The St. Lucie Mets have named OF/DH Kevin Taylor as their player of the month and RHP Ricky Knapp as their pitcher of the month for May. The awards were announced at a team ceremony Thursday night.

Taylor has come a long way since signing a minor league contract in February. In 24 games in May ,he hit .308 (28/91) with three home runs and 12 runs batted in. Taylor had nine multi-hit games, including seven in a row from May 3 to May 11. For the season, he is hitting .281 (50/178) with five home runs and 23 runs batted in.

The 24-year-old Taylor was signed by the Mets on February 16, after spending the previous two seasons in the Independent Leagues. In 2014, he played with current St. Lucie teammate SP Casey Delgado on the Traverse City Beach Bums, and Taylor spent the 2015 season with the Laredo Lemurs. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011 and spent three seasons in the organization.

Knapp was named St. Lucie pitcher of the month after making five starts. He went 2-2 with a 1.87 earned run average and 12 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings. For the season, Knapp is 6-4 with a 2.12 ERA in 12 games (11 starts).

Knapp, 24, has been the strongest member of St. Lucie’s staff this year, with a low ERA and walk rate. His strikeout numbers are not dominant, but that hasn’t been the highlight of his game, historically. The Mets’ rotation should be boosted by LHP P.J. Conlon who was promoted today, along with 2B Vinny Siena. Conlon was 8-1 with a 1.84 ERA for the Columbia Fireflies.

The St. Lucie player of the month for April was Amed Rosario and pitcher of the month was Tim Peterson who are both now in Binghamton.