The Las Vegas 51’s season ended in excruciating fashion as they went just 3-8 in their final eleven games of the season squandering first place and a playoff berth. They finished one game out of first with a 77-67 record while having win streaks of fourteen and eight games during the 2015 season.

The offense for the 51’s had a strong season scoring 5.26 runs per game (tied for third), above the league average of 4.73 runs per game. They were second in the league with 321 doubles, 140 homeruns, and a .788 OPS.

The pitching staff was right about average which is pretty impressive since they lost Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Logan Verrett to the big leagues for a good chunk of the season. The rotation relied on some veteran minor leaguers like Tim Stauffer and Duane Below to fill in after promotions.

Las Vegas staff allowed 4.67 runs per game (league average 4.73) and had a 4.46 earned run average which was slightly worse than the 4.37 league average. Their 1.439 WHIP was the fifth worst in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. They did lead the league with eight complete games and their two balks were the fewest in the league.

Travis Taijeron and Matt Reynolds were the only all-stars for the 51’s, with Reynolds unable to play because an injury.

Offensive Leaders:

• Homeruns – Travis Taijeron 25, Brandon Allen 16, Alex Castellanos 16, Dilson Herrera 11
• Triples – Matt Reynolds 5, Darrell Ceciliani 4, Taijeron 3, Allen 3, Kirk Nieuwenhuis 3
• Doubles – Reynolds 32, Castellanos 32, Allen 29, Herrera 23, Taijeron 22
• AVG – Eric Campbell .363, Ceciliani .345, Herrera .327, Johnny Monell .324
• OBP – Campbell .493, Ceciliani .398, Taijeron .393, Monell .389, Herrera .382
• SLG – Nieuwenhuis .667, Castellanos .614, Campbell .593, Ceciliani .581
• Stolen Bases – Wilfredo Tovar 30, Ceciliani 16, Herrera 13, Reynolds 13
• RBI – Taijeron 71, Allen 68, Reynolds 65, Castellanos 56, Monell 51, Herrera 50
• Runs – Reynolds 70, Herrera 68, Taijeron 67, Castellanos 58, Allen 52

Pitching Leaders:

• Wins – Darin Gorski 10, Dillon Gee 8, Matthew Bowman 7, John Church 7, Steven Matz 7
• Starters ERA – Matz 2.14, Tim Stauffer 2.48, Gee 4.58, Logan Verrett 4.59
• Starters WHIP – Stauffer 1.031, Matz 1.107, Verrett 1.361, Gee 1.392
• Reliever ERA – Scott Rice 1.82, Duane Below 2.19, Chase Huchingson 3.34, Church 3.93
• Reliever WHIP – Below 1.095, Church 1.197, Zack Thornton 1.346, Rice 1.361
• Saves – Church 7, Chasen Bradford 7, Jon Velasquez 4, Vic Black 3
• SO/W – Below 3.50, Gee 3.50, Stauffer 3.50, Bradford 3.29, Matz 3.14

The 51’s were led by manager Wally Backman for the third straight season, this was the first time they missed the playoffs with him under the helm. Frank Viola was the pitching coach for the second straight season and it was his fifth season overall in the Mets system. Former big leaguer Jack Voigt was the 51’s hitting coach for the first time after being the outfield and baserunning coordinator over the previous four seasons for the Mets.

Here are the links to the previous team reviews: DSL Mets 1, GCL Mets, Brooklyn Cyclones, Savannah Sand Gnats, St. Lucie Mets, and Binghamton Mets.