When the Mets punted on the rest of this season at the trade deadline, they replenished their long-depleted farm system by picking up a bevy of prospects.

The six-game losing streak that followed, while ugly, may help them stock up the system with another high-end prospect.

But they’ll also have to get lucky.

Since the Mets have exceeded the $290 million luxury tax threshold, they can be penalized by having their first pick in the 2024 draft knocked down 10 spots, but that pick would be protected if it’s in the top six.

Then, their much-less-valuable second pick would be bumped 10 spots.

Ending up with a top-six pick, however, is not as simple as finishing with one of the worst six records in the majors.

Instead, they’ll have to wait for the draft lottery that was also put in place in the last collective bargaining agreement to prevent tanking.

Simply put: the Mets, after this historically disappointing season, will either pick 1-6 or 17-40 in July.

All 18 non-playoff teams are involved in the lottery and are eligible to win the lottery to get the top overall pick.

The teams with the worst three records in the majors will enter the lottery with the best odds in an attempt to prevent complete tanking.

The odds of hitting the six-team lottery become progressively worse as you move up the standings.

Last year, the first under the CBA, featured some good — and not so good — fortune.

On the positive side, the Rangers, who finished with the seventh-worst record, moved up to fourth and the Twins, with the 13th-worst record, selected fifth.

The Athletics, Reds and Royals were not as lucky.

The A’s, who, along with the Pirates and Nationals, had the best chance to finish with the No. 1 pick, got bumped to the sixth pick.

The Mets entered Tuesday tied with the Pirates for the eighth-worst record in the majors.

Given the state of their roster — not only without the traded Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, David Robertson, Mark Canha and Tommy Pham — but also missing the injured Starling Marte and demoted Brett Baty, there isn’t much hope of a good stretch to come in Queens.

The Mets can’t catch the dreadful A’s and Royals in the standings, but they could tumble down below the Tigers, White Sox and Cardinals, as well as the Pirates.

No matter how the ragtag group does the rest of the way, however, the Mets have to hope they get one of those valuable top six picks.

If not, they’ll be hurt more than most other teams, thanks to the payroll penalty.

Helping their cause is the fact that the Nationals, who picked second overall in the last draft, can’t be in the lottery again this year because teams that don’t receive revenue sharing are prohibited from being in the lottery two straight years.

Regardless of where the Mets pick, just as at the trade deadline this year, they’ll have to select the right player.

It’s something they hope they did when they got Luisangel Acuña, Sean Clifford and Drew Gilbert — among others — in their prospect haul at the deadline.