Mike zunino bust?

[seattlefan75]

now before everybody comes screaming at me saying that its to early I just want to say my peace.

I think ackley and smoak could have been a lot better players if they would have had more playing time in the minor leagues we brought these guys up way to fast and i feel that mike is going to be on the same pace for the same result. Mike was drafted in 2012 that same year we was playing well in AA batting .333. the next season he got promoted to AAA hit .227 in 200ABs and got promoted to the majors. I understand that at the time the catching position was a mess with montero and others but we called him up way to fast he should still be in the minors TO THIS DAY. in his 371ABs he is batting .216

ackley spent a little more time in the minors but his .270 ABs in AAA and then he gets called up. I think these guys should have a solid year minimum in AAA and a good Spring training the following season to be called up to play in the majors.

and just a side note zunino is the only player in the top 10 2012 draft class playing in the majors.

 

[cezero]

zunino will be fine at the plate, and he's already an asset behind it.

the m's aren't willing to spend money on quality free agents, nor will they trade for quality youth. they have no choice but to treat it like AAA+ for the kids.

i agree 100% that these kids were brought up far too early compared to what any competent rebuilding club would do, of course.

 

[navamind]

He's only 23 and has just over 400 PA in the majors. Too early. He is showing a lot more power than last year (.116 ISO last year (which is below average), .171 this year (above average)), but his BB% and K% are a lot worse than last year, which is a little worrisome.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Zunino offers a lot of value as a catcher and it is showing this year in Felix's numbers. USSMariner did a piece on Felix and his called strike rate, with Zunino catching, Felix gets a lot more called strikes both in the zone and out of the zone.

Behind the plate, Zunino offers a lot of value currently, enough to compensate for his roughly .220 BA. I wouldn't consider him a bust because his value behind the plate alone makes him a solid contributor, and I hate using the word "raw ability" because it has been applied to guys like Smoak, but Zunino looks to be the strongest guy on the team and I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit 25+ HR in the near future if he gets his contact ratio up.

The only concerning thing about Zunino is what Navamind pointed out, that Zunino's K% and BB% have regressed from last year. He is still young, and raw, but he is currently doing more than enough behind the plate to ensure his roster spot for a while. I'd say Zunino is a far better catcher than Ackley or Smoak at their respective positions.

 

[SeattleCoug]

zunino will be fine at the plate, and he's already an asset behind it.

the m's aren't willing to spend money on quality free agents, nor will they trade for quality youth. they have no choice but to treat it like AAA+ for the kids.

i agree 100% that these kids were brought up far too early compared to what any competent rebuilding club would do, of course.

That is what could end up hurting Zunino in the long run. No way should a guy see the majors just a calender year after being drafted but thats what happened. It just goes to show how piss poor the catching depth in this organization was last year.

I mean they went into last year thinking Montero could be the everyday catcher. That joke didnt even last 6 weeks and after that retreads like Shoppach, Blanco and Quiroz were ran out there because there was no one else. Zunino is actually pretty advanced IMO for a guy rushed up through the minors. He is probably a top 5-10 guy defensively and has great power. Just needs to work on his plate discipline which I think will come.

 

[dude82]

As Coug points out, Zunino's quick rise through the minors to the majors last year was more out of necessity than anything else. I'm sure they would have loved to keep him down in the minors at least through the end of the season, but injuries to pretty much everyone they ran out there, in addition to a total regression from Montero to start the season, turned the catching position into a mess. Looking back at last year's roster, the M's used a total of six catchers last season and five of them played in at least 20 games, with Zunino topping the list at 52 games. I don't think he sees those 52 games if Montero wasn't a complete flop the first month and the other guys didn't get hurt.

It's been just over a year since he made his major league debut and while our recent history of call-ups failing to meet expectations even after being given time to get their feet wet has made people a bit trigger happy when it comes to the b-word on guys who don't hit well right away, I don't think we can apply the same standards to Zunino given the importance and complexity of the defensive position he has to play. I don't think we can live with a sub .220 batting average and high strikeout rate from our starting catcher forever, even with great defense, but it's too early to use the "term" bust on him, no matter how eager some people might be to do so.

 

[da55bums]

quite a few players are brought up too early nowadays....reason...30 freakin teams and the all mighty dollar to win and to have a return on the investment now.

A player shouldn't be in the majors til they dominate AAA or at least AA...or be 24 to 25...especially a catcher...for every 1 Posey there will be 10 failers because they were brought up too soon.