Devin Mesoraco the Missing Piece in Cincinnati Reds’ Season?
By Josh Sippie
The Cincinnati Reds find themselves mired in the middle of a National League Central division that is being piloted by the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. At 18-22, they obviously have plenty of time to turn it around and it’d be foolish to count anyone out this early anyway.
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This Reds’ lineup is not so different from last years lineup. Marlon Byrd was added to make it stronger, which they sorely needed after putting up the third-least runs in the league last year. With Byrd and the return of Devin Mesoraco, they have the capabilities to push up the runs list with some added help from a premium position. The Reds are 24th in Runs produced, but if you factor in the RBIs that Devin Mesoraco had last year at this point, it pushes the Reds into the top half of the MLB in run production (via ESPN.com).
Last year the Red had 89 RBIs coming out of the catcher spot. Devin Mesoraco provided 80 of those RBIs. He was second only to Buster Posey and the World Champion San Francisco Giants. The Reds also had 27 home runs out of the catcher spot, 25 of which were Mesoraco’s and that was good for first in the league.
This year? The Red rank dead last in catcher RBIs. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that in the wake of the Reds struggles, they’re without the breakout star power of Devin Mesoraco.
With Joey Votto, Todd Frazier, Marlon Byrd and Brandon Phillips, the Reds already have a really solid core of the lineup. Jay Bruce has pop too, and despite the fizzling start, he’s got what it takes to turn it around. Add Devin Mesoraco to that mix and you’ve got six players that can smack the ball around the field.
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With a pitching staff that just needs another starter or two to cope with the loss of Homer Bailey, the Reds have all the makings of a team that can impose themselves on post season play. It just feels as though they’re missing that little extra pop.
I refer to that little pop as Devin Mesoraco. Getting RBIs and power numbers out of the catcher spot is a luxury. It’s such a premium position and very rarely will you find a catcher who has serious potency in his bat. Even in this day and age, how many are there? Buster Posey, Yadier Molina, Salvador Perez? You could throw in Stephen Vogt now too but that’s about it. Then there’s Devin Mesoraco, who’s putting up Buster Posey-like power numbers.
That kind of infusion can make all the difference. The difference between having six guys who can rip it and five is more than just a number.