For Immediate Release
Date: September 20, 2023 by Jacob Wilkins and Matt Levine
Pitching Coach AJ Sager, C Hayden Senger, OF Rhylan Thomas also Receive Organizational Awards
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The New York Mets announced on Tuesday that shortstop Jett Williams was named the organization's Minor League Player of the Year and right-hander Christian Scott was named the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year, as part of the 2023 Mets Minor League Awards.
Additionally, Rumble Ponies pitching coach AJ Sager was named Staff Member of the Year, catcher Hayden Senger was recognized as the Platinum Gold Glove winner, and outfielder Rhylan Thomas was named as the recipient of the Outfield Gold Glove award.
Williams, Scott, Sager, and Senger will be honored at Citi Field prior to the Mets game on Thursday, September 28, against the Miami Marlins.
Mets Minor League Player of the Year: Jett Williams
Williams earned the Mets Minor League Player of the Year award in his first full season of professional baseball. Williams slashed .263/.425/.451/.876 with 13 home runs, 55 runs batted in, and 45 stolen bases across three levels (Single-A St. Lucie, High-A Brooklyn, and Double-A Binghamton) in the regular season. He also recorded 108 hits, 22 doubles, and eight triples.
The 2022 first-round pick, out of Rockwall-Heath High School, finished the regular season with the second-most walks (104) in all of Minor League Baseball. He became the first Mets Minor Leaguer with 100+ walks since 2013 and the first teenager to lead the organization in walks since David Wright in 2002.
The 19-year-old finished first in the organization in walks and BB% (18.4%) and second in OPS (.876).
Williams was promoted to Double-A Binghamton on September 12, becoming the first Mets position player drafted out of high school to reach Double-A in the following calendar year since Gregg Jefferies in 1986.
Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Christian Scott
Scott finished the 2023 regular season with a 2.42 ERA over 18 starts across High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. In 12 starts with the Rumble Ponies, Scott had just a 2.47 ERA in 62 innings, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 77-to-8. Scott finished with the best WHIP (0.86) and K/BB ratio (8.92), among 640+ Minor League pitchers with at least 70.0 innings pitched this year.
No Mets Minor Leaguer had thrown more innings (87.2) with a lower WHIP since 1996 (Jesús Sánchez). Among Mets Minor League starting pitchers, Scott finished No. 1 in Strike% (68.6%) and Chase% (33.0%).
Over his first three starts at the Double-A level, Scott allowed just three runs over 19.2 innings pitched with 23 strikeouts and only four walks, racking up three wins and going at least six innings in each outing. In his Double-A debut on June 15, Scott allowed only two hits and one run, with no walks and nine strikeouts over six scoreless frames.
The Florida native struck out a career-high 11 batters over 4.2 innings against New Hampshire on August 5. With Binghamton, Scott went at least six innings in seven of his 12 starts and had two outings where he went seven frames.
The 24-year-old right-hander is in his third professional season after being selected by the Mets in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Florida.
Mets Minor League Staff Member of the Year: AJ Sager
Sager is nearing the end of his second season as a pitching coach in the Mets organization. Sager's staff this season set a Binghamton franchise record with 14 shutouts and took home five Eastern League honors, headlined by Mike Vasil being named Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for May.
Tyler Stuart, Luis Moreno, and Joander Suarez (twice) also received Eastern League Pitcher of the Week recognition. On September 7 at Hartford, Suarez threw the eighth no-hitter in franchise history, facing the minimum 21 batters over seven innings.
Sager's staff also ranked first among the 30 Double-A clubs in strike rate and walks issued, and second in opponent on-base percentage.
Grant Hartwig became the first Mets pitcher who had been under A.J.'s tutelage to reach the Major Leagues this past June. Sager is in his first season as pitching coach with Double-A Binghamton, following spending the 2022 season in the same role with High-A Brooklyn.
Platinum Glove Award: Hayden Senger
Senger led Double-A Binghamton in games caught in the club's first playoff-bound season since 2017. He played in 71 games as the Rumble Ponies' backstop.
The 26-year-old led all of Mets Minor League catchers in caught stealing rate (30.5%). He nabbed 29 baserunners trying to steal this season, which led the Mets' organization and tied for the 10th-most in all of Minor League Baseball. The 2018 draft pick led all Minor League catchers with a .999 fielding percentage, committing just one error.
The Hamilton, Ohio, native was behind the plate for seven of the Rumble Ponies' franchise-record 14 shutouts. He was behind the plate Suarez's no-hitter in Hartford, which was the fourth individual no-hitter in franchise history.
Senger logged a career-high 597.2 innings behind the plate in the regular season.
The catcher is finishing up his fifth professional season in the Mets' organization, after being drafted in the 24th round in 2018 out of Miami (OH).
Gold Glove Outfielder: Rhylan Thomas
Thomas appeared at all three outfield spots across three levels of the organization. In 91 games, Thomas committed just one error this season and has only two over the first two seasons of his professional career.
He played in 41 games in left field, 40 games in center field, and nine games in right field during the regular season, logging 759.0 innings in the outfield.
The 23-year-old Ventura, California, native was selected by the Mets in the 11th round of the 2022 draft out of Southern California.
Additional Rumble Ponies coaching staff members have garnered other honors this season. Performance coach Ryan Orr was named the Eastern League Strength Coach of the Year, which is voted on by the strength coaches around the league. Development coach Jeremy Cologna and athletic trainer Austin Dayton were selected to the staff of the Glendale Desert Dogs in MLB's Arizona Fall League.
No comments:
Post a Comment