mike zunino being called up

[seattlefan75]

welp it looks like the era of mike zunino has started, this is truly jacks last trick in his sleeve because it looks like he is getting desperate. I know that players being called up is all depending on whats going on but a quarter of a season in A-AA and a quarter of a season in AAA then BOOM he is in the majors? well it may not sound great and a little premature but these have been some desperate times, as far as prospects go NOTHING is panning out for the mariners other than maybe nick franklin and his 14 games he played or so.

but i truly do hope this works out and maybe he can be our buster posey or joe maurer and really get this team on the right direction but there was 0 leadership in this ball club last season, it was better this season, if we had better pitching 3-5 we would be .500 IMO.

 

[unlvmariners]

welp it looks like the era of mike zunino has started, this is truly jacks last trick in his sleeve because it looks like he is getting desperate. I know that players being called up is all depending on whats going on but a quarter of a season in A-AA and a quarter of a season in AAA then BOOM he is in the majors? well it may not sound great and a little premature but these have been some desperate times, as far as prospects go NOTHING is panning out for the mariners other than maybe nick franklin and his 14 games he played or so.

but i truly do hope this works out and maybe he can be our buster posey or joe maurer and really get this team on the right direction but there was 0 leadership in this ball club last season, it was better this season, if we had better pitching 3-5 we would be .500 IMO.

I don't think Zunino is ready yet. He has been struggling at the plate. I really hope he does well and is able to stay up.

 

[SeattleCoug]

I think this is move is mainly because the catcher position is kind of a joke right now.

Shoppach is a journeyman catcher who has rarely played more then 2 days a week in his career.
Now your asking him to play 6-7 days a week because there is literally no one else. He along with lots of other guys on this team need a blow.

 

[wazzu31]

I think this is move is mainly because the catcher position is kind of a joke right now.

Shoppach is a journeyman catcher who has rarely played more then 2 days a week in his career.
Now your asking him to play 6-7 days a week because there is literally no one else. He along with lots of other guys on this team need a blow.

Now this shows Jack's desperation. Had he been called up when Sucre got injured then it makes some kind of sense, but it's not like in those few days he has torn up Tacoma...so besides Jack knowing he is going to lose his job, has changed in the past week?

 

[dude82]

I think this was more a desperation move due to injuries than a move indicating that they think Zunino is ready to play regularly at this level. I also don't think this is a move that, when evaluating Zduriencik's job, you can point to as a negative if it doesn't work out the way we want it to. There really wasn't a choice. They can't keep using Shoppach everyday or they'll run him into the ground and while I'm happy for Brandon Bantz that he got to play in the majors, I don't think he ever would have gotten the call under any other circumstances. He's the guy you call up when the guy you want to call up isn't ready yet, but you have to call someone up out of necessity. Unless Zunino absolutely lights it up up here, his stay with the M's figures to be only as long as Sucre's injury takes to heal and the result you hope for if he doesn't light it up here is that he takes the experience back with him to Tacoma and applies that knowledge to his game down there.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Really scratching my head at this one. Mike Zunino was not hitting like he deserves to be in the majors. Maybe he sees how well Nick Franklin is doing and hoping Zunino can replicate that.

 

[seahawksfan234]

I just don't want to see Mike Zunino struggle, then get sent back down because he was rushed to the majors. Stuff like that can really mess with a young player's head.

 

[blade]

I just don't want to see Mike Zunino struggle, then get sent back down because he was rushed to the majors. Stuff like that can really mess with a young player's head.

Zunino can't hit a curve ball. The league already knows this. Smoak can't hit a curve ball. Neither can Peguero. You saw what happened to them. Prepare for the same thing with Zunino. He'll hit a few bombs off of pitchers who can't get their benders over the plate. But, for the most part, you're going to see a guy hit between .185-.215 and strike out a ton.

Sadly, that's an upgrade over anything we have right now.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[dude82]

I just don't want to see Mike Zunino struggle, then get sent back down because he was rushed to the majors. Stuff like that can really mess with a young player's head.

