Tom Brennan: Is Ronny Mauricio a True Switch Hitter? LOBs, Minor League Style

METS HITTING CONUNDRUM RE:  R MO 

Sometimes, when you start out doing things, you realize you’re not very good at those things, and you try something else. 

Marvin Lee Aday (A/K/A Meat Loaf) noted that Nolan McLean could hit baseballs that were cold annd lonely into the deep, dark night.

But he did that as a hitter who struck out at a tremendous rate. 

He quickly realized that pitching was his ticket to the big leagues, and so he dropped his switch occupation as a power hitter, focusing on just the pitching. That seems to be an excellent decision. He is pitching great.

Similarly, just solely looking at recent career data, should switch hitter Ronny Mauricio drop his switch hitting and take all at bats from one side? 

In 2022, Mauricio in AA as a righty hitter was .226/.250/.376 in 100 PAs with a 25% K rate.

But hitting lefty, he was .267/.306/.493 with a K rate closer to 22%. 

- Big advantage as a lefty hitter.

In 2023, Mauricio in AAA was .250/.282/.417 in 163 PAs, with a 24% K rate batting righty.

But as a lefty bat, he hit .297/.356/.501, with a 21% K rate. 

- Big advantage as a lefty hitter.

In 2024, Mauricio was out with his leg injury. Equal from both sides (zero).

In 2023 and 2025 as a NY Met, through Saturday, Mauricio as a righty has (ahem) hit .145/.185/.226 in 65 PAs. 

Hitting lefty, a robust .286/.355/.449 in 124 PAs. 

The difference is plainly drastic. Big advantage as a lefty hitter.  And his strikeout rate as a lefty hitter is far lower than righty.

It is obvious to me from the above stats that he hits drastically better as a lefty hitter vs. righties, than as a righty hitter vs. lefties. 

So much so that one could surmise it is quite likely he would be much better off dropping his right hand batting altogether, and go 100% lefty.  

That might be hard to do mid-season, but it seems as logical for him to do that switch as for Nolan McLean to have retired his baseball bat to focus solely on the pitching rubber.

Switch hitting is cool, but switch non-hitting is far less cool.

Should you tell Steve Cohen, Eric Chavez, and David Stearns, or should I?

LOB’S IN DOUBLE DIGITS?  BAD, RIGHT?  WELL, NOT ALWAYS

Binghamton on Tuesday night left 10 men on base.  Before you say “there they go with LOB-itis again”, I should add they also scored 16 runs on 19 hits. 

Ryan Clifford hit a grand slam and a 3 run shot, while part timer Wyatt Young (.277) had 4 hits, and stars Carson Benge and Jett Williams each had 3 hits. 

But wait, there’s more…

Blazing Brian Metoyer threw 2 perfect innings and fanned 4.  No one got on base, so no LOBs.  What a bounce back relief season for the Tommy John determined returnee so far.  18 G, 24.2 IP, 0.73 ERA, 0.85 WHIP.

Then, on Wednesday, St Lucie left 11 men on base.  But when you score 10 runs on 22 hits, plus 5 walks, you can see where the 11 LOBs came from. Nick Roselli went a blistering 4 for 5, and 4 other happy Mets guys had 3 hits each.

On Wednesday, Nolan McLean was great, again. 20 Ks in his last 11 innings.  Call him up.

OK, YOU READERS WHO LOVE TO LURK DEEP IN THE WEEDS…

How many errors has bonus baby Daiverson Gutierrez made as a catcher in 54 games this year?  You experts surely already know.

EIGHTEEN. 

Former MLB C Mike Matheny once went 252 games without an error. At Daiverson’s current pace, he’d make 85 errors in 252 games.  He will have much competition for a future Mets catching spot, so he perhaps should ask to speak to Mike Matheny about how to catch AND reduce errors.

 

My Favorite Mets Catcher

“Hey.  Don’t ask me - CATCH?? I only catch flak from my wife. I tell ya, I don’t get no respect, no respect at all.”

UPTICK IN METS THIEVERY

In 1962, the Mets stole 59 bases and were caught 48 times.  55.1%.

In 2025, the Mets mid-game on Tuesday had stolen 70 of 80. 87.5%.

Much better thieves these days in Metsville.