New York Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Justin
Dunn
Level(s): high-A St. Lucie, AA Binghamton
Stats: 8-8, 24 GS, 135 1/3 IP, 3.59 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 52/156 BB/K
Justin Dunn was a dynamic arm at Boston College that put together one exceptional season as a starter that ended up getting him selected 19th overall in 2016 by the New York Mets. He tossed just 30 innings in his draft year, flashing his stuff, but not eliminate the worry that he may end up in the bullpen eventually.
Injury issues in 2017 furthered those bullpen worries, but the 2018 season answered those questions, for now at least. Dunn opened the season in the Florida State League, and his dominant performance got him promoted to AA.
Dunn experienced more issues in AA than high-A, particularly as the season wore on and he hit innings numbers he hadn’t surpassed before. After he passed 90 innings, he seemed to struggle. Beginning the start after that point, he made 7 starts, with a 6.23 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and a 19/49 BB/K over 39 innings. That added over a run to his season ERA to that point and a full 0.10 to his WHIP.
He will hope to see his endurance pick up in 2019
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Runners-up
Signed out of Venezuela, Jaison Vilera made his way to the New York-Penn League in 2018, and he continued to show the excellence that has been his trademark thus far. He made 13 starts, throwing 73 2/3 innings, with a 1.83 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 22/78 BB/K ratio.
The New York Mets drafted David Peterson out of Oregon with the 20th overall selection in 2017. He had his first full season in 2018, starting with low-A Columbia and finishing with high-A St. Lucie. Overall, he made 22 starts, pitching 128 innings with a 3.16 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 30/115 BB/K. Impressively, Peterson only allowed 2 home runs.
Signed as a minor league free agent, Drew Gagnon made 28 starts in the minors, tossing 163 2/3 innings, with a 4.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a 44/172 BB/K ratio. He was called up to the Mets and tossed 12 big league innings, with a 5.25 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, and 5/8 BB/K ratio.
The New York Mets drafted Steve Villines in the 10th round in 2017 out of the University of Kansas. In his first full season in 2018, he climbed up three levels, ending the season in AA Binghamton, totaling 47 games, tossing 66 2/3 innings, with 10 saves, posting a 3.11 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and a 13/96 BB/K ratio.
New York Mets fans should get to enjoy elite pitching at the major league level until the top prospects in the lower levels find their way up, that is unless the Mets choose to trade off and rebuild, which would add to the system depth significantly.