Tacoma’s Mike Zunino Ready to Step into Mariners Lineup
Mar 3, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino (5) hits an RBI double during the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
If his path wasn’t clear before, the Seattle Mariners delivered a strong message to their top catching prospect, Mike Zunino, last week when they demoted Jesus Montero to Triple-A Tacoma. That transaction left no doubt as to the role the Mariners have planned for Zunino; he is the catcher of the future and that future can begin as soon as Zunino is ready.
With a two homer game on Friday, Zunino is serving notice that he is ready to go right now.
A former Golden Spikes winner, Zunino has shown impressive power at the plate in the Pacific Coast League and despite less than a year removed from his playing days at the University of Florida, he’s already navigated his way through the minors and is on the precipice of making it to the Show.
It’s no secret that Zunino has had some contact issues this season. After beginning the season by going 9-for-21 with four homers and 16 RBI in his first five games, the stout 22-year-old fell into a prolonged slump that saw him collect just seven hits over his next 17 games; a span that included 24 strikeouts in 61 at bats. Since Tacoma left on a road trip beginning on May 7, however, Zunino has shown much better results at the plate and while his season totals aren’t overly impressive, his slash line (.290/.324/.638) over the past three weeks shows a hitter who has recovered nicely from the experience of his first real struggles as a professional.
Zunino is regarded as an ordinary defensive catcher, but that’s an upgrade over what Seattle had with Montero behind the dish on a regular basis. Zunino has plenty of pop in his bat and it figures to translate into home run power at the big league level. He has already connected for 24 homers in just 367 plate appearances as a pro and even with the month-long slump earlier this season, he’s still produced a .545 slugging percentage and 11 long balls in 177 PA’s this year.
Zunino is not an all-or-nothing hitter, but he is an extra-base machine. In addition to the home runs, he had a habit of finding gaps in the outfield. 24 of his 37 hits this year have gone for extra bases and 51 of 95 hits as a pro have been for at least two bags.
With the calendar turning to June and with so many young players already having made their debuts this season across the league, it won’t be long at all before Seattle clears the expected Super Two cutoff date, if that factors at all into their decision, and feels safe in bringing last year’s third overall selection to the major leagues.
When he does arrive. expect to see Zunino in the middle of the Mariner lineup for a long time to come.