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Mets Select Right-Handed Pitcher Carson Wiggins at No. 27 in 2026 MLB Draft
The New York Mets selected University of Arkansas right-hander Carson Wiggins with the 27th overall pick on the first day of the 2026 MLB Draft. The selection came after the team lost draft position due to prior luxury-tax spending and forfeited its second-round choice after signing Bo Bichette.
Jul 11, 4:42 PM·1m read3 sources
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The New York Mets selected right-handed pitcher Carson Wiggins from the University of Arkansas with the 27th overall pick on the first day of the 2026 MLB Draft. The draft featured four rounds of selections that day. Wiggins, a 21-year-old Oklahoma native listed at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, had elbow surgery in May 2025 and did not pitch for Arkansas in 2026.
The Mets had been projected for the 17th pick but dropped 10 spots after exceeding the second luxury-tax threshold in the prior season. Wiggins posted a 3.21 ERA in 2025 while striking out 20 batters in 14 innings as a reliever who reached 102 mph. He is the first pitcher the Mets have taken in the first round since Kumar Rocker in 2021 and David Peterson in 2017.
The team had no second-round selection and lost a compensatory pick tied to Edwin Díaz signing with the Dodgers after agreeing to terms with Bo Bichette, who had received a qualifying offer. The Mets' next selection is scheduled for the 92nd overall pick. Kris Gross, the Mets' vice president of amateur and international scouting, is leading his third draft with the club.
He said the depth of the 2026 class would help a team selecting outside the top of the order. This marked the fourth consecutive year the Mets' first-round position fell due to owner Steve Cohen's spending. In 2023 they took infielder Colin Houck at No.
32, in 2024 outfielder Carson Benge at No. 19, and in 2025 infielder Mitch Voit at No. 38.
