Rob Whalen was drafted in the 12th round of the 2012 draft by the New York Mets out of high school in Florida. He only made one appearance with the Mets’ Appalachian League team in Kingsport in his draft season.
The Mets returned him to Kingsport for 2013, and his numbers sparkled. Whalen posted a 1.87 ERA over 12 starts totaling 72 1/3 innings. In that time, he put up a 1.87 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 17/76 BB/K ratio. Though the numbers were excellent, he didn’t get much national attention, likely due to his lack of pedigree in being a later pick.