Ronny Mauricio/Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
When a player receives a then team record $2.1 million signing bonus, you have a real inkling the organization is high on the player. It may not seem possible, but in the first 20 games of his career, Ronny Mauricio is already exceeding lofty expectations.
At the same time the sixth overall pick in the draft, Jarred Kelenic was setting the world on fire forcing a promotion to Kingsport, the 17-year-old shortstop signed out of the Dominican Republic was doing the same exact thing. During the 12 games both Kelenic and Mauricio were teammates, both players had two doubles, two triples, and a home run. In fact, Mauricio would have more runs, hits, and RBI than Kelenic while having fewer strikeouts.
Overall, Mauricio has played in 20 games, and the switch-hitter has collected a hit in all of the games he has played. In those 20 games, he is hitting .354/.351/.549 with six doubles, two triples, two homers, and 19 RBI. He is doing this in his first experience playing in the United States while being 2.8 years younger than league average.
While Mauricio may not yet be the household name for Mets fans like Kelenic or Peter Alonso, there were some who saw this breakout. In fact, Baseball America ranked Mauricio as the third best prospect from last year’s International Free Agent class, and they also ranked him as the 11th best shortstop prospect in baseball before he even played a game.
Furthermore, heading into the season, Bad Badler of Baseball America named Mauricio as a potential breakout candidate who could find his way into the Top 100 this season. At MMN/MMO, we also had him as No. 11 prospect in the Mets system before taking a pro swing.
From the start of his professional career, you can see why everyone was bullish on Mauricio. Since that time, Mauricio has grown two inches, and he has added more strength. We have seen that translate to increased power at the plate. At the moment, it has not hindered his ability to play shortstop and to play it well.
Overall, we are seeing Mauricio flash all the tools which led the Mets to giving him a then team record signing bonus. We are also seeing the player many believed was one of the best shortstop prospects not just in last year’s International Free Agent class, but also all of baseball.
