Seattle Mariners: Has Mike Zunino earned another chance?

Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino started the season at Triple-A, but he’s hitting like he doesn’t want to stay there very long.

Mike Zunino entered the 2016 season at a crossroads. The 25-year-old catcher was coming off a year to forget at the big league level, and serious questions were being asked about whether he would ever live up to earlier expectations.

During the offseason, the Seattle Mariners decided to go in another direction at the position, inking former Los Angeles Angels backstop Chris Iannetta to a one-year deal to be the starter. Zunino found himself with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers to begin the year.

The minor league demotion appears to have sparked something in Zunino in the early going, however. He has absolutely hammered the ball in 45 plate appearances, slashing .452/.467/.952 with six home runs and 18 RBIs.

Naturally, his red-hot start begs the question: Is Zunino ready for another shot in the majors?

Zunino was selected third overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 2012 draft and quickly developed into one of the better prospects in baseball. Prior to the 2013 campaign, Baseball America ranked him 17th on its top prospects list. It looked as if the M’s had found their catcher of the future.

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Zunino made his MLB debut in June 2013, and failed to hit very well (.620 OPS) in 52 games. Unfortunately, his struggles with the bat continued over the next two seasons. In 2014, he slashed .199/.254/.404 in 131 games but somewhat made up for it by swatting 22 home runs, good for third among backstops.

Last year he managed an even weaker .174/.230/.300 slash line in 112 contests, while his power output waned to only 11 homers. His .530 OPS ranked a startling 43rd among catchers (minimum 200 PA).

Of course, offense is generally at a premium among big league catchers. Defense is another essential piece of the puzzle. Zunino is generally well-regarded for his work behind the plate, though it’s worth noting that he posted negative DRS (defensive runs saved) totals in each of his three major league campaigns.

If Zunino keeps raking down at Triple-A, a call-up can’t be far away, right? Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times argues that the M’s shouldn’t rush to break up the status quo, and his logic makes some sense.

Iannetta has done a fair job holding down the fort in the first two and a half weeks of the season. He’s slashing .242/.359/.424 with a couple homers and five RBIs in 39 plate appearances. On a one-year deal, the 33-year-old veteran is not a bad placeholder for the catcher position.

Although Zunino’s early results at Tacoma are impressive, it’s still a fairly small sample size. For instance, all six of his home runs thus far came in a five-game stretch from April 13-18. Is that a player turning the corner, or just a really, really good week? Figuring that out will require some further patience and observation.

This is also the first time in Zunino’s career that he is really enjoying success at the Triple-A level. Players typically prove themselves on each rung of the minor league ladder before moving onward, but Zunino’s development was somewhat fast-tracked his first time through the farm system. His only substantial stint at Tacoma came in 2013, when he slashed a meager .227/.297/.478 in 52 games.

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Zunino likely won’t ever hit for a high average, but he can make you look the other way by sending the ball out of the park as frequently as he did in 2014. His early performance this year at Triple-A suggests he’s rediscovered that power stroke. The Mariners are likely encouraged by his numbers, but they will want him to show he can keep producing over a longer span of time.