Photo by Ed Delany, MMN

Mets starting pitching prospect Jose Butto has been named the International League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending September 25, 2022. This is the first time this season a Syracuse pitcher has been named as the pitcher of the week.

Butto was named the pitcher of the week after a dominating start against the Worcester Red Sox. Over seven shutout innings, Butto allowed just two hits while striking out 11 batters. This was the best start of Butto’s professional career.

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This would actually be the second time this season Butto would strike out 11 in a game. The previous occasion was Butto’s June 2 start for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. In that start, he struck out 11 Somerset Patriots. Of course, that was a Double-A start. In Triple-A, it is a higher level of competition.

On that front, Butto has pitched extraordinarily well since returning to the Syracuse rotation. In his five starts since his Major League debut, Butto is 1-0 with a 1.57 ERA. As noted by MMN‘s Michael Mayer, Butto has allowed just two runs over his last 24 2/3 innings pitched.

This also marks the second time in as many years Butto has received pitcher of the week honors. Last season, Butto was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending August 15, 2021.

Notably, while Butto was the first Syracuse pitcher to be named pitcher of the week this season, this is the fifth time a Syracuse player received player of the week honors. Previously, Daniel Palka, Travis Blankenhorn, Gosuke Katoh, and Mark Vientos were named position players of the week.

In terms of the entire Mets organization, Butto is the fourth Mets minor leaguer to be named pitcher of the week at any level. The other pitchers to be so awarded were Luis Moreno (Brooklyn), Layonel Ovalles (FCL), and Jesus Vargas (Binghamton).