July 5, 2026, 5:09 p.m. ET
D1Baseball projected Florida right-hander Liam Peterson to come off the board at No. 27 to the New York Mets in its final 2026 MLB mock draft.
Peterson is the No. 14 overall college draft prospect and the fourth-best right-handed pitcher, according to D1Baseball’s rankings. Ole Miss’ Cade Townsend and Tennessee‘s Tegan Kuhns are projected to go just before Peterson, at Nos. 23 and 24, respectively.
The Mets have a history of drafting Florida Gators, most recently with Brandon Sproat in 2022 and 2023. Sproat signed the second time around as the No. 56 selection and was eventually traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after making his debut in 2025.
Peterson was a three-year weekend starter for Florida. He held down the Friday night spot for the better part of the last two seasons, but Aidan King swapped spots with him midway through 2026. The stuff has always been exceptional, dating back to high school, but there are some command concerns. His walk rate has dropped every year and reached a career low of 9.8% this season. Peterson’s strikeout rate has always been high, finishing the last two seasons above 30%.
Still, he remains hittable with a career batting average against of .255. One problem Peterson had was pitching for the strikeout, which led to walks and high pitch counts. As a result, he often left games before the sixth inning, which isn’t what a top-end college starter expects.
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As mentioned above, the stuff is elite. Peterson sits in the upper-90s with his fastball and can touch triple digits. He has two distinct breaking balls that could use a bit more consistency, and his changeup has developed into a usable pitch.
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