Seattle Mariners: Mike Zunino continues to excel since his recall from AAA
By Anthony Sosa
On May 6, the Seattle Mariners sent catcher Mike Zunino down to Triple-A Tacoma after an abysmal start to the 2017 season. They recalled him 19 days later and since then, Zunino’s performed better than ever in the big leagues.
With the third overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft, the Seattle Mariners selected catcher Mike Zunino. After a stellar season at the University of Florida where Zunino earned the Johnny Bench Award, the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award, high expectations followed.
He made his MLB debut with the Mariners on June 12, 2013. Since then, Zunino hasn’t found much success like he did in college. Entering the 2017 season, Zunino’s slash line stood at .195/.262/.370. In three and a half seasons, Zunino hit 50 home runs, drove in 133 runs and scored 117 times. Not exactly what the Mariners expected out of a top-three draft pick.
At the beginning of 2017, Zunino looked lost at the plate and struggled to come close to the Mendoza line. On May 6, the Mariners sent Zunino back to Triple-A Tacoma. In that span, Zunino hit .167/.250/.236 with zero home runs, two RBI and eight runs.
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The Mariners recalled Zunino on May 23. Since then, Zunino has produced how the Mariners expected he would all along. From May 23 to June 19, Zunino has hit .338/.386/.738 with nine home runs, 28 RBI and 13 runs scored. June looks to shape up as the best month of Zunino’s career. In June, Zunino is hitting .385 with eight home runs and 26 RBI. He raised his season batting average nearly .100 points, from .167 to .257.
On Monday, Zunino played a big factor in the Mariners’ 6-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. The 26-year-old gave the Mariners the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the score knotted at two, Zunino launched a two-run home run off Alex Wilson. Zunino repeated the action two innings later when he hit a two-run homer off Francisco Rodriguez. Zunino’s two home runs and four RBI propelled the Mariners to their 35th win of 2017.
For the second time this month, Zunino homered twice in the same game. He also did so on June 7 against the Minnesota Twins. On June 3, Zunino drove in a career-high seven runs in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
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Zunino looks primed to turn his career around. The Mariners need him to continue his successful run. Although the Mariners sport just a 35-37 record, they sit just one and a half games out of a Wild Card spot. After an early bout of injuries, the Mariners look to get some players back healthy and make a second-half push for the playoffs.