As deadline passes, Ridgewood native looks forward to Draft

On Monday evening, the midnight deadline passed for Pedro Beato and the New York Mets to reach an agreement on a contract, ensuring he will not be staying in Queens to begin his professional baseball career.
But just like the other major setback Beato has gone through in his career – the Tommy John surgery performed on the flame-throwing right-hander early in his junior year – the Ridgewood native has already put the impasse in the past. “I’m kind of disappointed, but in a way I’m glad I’m back in the draft,” he said.
Beato, 19, said it doesn’t matter which team selects him in the upcoming Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, where he may be chosen as high as the first round next Tuesday, June 6th; Baseball America listed him their No. 13 prospect in their latest rankings. “I just want to play,” he said. “It’s something I love doing. It’s something I want to keep doing.”
A star at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Beato threw in front of Mets officials last Saturday at Shea Stadium, including General Manager Omar Minaya. It was his second visit there in a week. The two parties cut off negotiations Monday night at 8 p.m., when it became apparent they were too far apart; reportedly Beato was seeking a deal of over $1 million and the Mets were reluctant to go past $750,000.
“Everything was done very professionally with the Mets,” said Mel Zitter, Beato’s summer coach with the Youth Service League in Brooklyn and a close family friend. “It was a professional thing where we agreed to disagree. This was Pedro’s decision. I’m very proud of him for making it … It was a hell of a lot of money to turn down. We have no doubt he will keep getting better and his value will keep increasing.”
Beato underwent reconstructive elbow surgery April 26th of 2004 after injuring it while delivering a pitch in a league game against McClancy. He returned midway through last season, and was selected in the 17th round by the Mets as a draft-and-follow.
This spring, he impressed the Flushing team, who scouted every one of his starts at St. Petersburg College, where he went 6-3 with a 2.75 ERA, while consistently throwing in the mid 90’s with an exceptional power curve and change-up. “Guys like Pedro don’t come along too often,” said Dave Panno, Beato’s coach at St. Petersburg. “He’s a coach’s dream.”
Zitter, a former major league scout within the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization, said of Beato, “I’ve never coached a kid who worked harder than him.”