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Recap from Day One of Mets 2016 Draft

By Michael Mayer

June 10, 2016 26 Comments

Photo Courtesy of the Mets

Photo Courtesy of the Mets

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.

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