New York Mets: Why They Must Draft RHP Marcus Stroman

Not often do flamethrowers come around that have the command and confidence of a seasoned closer.

Scouts drool over the prospect of a pitcher who can touch 100 MPH with his fastball and accompany it with a 136/26 K/BB ratio over 99 innings.

Marcus Stroman fits that description, and he will undoubtedly be selected in the first round of the MLB draft, which will begin on June 4th.

The New York Mets must select Stroman, a native of Patchogue, NY, with their 12th overall pick, and GM Sandy Alderson must look past his 5'9" frame and focus on just how dominant the All-ACC pitcher has been at every level of his career.

The traditional school of thought is that dominant pitchers must be tall, generally 6'3" or more, in order to sustain the rigors of throwing a baseball and enduring 200-plus innings per season.

Of the 39 pitchers who eclipsed 200 innings last season, the only right-handed pitchers listed at below 6'3" were Tim Lincecum, Hiroki Kuroda and Tim Hudson.

On the surface, it would seem as if that would be a cause for concern when drafting undersized pitchers.

However, the primary reason most of the workhorses are taller is due to their sustained velocity and command of secondary pitches.

Stroman is not lacking in either department, and neither was Lincecum when he was passed up by nine teams, including his hometown Seattle Mariners.

While Lincecum was the Golden Spikes Award winner in 2006, which is awarded to the top college baseball player in the nation, many still had doubts whether he could be successful against major league hitters.

Two Cy Young Awards later, and those doubters are not easy to be found.

The native of Patchogue, NY has proven doubters wrong at every level and seems to possess the inner drive that has allowed players like Tim Tebow and David Eckstein to become successful athletes despite countless scouts and general managers attempting to predetermine their fate.

His Twitter account includes the words "Height Doesn't Measure Heart," which shows that he not only recognizes his obstacle but is driven to make people dismiss it as irrelevant.

The Mets are beginning to build a solid core of pitching prospects in the minor leagues, led by Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, but why stop there?

A team can never have enough prospects, and if given the opportunity to build a dynamic core of young starting pitchers, there is no reason to pass on it.

There has been debate on whether Stroman's future is ultimately in the bullpen. The popular comparison among the inner baseball circles is to compare Stroman to Tom Gordon, another 5'9" flamethrower who was able to compile 138 wins and 158 saves in his big league career.

If Stroman did transition to the bullpen, clearly his 95 MPH fastball, 80 MPH slider and terrific command would play well.

But why do that now, when he averaged seven innings per start and maintains his velocity and command through out the game?

Tim Lincecum was able to overcome the whole "undersized" tag, and Marcus Stroman can follow in those footsteps.

Rather than limiting his potential and using him one inning at a time, the Mets should draft their hometown specimen, allow him to develop in the minor leagues with his close friends Steve Matz and Jack Leathersitch and become a dominating pitcher for them beginning in mid-2014.