Draft Profile: - C - Mike Zunino

     Mike Zunino  

3-21-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=398:college-baseball-weekend-05-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11 - Moves well behind the plate; quick foot work; good arm  Simple short swing; extends arms well Showed ability to turn on pitch, ripped pitch foul, and blasted a 2-2 slider over the fence  Power came to pull side, but did manage to slap the ball opposite field while protecting the plate in first AB 

6-10-11: - http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=20873 - Sophomore Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) drove in three runs and Florida (49-16) scored in each of the first five innings to defeat Mississippi State (37-24), 11-1, in the opening game of the best-of-three NCAA Gainesville Super Regional on Friday afternoon at McKethan Stadium. Game two will be on Saturday at noon and be shown nationally on ESPN, with the Gators needing one more victory to punch the program’s seventh ticket to the NCAA College World Series

6-11-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5869 - Player of the game: C Mike Zunino, Florida -- The Gators wanted to get off to a hot start against Mississippi State, and they did just that with the sophomore stud catcher leading the charge. Zunino had a key two-RBI single in the first inning and finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. Zunino was named the SEC Player of the Year a few weeks ago, and this is just another example of why that was the case.

Ranked #89 in the 2012 Prospects List compiled by the All-American Athletic Foundation  http://allamericanfoundation.pointstreaksites.com/view/allamericanfoundation/news/mlb-2012-draft

6-15-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5887  - 1. C Mike Zunino, Florida -- The outstanding sophomore has had an incredible campaign for the Gators and hopes to continue his consistent ways in Omaha. Zunino is hitting .376 with 22 doubles, 18 home runs and 66 RBIs. He also has a .686 slugging percentage and a solid .444 OBP. Additionally, Zunino has induced 29 walks this season

6-15-11: - http://collegebaseball360.com/2011/06/15/ncbwa-college-baseball-all-american-teams  - NCBWA Division I All-America Team THIRD TEAM  C *Mike Zunino, Florida, So. .376 67 245 72 92 22-0-18 66 29 47 7/9

6-15-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5896 - Perfect Game College All-Americans - (Mike) Zunino has been fantastic at and behind the plate this season. He's hitting a team-high .376 with 22 doubles, 18 home runs and 66 RBIs. He's also slugging .686 and has a .444 OBP. Zunino also has been near perfect behind the plate with just two errors

6-18-11: - Twitter – DmndScpScouting - Zunino was 1.97 pop to 2nd there. #CWS 2012

6-20-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/740905-omaha-eye-openers-2012-mlb-draft-prospects-at-the-2011-college-world-series#/articles/740905-omaha-eye-openers-2012-mlb-draft-prospects-at-the-2011-college-world-series/page/3 - C Mike Zunino, the reigning SEC Hitter of the Year, should also get some love after a season that saw him pace the Gators with a .376 average and 18 home runs. He finished second on the squad with 66 RBI. Behind the plate, he was excellent, making only two errors, good for a fielding percentage of .996. He was so good in fact that he forced freshman sensation Austin Maddox off of the position. Zunino was a former 30th-round pick back in 2009.

6-28-11:  - http://baseballdraftreport.com -   I can’t see any catcher in the 2012 draft class overtaking Zunino for the top spot. The Florida catcher is a big league catcher defensively already, and his bat should make him one of the better hitting catchers in pro ball before long. No mention of Zunino and this year’s College World Series without providing this unbelievable clip:

7-15-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/07/12/mike-zunino-2012-draft-profile - Mike Zunino plays catcher at a Major League level and is a likely first round choice in the 2012 draft.  Zunino has a solid, disciplined approach at the plate.  He has a quick bat and solid pull power.  Many point to holes in Zunino’s swing and he is likely to have a high strikeout rate at the next level.  His willingness to take a walk should help offset the strikeouts. Zunino truely shines defensively.  He moves well and does a good job of blocking balls in the dirt.  Zunino’s arm is strong and accurate.  He has good hands. Zunino’s father, Greg, is a scout for the Reds which is one of the reasons he is such a good student of the game.   Zunino received catching gear for Christmas when he was 6 years old and plays like he has been behind the plate since that day.

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments - Mike Zunino, Florida, 6’1 210, R/R, has come into his own in college and has total package to be a great catcher for a long time, ala Charlie O’Brien, former Wichita State star in the 80’s, could be in the top 10 players taken in 2012

. 9-12-11: - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/09/12/sec-baseball-questions-for-2011  - Mike Zunino will look to return to his sophomore form as he was named 2011 SEC Player of the Year after hitting .371 with 19 homers and 67 RBI in a breakout season. Zunino made an interesting decision to not play for Team USA this summer and only appeared in eleven games with Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox before heading home for the summer

9-22-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/9/18/2433708/2012-draft-profile-the-ups-and-downs-of-pick-projecting#comments   - Dave Rawnsley was extremely high on Zunino in the PG prospect chat yesterday as well. I asked him about Zunino and Trahan and he said Zunino was on another level, and projected him as a potential Top 5 pick. Not surprisingly, the opinion that college has less to offer this year is also held at PG, and extrapolating from various comments over there they see just a handful of current first round locks among college position players (Marrero, Zunino, Roache, Jankowski). If Yasmani Grandal was a legitimate option for KC at #4 in his draft, Zunino is absolutely in that range based on what I’ve seen. And I can attest that Jeff’s Zunino comments were the chief anecdotal source bolstering Zunino’s excellent performance stats for me.

9-28-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/9/28/2455532/all-questions-answered-thread#comments - Good defensive catcher with bat speed, patience and power. He will K some… but who cares? You’ll be getting plenty of offense from a good defender at a premium position. It may sound crazy… but with a good season he really could push himself into #1 overall consideration IMO. Appel and Marrero are not exactly known for their consistency… if they continue that trend this year and still want big paydays… I have Zunino 5th on my board right now (Gausman and Giolito also above him). I would not be shocked at all to see him have a dominant season though… and that may be enough in a class where there hasn’t been a clear #1.