The Visalia Rawhide and MLB Pipeline has announced, RHP Jon Duplantier has been named the MLB Pipeline Pitcher of the Year after posting a breakout year in his first full season of professional baseball.
A third-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016 out of Rice, Duplantier led all of Minor Leauge Baseball (MiLB) with a 1.39 ERA between Class A Kane County and Class A-Advanced Visalia. His ERA was the second-best mark in MiLB in the last 25 years, behind only Justin Verlander’s 1.29 ERA posted in the 2005 season. Duplantier was also third in MiLB with a .192 batting average against and 12th with a 0.98 WHIP. Overall, Duplantier finished with a 12-3 record in 24 starts.
Duplantier was named to the Sirius/XM All-Star Future’s Game in Miami, Florida this July, was MiLB.com’s Midwest League Player of the Month in May, and was a Mid-Season All-Star for the Midwest League while with Kane County.
Duplantier pitched only one inning in his pro debut in 2016 and began 2017 by racking up 20 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. He gave up his first earned run on May 2 and went on to allow an earned run in just one of his first ten starts in the Midwest League.
Duplantier was promoted to the Rawhide from Kane County on June 22 following the California League All-Star break and made an immediate impact with a 1.56 ERA in 12 Visalia starts and 87 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings. Over his final three starts, Duplantier registered 14 consecutive scoreless innings. He struck out 44 hitters over 25 innings in his last five starts.
After missing the entirety of his 2015 season at Rice due to shoulder injury, Duplantier returned in 2016, finished second in NCAA Division 1 with 148 strikeouts, and was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year.
Duplantier was Arizona’s eighth-ranked prospect entering 2017 by MLB Pipeline and was elevated to their second-ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update. Baseball America ranked Duplantier as Arizona’s number nine prospect at the beginning of the season.