What is always interesting covering the MLB Draft is everyone has a different path to how they get there. Some are highly regarded high school draft picks, while some are college draft picks who are prized recruits who can basically pick where they want to attend college.
Dominic Hamel had a different path altogether.
Hamel had baseball talent coming out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., but he went undrafted and ended up spending two years at Yavapai Community College.
As a freshman at Yavapai, he posted a 2.67 ERA in 67.1 innings and struck out 75 batters. After his sophomore year at Yavapai he was able to transfer to Dallas Baptist University, where he was immediately thrust into the weekend rotation in 2020.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hamel was only able to make four starts before college baseball was shut down. The 2020 MLB Draft was shortened to five rounds, and for the second time Hamel went undrafted.
He burst onto the draft scene in 2021 with a big year for the Patriots, where he went 13-2 with a 4.22 ERA across 91.2 innings with a Dallas Baptist single-season record 136 strikeouts. The twice-undrafted player was primed to be a Top 100 draft pick and was ranked as the 96th best player in the 2021 MLB Draft class by MLB Pipeline.
The Mets farm system lacks much by way of higher-level pitching prospects.
J.T. Ginn and Matt Allan are the top pitching prospects in the organization for me, but it takes quite a dip after that. The Mets' first two picks in the 2021 draft were geared towards adding pitching with Kumar Rocker (who ended up not signing) and Calvin Ziegler. Hamel was the third pitcher in a row, and one of eight pitchers the Mets drafted in the first 10 rounds.
Hamel was a rising draft prospect who fit the mold of the type of pitcher the more analytically driven Mets are moving towards. He was a guy they had higher on their draft board than maybe the public consensus, and some evidence of that was the fact that they drafted him and signed him for full slot value for the 81st pick at $755,300.
Hamel was described to me as a “spin-rate monster.” He sports a four-pitch-mix with a fastball that sits 92-94 mph and touches 96 with plus spin rates. His two breaking balls are a low-80s slider and an upper 70s curve, which both have great shape and spin rate numbers. His fourth pitch is a changeup, which is a pitch that needs a good amount of development.
In 2021, he calmed down his delivery and that led to him throwing more consistent strikes and being able to better command his arsenal overall. He and the previously mentioned Ziegler are signs that the Mets have involved their new analytics department -- headed by now assistant GM Ben Zauzmer -- in the MLB Draft.
As that department continues to grow, you should expect to see more of an emphasis on the spin rates, spin efficiency, pitch tunneling, and much more as part of their analysis of pitchers who they could potentially draft.
Hamel had a quick and brief debut last summer with the Florida Coast League Mets, where he threw three perfect innings and struck out seven batters. I ranked him as the No. 11 prospect in my latest Top 20 Prospect ranking, with a MLB ETA of 2024.
As is the case with most minor league arms you will see me talk about, I will be looking to see the strides Hamel makes with his changeup. I fully expect him to start the 2022 season with High-A Brooklyn.
If Hamel is able to put his entire repertoire together and continue to improve upon his command, he has the potential to be a No. 4 or No. 5 back-end type of starter. I also believe he has a higher floor than some other prospects. With his fastball, slider and curve, he could end up as a valuable multiple inning reliever who I believe will continue to miss bats as he continues his development.
