Tom Brennan - MY METS PROSPECTS: #16 PAT MAZEIKA
I am a really good sleeper...honest...not so really good with reading fine print, though.
For quite a while, I wrote about catcher Pat Mazelka - until a commenter mentioned that his name was properly spelled Mazeika! OK, thanks I changed the spelling from then on, but sadly Pat changed his hitting from then on, too.
He tailed off from a powerful .370 start into early May, ending up with 100 games in A ball hitting a league's 5th best .287 with a dandy .389 on base % and .406 slug %. Promoted late to AA, he went 7 for 21 with 5 doubles. And a fine strikeout rate. I guess, though, it was too much to expect him to hit .370 all season.
Patty M, an 8th rounder in 2015, has a strategic advantage; the 6'3", 210 catcher hits lefty, making him a platooning-minded manager's delight.
OK, so for a fine offensive catcher, how did he do defensively? Really not bad...his rep as a guy who can't catch is really overstated. After all, he threw out 45 of 141 would-be base stealers (nearly 32%) and made just 5 errors.
Next year, he'll be 24, and jockeying for high level playing time with the soon-to-also-be Tomas Nido. I can definitely see at least a #2 major league catching role in Pat's future. Perhaps even if #1 if he does not plateau.
If (and when) he does make the big leagues, I will HAVE to make sure I spell his name right....so here goes....P...A....T. Good, I'm ready - I hope he is.
I wonder how much the exploits of Nido and Mazeika helped motivate Plawecki which, in turn, motivated d'Arnaud?
ReplyDeleteReese, competition can often be hugely motivating. For Plawecki, seeing a few times the thin line between receiving a major league paycheck and a minor league one has to be an extreme motivator, too.
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