#4: Patrick
Mazeika, C, Bats Left, Throws Right, DOB 10/14/1993, 8th round, 2015
Draft.
Not everyone is high on Patrick. I think Mack’s list is the only other top 25
list I saw Patrick on and Mack
had him at #23. He was not on MLB.com's recent list of top 30 Mets Prospects.
Last year as a 25 year old Patrick repeated a season at double A Binghamton. He was Rule 5 eligible, left off the 40 man roster, and no other team grabbed him.
Last year as a 25 year old Patrick repeated a season at double A Binghamton. He was Rule 5 eligible, left off the 40 man roster, and no other team grabbed him.
So why is he my #4?
The purpose of this list is to try to give prospects that others may miss their due. Also, I think Patrick could help the Mets this year.
Last year for Binghamton Patrick hit .245 for the year after
a .194 in the frigid/wet April. He had a
.312 OBP and .426 slugging, 16 homers, 69 RBIs, 25 doubles, 101 hits, 89 Ks.
His .738 OPS was second highest in the Mets
minor leagues last year (behind Syracuse Veteran Danny Espinosa) for players
with more than 400 at bats. His career
slash line in the minors .278/.371/.424.
He also gave Binghamton two of the
best endings last year with a walk-off grand-slam with two outs on May 14th and
a three-run walk-off homer also with two outs on August 7th.
Patrick played 55 games behind the
plate and 53 games at first. As a catcher Patrick threw out 18 of 54 base
stealers for a 33% average. For his
career he has thrown out runners 31% of the time.
After
Tom’s great Andres Gimenez/Ruben Tejada comparison the other day, I took a
look at a similar player to Patrick, Mike Jacobs.
As a 24 year old in 2005 (a year younger than
Patrick last year), Mike hit .321 for Binghamton with 25 HRs and 93 RBIs. Then, that same year, Mike Jacobs
was called to Queens and hit 11 HRs with 23 RBIs and a .310 BA.
The big difference is that while Mike Jacobs was more
proficient with the bat in AA, by the time he came to the Mets he was strictly
a First Baseman and no longer caught.
Patrick can still catch.
I see Patrick as a perfect number 26 man that can be a lefty
power bat off the bench, and serve as the number three catcher. This would allow Wilson
Ramos to pinch hit and not have to enter the game on his day off.
I think he could be the 26 man this year but Patrick will probably start the year in Syracuse where he will share first base with Matt Adams and catcher with Ali Sanchez.
So far this spring Patrick has shown he belongs with 3
doubles and a walk in 8 at bats.
Video
from 7/20/19: Jason Krizan, Patrick Mazeika and David Thompson leave the
yard in consecutive at-bats for the Rumble Ponies.
John, bold choice. I just wonder if he has the hit tool. I sure thought he did when he hit .350 that first short season in Kingsport. But he hit lower in the 2nd half than in the first half, and for some reason, despite being lefty, he hit lefties better last year. If he was like Duda, who was so much better as a lefty hitter against righties than he was against lefties, I could see Mazeika playing for the Mets against righties.
ReplyDeleteI see his strengths as 1) some power, 2) doesn't fan a whole lot. The latter is very important. SO many guys fan a lot in the minors, then have to face deGroms, Scherzers and Coles when called up. Results being obvious.
I just expected more from him in 2019 with the bat, although truth be told, NO ONE hit in AA for the Mets last year, so maybe the pitching was way better than a normal AA season.
Lets hope that 2019 was a slump year, and 2020 for Pat is a hot one.
He has had a good spring, at 3 doubles in 8 at bats and 2 walks, a good sign - but Nido or Rivera seem most likely to break camp as the back up catcher. And I still think Ali Sanchez has a shot at the 26th spot, due to his base stealing prevention skills. But Nido and Rivera are not big obstacles to Mazeika (although the aging Rivera hit better in AAA than Mazeika did in AA in 2019). Keep plugging and, hey, ya never know.
Sanchez, Rivera and Nido this spring so far? 2 for 21 combined.
Great points Tom. FYI, Patrick hit .263 versus lefties and .239 versus righties last year v
ReplyDeleteI thought a catcher's primary claim to fame was framing pitches and throwing out runners. Whatever he gained with the bat was a plus. Look at Wilson Ramos. No one is questioning his bat, but no one looks forward to throwing to him.
ReplyDeleteI saw him play yesterday for the first time. I didn't realize how big he is.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it... Patrick would make it as a major league for two reasons only.
1. His bat
2., He plays 2 positions
I'm surprised/disappointed that we didn't have a single prospect with an OPS higher than .738.
ReplyDeleteBill, John's threshold was 400 at bats.
ReplyDeleteWilmer Reyes and Francisco Alvarez both had fewer than 400 ABs, but had OPS of .791 and .916 respectively.
FYI - here were the top 5 Mets Minor leaguers in OPS with more than 400 at bats last year: Danny Espinosa .777; Patrick Mazeika . 738; Jeremy Vasquez (St. Lucie) .737; Carlos Cortes .733; Mark Vientos .711.
ReplyDeleteThanks,Tom. That's more encouraging, but I'm still disappointed that there weren't more.
DeleteR U really going to drag this out till the World Series?
ReplyDelete