If you’re sorting through the best first-round draft picks in Mets history, career WAR gives you a clean answer. No debates about draft slot value, no splitting hairs over whether a player meant more in Queens than elsewhere - just the numbers, and they point to the same five names at the top.
Brandon Nimmo sits fifth on the list with 26.1 WAR entering the 2026 season. The Mets took him 13th overall in 2011, and his total with the club already clears Scott Kazmir’s 22.3 WAR by enough that he’s safely in the mix. He’s still active, so that number can keep climbing.
Jon Matlack comes in at No. 4 with 39.4 WAR. He was the fourth overall pick in 1967, and he put together a career that still doesn’t always get the attention it deserves because he spent so much of it in the shadow of Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. Even so, he won the 1972 Rookie of the Year five years after being drafted.
Darryl Strawberry is next at 42.2 WAR. The Mets made him the first overall pick in 1980, and for a stretch in the 1980s he looked every bit like the franchise cornerstone he was supposed to be. The off-the-field issues kept him from reaching an even higher level.
David Wright lands at No. 2 with 49.1 WAR, all of it coming in a Mets uniform. He was a supplemental round pick in 2001, selected 38th overall, which makes his place on this list even more striking. The Mets only had that shot because Mike Hampton left in free agency for the Colorado Rockies, giving New York the pick that turned into Wright.
At the top is Dwight Gooden with 53 WAR. The fifth overall pick in 1982 dealt with many of the same outside distractions as Strawberry, but his peak was still massive. He opened his career with roughly a decade of dominance for the Mets, and that was enough to put him first on this list.
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