AFTER three days, about 15 hours and roughly 1,500 selec tions, this year’s version of baseball’s biggest mystery — the First-Year Player Draft — has come to an end. Now fans get to sit back, wait and see if some, or any, of the 98 players the Mets and Yankees chose this week make an impact in Yankee Stadium or Citi Field over the next few years.
The most interesting pick either organization made all week was the first one, when the Yankees selected Texarkana, Texas native Slade Heathcott at No. 29 overall. A five-tool athlete who led his high school to its first state title this week, Heathcott was considered a big talent that may have slipped to the Yankees for other reasons.
“He’s a first-round talent – slam dunk,” Baseball America’s John Manuel said. “But there were teams that were definitely scared off by his makeup. He has first-round tools, but that’s why he wasn’t a consensus first-round player.”
After Heathcott, the Yankees spent several of their picks through the first 10 rounds on some high-upside college pitchers such as Seton Hall right-hander Sean Black (seventh round), UCLA left-hander Gavin Brooks (ninth) and Oklahoma State left-hander Tyler Lyons (10th).
“It’s not even so much that I like the players, though I do, but I like the strategy,” ESPN’s Keith Law said. “They went after some arms because they have extra resources and the money to go over slot. That’s a good way to use it in my opinion.”
As for the Mets, the consensus was after their first two picks (East Setauket left-hander Steven Matz and Florida Southern shortstop Robbie Shields), they failed to take advantage of their financial resources later in the draft.
“There are no obvious players who are going to require significant above-slot bonuses,” Manuel said. “[Second-round pick Steven] Matz has put out a seven figure bonus request. The rest of the draft is a classic [Mets director of amateur scouting] Rudy Terrasas draft. . . . They like to go off the path. They like big, physical guys, and they like power arms that they can teach, and the early returns on that haven’t been great.”
Shields had a torrid two-week stretch when he hit .349 with Cotuit in the Cape Cod League last summer before injuring his wrist. He underperformed this spring with Florida Southern, but Law felt he probably wasn’t fully healthy.
“I like him,” Law said. “I actually think he’s got a chance to stay at short, which I think is a minority opinion at this point. Otherwise, you have an offensive second baseman who will give you a solid glove at the position.”
After liking the Yankees strategy of trying to use their resources to their advantage later in the draft, Law said he believed the Mets failed to do the same.
“Odds are that is their draft,” Law said of Matz and Shields. “Ultimately, you have to evaluate their drafts with the caveat that they have to draft to slot. They’ll likely go over slot with their first pick, but they shouldn’t have to after that.”
tbontemps@nypost.com