Matt Harvey

How Much Do You Buy This Article That Matt Harvey Is Only A Met Because Of Scott Boras? http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/harper-mats-boras-harvey-article-1.1312392

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It’s already starting to look like there will come a day when the Mets will be at the mercy of the notorious Boras, Harvey’s agent.

Then again, they’ll always have Boras to thank for Harvey being a Met in the first place. They were able to draft him in 2010 only because Boras’ price tag caused the righthander to fall to the third round of the 2007 draft, selected 118th overall by the Angels, and Harvey opted for college instead.

Going into that draft, Rick Porcello, also represented by Boras, Harvey and lefthander Madison Bumgarner were considered the top high school pitchers in the country.

Remarkably, all three were also committed to playing in college at North Carolina.

So Bumgarner went 10th to the Giants, and signed for a $2 million bonus. Porcello, considered the best of the three by draft day, fell to 27th to the Tigers because teams feared Boras’ demands, and indeed it cost Detroit $7.28 million to sign the righthander from Seton Hall Prep.

Then there was Harvey. Two major league executives heavily involved in that draft say Harvey’s stock had slipped a bit because his senior year in high school in Connecticut hadn’t been as impressive as expected. Still, he projected as a late first-round pick.

However, the execs recall that Boras was quietly putting out the word that he thought Harvey should be worth nearly as much as Porcello.

“You were talking ridiculously huge money,” one of the execs said. “Teams were afraid to risk a first-round pick and then get into a situation like the Yankees had with Gerrit Cole (in 2008), where you don’t sign the guy.”

The Mets didn’t have a first-round pick that year, but passed over Harvey in the second and third rounds because they weren’t willing to meet Boras’ presumed asking price.

The Angels finally selected him with a third-round pick, and offered $1 million, well above slot money for the 118th pick, but well below what Harvey was expecting to get.

Instead he went to North Carolina, and three years later, Harvey was drafted seventh overall by the Mets, signed for $2.52 million and now seems bent on catching up with his two would-be Carolina teammates.

Bumgarner has been part of two world championship teams with the Giants and recently signed a six-year, $35 million contract. Porcello reached the major leagues by the time Harvey was a sophomore at UNC, but hasn’t lived up to expectations with the Tigers.

As for Harvey, one of the execs said, “It’s starting to look like he could be the best of the three.”

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By “buy this article” I mean agree with you. Do you think Harvey would’ve been selected in the first round in 2007, gotten more than $1 million and opt out of his commitment to North Carolina if it weren’t for Boras’s presumed contract demands? Or do you think this article is just a bunch of BS?

Either way, it seems like Harvey and Boras made the right decision in 2007, considering where Harvey is now.

Extra Question: Predict who will be the final HR Derby contestant for the American League.
It’s not a guarantee that Harvey would be dominating the majors like he is now if he had signed with the Angels instead of going to North Carolina. Obviously, you have some good logic there, but it’s all scenarios… what’s factual is that Harvey did go to North Carolina and currently holds a 2.35 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and .196 opponent batting average. So regardless of whatever development and preparation he had for the majors, it worked. 3 years at North Carolina and 2 in the minors has produced one of the brightest young stars in the game.

As for money… Harvey is going to get a nice contract in a couple of years. And playing your scenario game, maybe the contracts he gets at 27 and in his mid 30s will combine for more than the contract he could’ve gotten at 25 and in his early 30s. And perhaps, getting that education and major in college will prove or is already proving to be beneficial for Harvey.