only player the Mets
drafted in 2000 that made the majors with the Mets. He played in two seasons
for the Mets in 2003 and 2004. In 2003 he hit .194 and in 2004 he hit .067. He
hasn’t played in the Majors since.
