The New York Mets today announced the selections of right-handed pitcher Justin Dunn from Boston College with the 19th-overall pick of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft, left-handed pitcher Anthony Kay from the University of Connecticut with the 31st-overall pick and infielder Peter Alonso from the University of Florida with the 64th-overall pick.
A native of Freeport, Long Island, Dunn, who is in the midst of his junior season with the Eagles, is 4-1 with a 1.49 ERA (10 earned runs/60.1 innings) in 17 games (seven starts) with 66 strikeouts and 16 walks. The 1.49 ERA currently is a single-season record at BC and is the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. The 20-year-old began this season in the bullpen where he accumulated two saves before moving into the starting rotation where he’s posted a 1.43 ERA with 43 strikeouts in seven starts.
This year, Dunn helped Boston College reach its first ACC Baseball Championship in six years after he threw his first career complete game at No. 22 Georgia Tech on May 21. Most recently, Dunn helped pitch the Eagles to the Coral Gables Super Regional and was named to the Oxford All-Regional team after striking out a career-high 11 batters in Boston College’s opening game of the Oxford Regional vs. Tulane.
Dunn worked a total of 7.0 innings and allowed two runs, earned, on five hits while walking one to earn the win. Boston College opens play in the Super Regional on Friday vs. Miami at 5 p.m. Dunn was recently named a third-team All-American by Baseball America, his first All-America selection. Additionally, Dunn was also named a semifinalist for the Greg Olson Award, which honors college baseball’s breakout player of the year.
He has already been named to the All-ACC third-team and the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-New England second-team this season. Prior to attending Boston College, Dunn pitched four seasons for The Gunnery School in Washington, CT. He was co-captain of the Gunnery squad as a senior while also earning New England Prep Baseball League (WNEPBL) First-Team All-Star and Rawlings/Perfect Game preseason First-Team All-Region honors. He had been previously selected in the 37th round of the 2013 First-Year Player draft by Los Angeles-NL but chose to attend Boston College.
A native of Stony Brook, Long Island, Kay attended Ward Melville High School before attending UConn, the same high school as current Mets lefthanded pitcher Steven Matz. The 21-year-old was named the American Athletic Conference’s Pitcher of the Year this season following his junior year with the Huskies. The Louisville Slugger Second-Team All-American selection went 9-2 with a 2.65 ERA (35 earned runs/119.0 innings) in 17 games (all starts).
He struck out 111 batters and walked 35 while holding opposing hitters to a .223 batting average against. The 111 strikeouts are fourth-most for a single-season in program history and were second-most in the AAC. He helped lead the Huskies to their first NCAA Tournament in four years this season Entering the draft, Baseball America projected Kay as the 33rd-best prospect in the country. He is the fourth Husky player to be drafted in the first round and first since George Springer and Matt Barnes, who were both taken in the first round in 2011.
Last season, Kay posted an 8-6 record with a 2.07 ERA (23 earned runs/100.0 innings) in 17 games (14 starts) while totaling 96 strikeouts to 25 walks. He was named to the American Athletic Conference First-Team as well as the ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast Region Second-Team during his sophomore season at UConn. Following his senior season at Ward Melville in 2012, Kay was given the Paul Gibson Award, which is annually given to the best pitcher on Long Island. He was selected by the Mets in the 29th-round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft but elected to attend UConn.
Alonso, a native of Tampa, FL, was batting .368 (71-193) in 53 games with 15 doubles, 12 home runs and 55 RBI to lead the team in batting average, home runs and RBI. The 21-year-old was named an ALL-SEC Second-Team selection in 2016 and was recently named the Gainesville Regional’s Most Outstanding Player after batting .571 (8-14) with three home runs and eight RBI in the three games during the regional round.
The 21-year-old first baseman helped lead the Gators to the Super Regional where they will face off with Florida State beginning Saturday night. During his sophomore season, Alonso helped the Gators reach the College World Series by batting .340 (18-53) with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, 15 RBI, and 17 runs scored in 15 postseason games. In Omaha, he drove in a team-best seven runs and batted. 278 (5-18).
Prior to the Gators’ run in the College World Series, Alonso hit .462 (6-13) and was named to the SEC All-Tournament team as the Gators won the title. As a freshman, Alonso was named a second-team Freshman All-American by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and was one of three Gators named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
I don’t understand people who are sour on the first two picks because it doesn’t solve the Mets current 3b problem. When has a draft pick solved an immediate problem in the MLB?
If I could upvote this a hundred times I would, the MLB draft is not about fixing immediate needs. The first two picks were very solid if not the “sexy” picks some were hoping for.
