Former Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year leaves the NL East for Korea

Reigning New York Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year Brandon Sproat is on a trajectory to become an ace in the big leagues. This isn’t always the case for pitchers who won the award. Often, an unexpected player ends up with the honor.

Back in 2021, a 26-year-old picked up from the Rule 5 Draft ended up winning the award. Adam Oller came to the Mets via the San Francisco Giants. A mostly unsuccessful minor league pitcher, he turned out a promising minor league performance.

Oller was 5-3 with a 4.03 ERA in 15 Double-A starts. One step higher in Triple-A, he was 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 8 appearances. The overall 9-4 record and 3.45 ERA was enough to surpass all other Mets minor league pitchers on his pathway toward winning the award.

Former Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year Adam Oller is gone from the Marlins and off to Korea

Oller left the Mets in the 2022 trade for Chris Bassitt. He had an unimpressive stint with the Oakland Athletics before managing to creep back over into the NL East when he made 8 starts for the Miami Marlins in 2024.

The results weren’t much different. Having gone 3-9 with a 7.09 ERA for Oakland, he had a lackluster 2-4 record and 5.31 ERA last season for the Marlins.

Next year will be Oller’s age 30 campaign and it’s going to take place with the KBO champion Kia Tigers. His attempt to reinvent himself overseas follows a similar path as Erick Fedde who successfully went from a mediocre pitcher for the Washington Nationals into an MVP in Korea.

As Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors laid out, the appeal of pitching in Korea has financial incentive as well. Oller should make more money there than he would pitching in the minor leagues in North America.

In Korean, the word “hwaiting” translates to “fighting” and yet it’s a positive way to encourage someone luck and cheer them on. Well, hwaiting to you Mr. Oller.