From all accounts that I've read, he doesn't seem to let things rattle him too much. That doesn't mean that struggling at the major league level and being sent back down can't have a negative impact on his career going forward, but I think it's too easy to jump to the conclusion that it will. Everyone handles these things differently. Quite a few guys over the years have been called up before they were ready, struggled at the major league level and got sent back down, only to get the call again and excel the next time. For some guys, it takes a few call-ups before they finally stick at this level. I, for one, am not going to panic if he struggles up here and gets sent back down.

 

[wazzu31]

I just don't want to see Mike Zunino struggle, then get sent back down because he was rushed to the majors. Stuff like that can really mess with a young player's head.

Then the entire scouting department needs to be replaced. You cannot have your best position prospect being so mentally fragile. If he struggles and gets sent down, in theory, he should know specifically what he needs to work on at the MLB level and work his ass off to get back there.

 

[SEC Official]

Hopefully he succeeds... I don't think he is mentally fragile...but he has to learn to hit everything and not just fastballs.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[dude82]

I didn't get a chance to see it, but I heard his first hit was on a breaking ball that he drove up the middle. Was it a hanger that anyone could have hit, an attempted breaker that went flat or what? I'm legitimately curious and I realize that this doesn't mean that he can suddenly hit curve balls consistently where he couldn't before. I just thought it was a funny coincidence that we were sitting here talking about how he can't hit the curve and his first major league hit came on a curve ball or a slider.

 

[blstoker]

I didn't get a chance to see it, but I heard his first hit was on a breaking ball that he drove up the middle. Was it a hanger that anyone could have hit, an attempted breaker that went flat or what? I'm legitimately curious and I realize that this doesn't mean that he can suddenly hit curve balls consistently where he couldn't before. I just thought it was a funny coincidence that we were sitting here talking about how he can't hit the curve and his first major league hit came on a curve ball or a slider.

Actually, the curve was a pretty good pitch. It was low, tailing to the outside, but didn't quite leave the strike zone. He stayed back on the pitch and just kind of lined it (not a soft line drive, but not a hard one either) right back up the middle. For that one pitch, he approached the curve just about perfectly. Now, how consistent will he be at doing that in the future, IDK, but I hope it's a sign that he's willing to make adjustments (his first at bat he was struck out on a similar pitch).

 

[dude82]

Speaking of Zunino... Shoppach was just DFA'd and the M's signed Henry Blanco. Do you think that means more playing time for Zunino now or will Blanco be the primary catcher until Sucre gets back?

 

[dude82]

Actually, the curve was a pretty good pitch. It was low, tailing to the outside, but didn't quite leave the strike zone. He stayed back on the pitch and just kind of lined it (not a soft line drive, but not a hard one either) right back up the middle. For that one pitch, he approached the curve just about perfectly. Now, how consistent will he be at doing that in the future, IDK, but I hope it's a sign that he's willing to make adjustments (his first at bat he was struck out on a similar pitch).

Sounds like he made the adjustment to the breaking ball pretty well in this instance if he struck out on a similar pitch earlier in the game and lined this one up the middle. That's good to hear. Hopefully he can do that with some consistency. It doesn't have to be a line drive every time, but at the very least I'd like to see as little chasing and flailing as possible as he continues to get better at both AAA and this level.

 

[Banned 10x]

Speaking of Zunino... Shoppach was just DFA'd and the M's signed Henry Blanco. Do you think that means more playing time for Zunino now or will Blanco be the primary catcher until Sucre gets back?

I have to be honest, I'm shocked at the DFAing of Shoppach, I thought he was doing OK. He isn't a everyday catcher, but he seems to be fine to catch 1-2 days a week.

 

[SeattleCoug]

I was a little shocked as well. I am wondering if he was just worn down having to catch so much. I could be wrong but I do not think he has ever been an everyday catcher in the big. I couldnt believe he had to go out there after the 16 inning game the next day. Even so if he was hurt Im wondering why he wasnt just DL'd.

In the grand scheme of things I do not think a swap like this will make to big a difference. A .200 hitter for a .200 hitter.

 

[dude82]

From the sound of it on the TV broadcast, Zunino is going to be the #1 catcher from now on, or did I misinterpret that?