The New York Mets made two picks in the 2011 Rule 5 Draft.
In the first round, they selected second baseman Brad Emaus, an OBP guy who seemed like a perfect fit for Sandy Alderson's new Moneyball Mets.
By the end of the year, it was second rounder Pedro Beato who was still in Queens, while Emaus lasted barely a month.
Beato, a right-handed relief pitcher, started the season off with 18.2 innings without allowing a single earned run. This was the best start to a career in Mets franchise history.
By the end of the year, hitters figured out Beato, and his paltry 1.4 K/BB ration inevitably caught up with him. His numbers regressed to a 4.30 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.
Beato pitched more innings than anyone else last season. However, this year, the bullpen is no longer the glorified batting practice tossers of 2011. Frank Francisco, Ramon Ramirez, Jon Rauch, and an improved Bobby Parnell all will be getting more high-leverage innings than Beato.
With less pressure and more experience, can Beato turn himself into an improbable Rule 5 success story? Not without striking out more batters, especially considering the atrocious defense that has plagued the Mets for the past few seasons.
Beato will get plenty of chances this season to prove he's a major league pitcher, and I believe that he can be a serviceable part of the Mets new bullpen in 2012.
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