Former Kane County Cougars RHP Jon Duplantier was named MLB Pipeline’s Pitcher of the Year on Thursday. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)

Former Kane County Cougars RHP Jon Duplantier is the recipient of MLB Pipeline’s Pitcher of the Year award this year, after he posted Minor League Baseball’s second-lowest earned-run average in the last 25 years.

Duplantier pitched for the Cougars in the first half of the season, going 6-1 with a 1.24 ERA, 78 strikeouts and 15 walks in 72.2 innings (13 games/12 starts). He was the starting pitcher for the Western Division team in the Midwest League All-Star Game. He also pitched for the U.S. team in the All-Star Futures Game.

The Arizona Diamondbacks prospect pitched in the hitter-friendly California League in the second half of the season, and still excelled. He went 6-2 with a 1.56 ERA, 87 strikeouts and 27 walks in 63.1 innings (12 starts) for the Visalia Rawhide.

Overall this season, he went 12-3 with a 1.39 ERA, 165 strikeouts and 42 walks in 136 innings (25 games/24 starts). Justin Verlander — you may have heard of him — was the only qualified MiLB starting pitcher to post a lower ERA in the past 25 years (1.29 ERA in 2005).

Duplantier also finished third in the minors with a .192 opponents’ batting average, and 12th with a 0.98 WHIP.