G-Fafif

The Times has Dunn a profile on the Freeport Phenom, who couldn't be happier to be here (and in Brooklyn). "I wasn’t really looking for one team; I was just looking for an organization that was going to give me a shot,” Dunn said. “And I had hoped that the Mets would be one of the teams, because you see what they do with their pitching staff, and you can’t ask for anything else.” The plan right now? Right now, Dunn’s innings are being limited — he is scheduled to pitch two innings every six days and will make his third appearance on Saturday against the Lowell Spinners. Through four innings of work, Dunn has given up two hits and no runs, has walked two and has struck out three. He wants to tighten up his command but is otherwise happy. “Ball’s coming out well, everything feels well coming out of my hand, and I feel strong and I feel healthy, so that’s always great, and that’s all you can ask for,” he said.

Dunn has his first professional win.

Two scoreless innings of relief in his professional debut, a career born on the same date as the US of A.

Meet the youngster I'll be taking under my wing for the duration of his development, Justin Dunn. 2016 first-round pick. RHP. My veritable neighbor (one town over). Reformed MFY fan, now talking up how much he enjoyed his trips to Shea and Citi. BC Eagle. Brooklyn Cyclone currently. Strong Island represent! “A lot of people think Long Island can’t play baseball, but look at the track record. You have Marcus [stroman] and then you have Steven Matz, and they’re doing pretty well in the league,” Dunn said. “You have guys like Keith Osik that have played, and other guys. This is something that should be known, that Long Island can play. I’m just happy to have my little part of it.” Keith Osik? That's his go-to Long Island position player? Not Carl Yastrzemski? Even Frank Catalanotto? I find that extremely charming.

30 Granderson 29 deGrom 28 Cespedes 27 Familia 26 Harvey 25 Murphy 24 Duda 23 d'Arnaud 22 Flores 21 Syndergaard 20 Wright 19 Colon 18 Niese 17 Tejada 16 Lagares 15 Conforto 14 Robles 13 Clippard 12 Plawecki 11 Johnson 10 Uribe 9 Matz 8 Cuddyer 7 Gilmartin 6 Nieuwenhuis 5 Reed 4 C. Torres 3 Campbell 2 Blevins 1 Verrett This was a lot more fun to rank than the years that preceded it. On FAFIF, I chose Cespedes as team MVP, for reasons you can guess (and read if you're interested). Here, understanding the mission is a little different, Granderson seemed the most reasonable choice to top the chart. He was the only everyday player who was never nudged nor absent from his position and he got better as the year went along. DeGrom came in second in deference to not just how good he was but how important starting pitching was to this team. Despite Cespedes's shall we say limited 2015 Mets tenure, his impact was ginormous to the point of legendary. I've never known what to do with closers exactly, but having seen what not having a reliable one can do to a team made me value Familia's pre-World Series contribution that much more. On a pennant-winning team whose trajectory was in ascent very early, middling or worse for a long time and then out of sight in August and the first half of September, I found it challenging to weigh big moments versus soaking up playing time, the latter of which isn't meant as derisive. Those who contributed mightily in the ascendant moments tended to get a little more love. It got Jerry Blevins 2 points, for goodness sake, and he wasn't around nearly as much as Eric Campbell or (more damningly) Michael Cuddyer. The one guy I could not get an experiential handle on was Erik Goeddel. I know he had nice numbers, I don't remember him notably blowing up at a notably inopportune time (even if his one postseason appearance was nightmarish for him) but I also can't place him in the 2015 narrative. Guys like Carlyle and Alvarez, though they don't appear here, made an impression because without them, this or that key game would have been lost. Erik didn't quite in my mind, which is why I gave what could have been his spot to Verrett, who was asked to do something specific -- give Harvey a breather in Colorado -- and did it impeccably.