The Mets' farm system just got another arm, and this one comes with a story. New York signed sixth-round pick Alex Petrovic, a righty out of Auburn, to full slot value of $364,600 for the 181st overall selection, according to Jim Callis.
6th-rder Alex Petrovic signs w/@Mets for $364,600 (full slot 181 value). @AuburnBaseballRHP, strike thrower w/low-90s fastball up to 96 mph and a quality low-80s changeup w/fade & sink. @MLBDraft
Callis' report pegs Petrovic as a strike-thrower with a low-90s fastball that touches 96 mph, paired with a low-80s changeup that fades and sinks. That's a classic starter's profile for a team that's been leaning into college arms who can throw strikes and miss bats without needing a full velocity overhaul.
Petrovic's path to this point wasn't smooth. He went undrafted out of high school in Cypress, Texas back in 2023 after arm inflammation wiped out most of his senior year, which sent him to Auburn to honor his commitment instead of turning pro. That kind of detour usually either sinks a prospect's stock or forces him to reinvent himself, and Petrovic did the latter.
This past season was the payoff. As a redshirt sophomore, Petrovic finally made it through a full year healthy, starting all 17 of his appearances and posting a 3.21 ERA across 92.2 innings with 92 strikeouts, good for a 10-2 record. That kind of workload and results in the SEC, arguably the toughest college baseball conference in the country, is exactly why the Mets didn't blink at handing him full slot money instead of trying to squeeze a discount.
Full slot deals like this one signal a team values a player as a straightforward baseball decision rather than a bonus-pool chess move, and for a sixth-rounder with a fastball up to 96 and a changeup scouts already like, that's a fair price. Now it's on player development to keep him on the mound and healthy, something that's eluded him for stretches of his amateur career.