Three B-Mets Honored by New York Mets

Three members of the Binghamton Mets have been honored by the New York Mets for their outstanding efforts during the 2013 season. First baseman Allan Dykstra was named the Sterling Minor League Organization Co-Player of the Year. Pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Jeff Walters were selected as the Sterling Award winners for the Double-A level, emblematic of the club’s top players.

The recognition for Dykstra, 26, caps his best professional season. The slugging San  Diego native launched a career-high 21 home runs and drove in a career-best 82 runs en route to earning Eastern League Most Valuable Player honors. He represented the B-Mets as both a Mid-Season and Postseason Eastern League All-Star in his third year with the team. Acquired from the San Diego Padres prior to the 2011 season, he led the league with a .436 on-base percentage and a .503 slugging percentage. His 102 walks were the most by any Eastern Leaguer since 2003. Dykstra shares the award with catcher Kevin Plawecki.

Syndergaard, 21, flourished in his first season at Double-A. The hard-throwing right-hander joined the B-Mets in late June after opening the season in the Florida State League with the St. Lucie Mets (High-A). He went 6-1 over 11 starts and compiled a 1.59 ERA, excluding one rocky performance in his final game of the regular season. Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the 2013 season, the tall Texan put together his best work over the final month of the season. During a four-start stretch from July 28 to August 16, Syndergaard went 3-0, allowed just one earned run over 21.0 innings (0.43 ERA) and struck out 26 batters. He finished the season with an impressive 11.5 K/9 IP ratio with the B-Mets.

The honor for Walters, 25, puts a bow on an incredible season that saw the closer rewrite the B-Mets’ record book. In his first season at Double-A, the right-hander set a B-Mets single-season and all-time record by nailing down 38 saves, the second-highest single-season total in Eastern League history. He led all of Minor League Baseball in saves and held opponents to a .224 batting average. Selected in the seventh round of the 2010 draft out of the University of Georgia, he represented the B-Mets as a Mid-Season and Postseason All-Star.

Be sure to follow the B-Mets on Facebook, Twitter and at the team’s official website (www.bmets.com) for more team information. Fans can also stay up to date with all the action on the field by visiting “B-Mets Buzz with Tim Heiman” at bmets.mlblogs.com