With their thirteenth-round selection in the 2025 MLB Draft, the 403rd overall pick, the Mets selected Frank Camarillo, a right-handed pitcher from the University of California: Santa Barbara.
Frank Camarillo began his high school career at Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, California but transferred midway through and transferred to Moreno Valley High School, fueling the historic rivalry between the two schools in extremely close proximity to each other further. In his senior year, Camarillo earned All-CIF Southern Section, All-Conference, All-Sunbelt League, and MVP honors by hitting .448/.519/.676 in 33 games with 15 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 5 stolen bases, and 15 walks to 9 strikeouts while posting a 1.86 ERA in 71.1 innings on the mound, allowing 44 hits, walking 27, and striking out 122. He went undrafted in the 2022 MLB Draft and attended the University of California: Santa Barbara in 2023, transitioning to a full-time pitcher due to his louder baseball tools on the mound.
Camarillo did not play much in his freshman year, appearing in 4 games in total and allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and a walk over 2.2 innings, striking out 2 batters. He got some supplementary playing time that summer with the Corvallis Knights of the West Coast League. Appearing in 10 games, he posted a 1.89 ERA in 19.0 innings, allowing 11 hits, walking 11, and striking out 17. Returning to the Gauchos for his sophomore year in 2024, Camarillo appeared in 13 games and posted a 7.97 ERA in 20.1 innings, allowing 27 hits, walking 12, and striking out 18. That summer, he once again sought out supplemental playing time and stayed local, appearing in 5 games for the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Collegiate League as a starting pitcher. The right-hander posted a 0.86 ERA in 21.0 innings, allowing 14 hits, walking 6, and striking out 26.
When he returned to UC Santa Barbara for his junior season in 2025, he once again was not able to translate his success in the summer college ball leagues to success with the Gauchos. Appearing in 8 games, starting 3, the right-hander posted a 6.53 ERA in 20.2 innings, allowing 25 hits, 8 walks, and 19 strikeouts. Following the conclusion of the season, Camarillo returned to the Foresters for a second season in the California Collegiate League.
The 6’4”, 210-pound right-hander throws from a three-quarters arm slot, dropping and driving off the mound. A unique-but-ultimately-immaterial quirk in his pitching mechanics, Camarillo fans his glove and covers his face from batters while getting his signs, an ode to Clayton Kershaw. His fastball, which sits in the low-to-mid-90s, works best at the top of the zone, where it has solid rising life thanks to the flat approach angle Camarillo is able to throw from. His slingy delivery gives his fastball a bit of arm-side run, but he sometimes crossfires his pitches, leading to poor control. The right-hander complements it with a mid-80s changeup and a low-80s gyroscopic slider, both of which miss bats.