With their sixteenth-round selection in the 2025 MLB Draft, the 493rd overall pick, the Mets selected Zack Mack, a right-handed pitcher from Loyola Marymount University.
Zack Mack’s father, Hillary, played tennis at Temple University and Texas Southern University, but Zack did not follow in his footsteps. A first baseman, third baseman, and pitcher at Glenda Dawson High School in Manvel, Texas, Zack was a four-year letterwinner and was made team captain in his senior year. Despite being a giant among boys at 6’4”, 225-pounds, Mack’s abilities at the plate as well as on the mound lagged behind his physical gifts, and as such, he went undrafted out of high school after graduating in 2021.
Mack attended San Jacinto Community College in 2022 but only appeared in 5 games and pitched 5.0 innings due to a UCL injury that required Tommy John surgery. He opted to redshirt, and in 2023, the return of the Mack took place, as he appeared in 5 games, pitching 8.1 innings. Finally, in 2024, his redshirt sophomore year, the right-hander was fully and fully healthy, appearing in 14 games, starting 3 of them. In 36.0 innings, he posted a 4.00 ERA with 32 hits allowed, 15 walks, and 40 strikeouts. That summer, he transferred to Loyola Marymount University. Appearing in 23 games, starting 3, the 22-year-old redshirt junior posted a 3.67 ERA in 49.0 innings for the Lions, allowing 38 hits, walking 21, and striking out 61.
The 6’5”, 250-pound Mack is built like a truck. The right-hander throws from a three-quarters arm slot with a long action through the back, dropping-and-driving off the mound, giving him a flatter approach angle. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, topping out at 96 MPH. Because of his approach angle and the pitch’s backspin, it has good rising action and works best up in the zone. He pairs the pitch with a high-70s-to-low-80s power curveball, a low-to-mid-80s gyro slider, and a developing low-to-mid-80s splitter.