Guys like Conforto and Schwarber are the extreme examples of moving through a minor league system quickly and it still took Conforto over a year. Will Craig might have not seen the MLB for 2 years
To answer your question; Brian Taylor who distracted the baseball world of what a dumpster fire the Yankees were at the time
Makes you wonder if the Met are stockpiling arms knowing that Harvey leaving via free agency or being traded is inevitable.
I only know what I read on the web, but it seems we might have gotten caught short with the Yankees taking Rutherford right in front of us. Read rumors of a pre-draft deal with him that the Yankees blew up.
Maybe the Mets see Flores as a longer term fix at third if Wright needs to eventually retire.
Ya I think some though Craig would get drafted and come straight to the big leagues to play third. That isn’t how that works. Like you said Conforto/Schwarber were rare talents.
I don’t see the Mets draft as any indication of Harvey or Flores. They continue to take who they think is the best player available.
I think if Rutherford is there they take him but they saw Dunn as the next best available
I like the picks especially the first two pitchers (I am torn on the third pick).
The Mets system is in need of arms and that is what they got. It seems Dunn has higher end potential since he can already hit the high 90s at times on the gun. Kay is a more limited pick but seems like one of those picks that almost assures you have a first round pick make the majors. He is polished with a great changeup. It appears it wont take a ton of development to make him major league ready.
Another part of the equation is I sense these guys will sign under slot which might give the Mets some flexibility to go after some higher end HS guys and lure them away from college in the middle rounds.
a lot of what I read was skeptical of him being able to stick at third anyways
Agreed, I would love to know if they had Rutherford ahead of Dunn on their board.
Definitely a chance he ends up at first base.
100% agree with your assessment and think we could see someone like Curbelo or Mendoza with the 100th pick.
Mets always say they would draft the best player on the board and not for need. I think after Rutherford was grabbed Dunn was taken because they had him higher than Craig. Of course mets fans want another plus power college bat like Conforto but he was considered the best bat in college after schwarber. The bat was just not there compared to the arm. Getting Alonso is not a bad option after Craig. The question is do the mets think they can move Alonso back to third where he played in high school or try something like move to catcher. I bet they just leave at 1b and don’t mind two high upside 1b in system. Not every system has one so trade bait for other holes is always there.
also I read that a lot of scouts were down on Craig anyway viewed him as a project but then Conforto was supposed to be an Outfield project too. The point is the draft is a crap shoot especially in MLB which is why you take best available especially early which seems to be what the team did. In Sandy et al we trust.
To add to your point, both Smith and Alonso are a long way from the majors. Even going from AA to the bigs is a huge step (Conforto aside). Plenty of room to fail.
The Mets will be thrilled if they have to choose between Smith and Alonso at some point.
From Adam Rubin:
“Here’s what Mets amateur scouting director Tommy Tanous said about Florida 1B Peter Alonso, whom the Mets selected in the second round: “This is one of the better power hitters in the country. The trick with the power hitter is: Is he going to hit enough to get to that power? Peter also is a very good hitter — his knowledge of the strike zone, his ability to attack a baseball, his path is fairly short from his swing. He’s a bigger guy with a shorter swing. And it usually translates into success. So mechanically we felt he was really sound. Physically this is a really strong man. Florida is not the easiest place to hit balls out of. I think he hit 12 home runs this year. He led the No. 1 team in the country in hitting. This is a force, but he’s also a well-rounded hitter.”
These columns ar great for a guy like me who does not follow college baseball anymore. Thanks
Can never have enough arms in the system, Chec and Nimmo appear on the up swing as far as prospects. If we can work on Chec throws, he might be up soon.
No problem! Glad you enjoy.
Exactly, had someone tell me yesterday that is would be an issue if Craig and Smith both were MLB ready. Ya I really good freaking issue lol.
Looks like Mendoza has made himself unsignable now with his demands.
People confuse MLB draft with NFL. They do not serve the same purpose. Similar, not SAME. And people cannot grasp that.
Google baseball reference 1st round 2000 draft (or any year). The vast majority of 1st round draft choices never make to the bigs, or have a next to nothing career. And it’s much worse in the 2nd round. Generally, a total crap shoot.
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Nearly all of the talent comes out of the first round; you have some residual luck in the second, and by time you get to the third round to the end it’s a 1 in 30 shot that you’ll be valuable member of a team.
Roughly half of the first round plays in the major leagues and probably somewhere around 85% of the talent (as measured by WAR). Source: BB-Ref. I’d suggest you refer to 2010-2012, insofar as that would be relevant to today’s baseball trends.
Saw some tape on Alonzo last night. 4 HRs in 6 games. He is a bit of an animal, hits those Bagwell-esque liners into the seats. ‘Course, it is just college.