With Travis d’Arnaud suffering a season ending injury and Kevin Plawecki breaking his hand, Tomas Nido and Jose Lobaton were rushed to the majors. With respect to Nido, this was an opportunity for the Mets 9th best prospect to show the team he is ready to play at the Major League level.
With the starting catcher for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas getting called up to the majors, there was going to be an opportunity for another catcher in the Mets organization to show what he can do. So far, Patrick Mazeika is taking full advantage of his opportunity.
Last night, in Binghamton’s 8-5 win over the the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, it was Mazeika who had the big hit with a first inning three run homer to give the Rumble Ponies an early 4-0 lead.
Overall, Mazeika was 2-5 with a run, homer, and three RBI.
This game extended his hitting streak to five games. In three of his last four games, Mazeika has multiple hits. This was his second homer in two of his last three games, and he has amassed four extra base hits over this stretch. While many believed Mazeika could always hit, he has been showing increased power during this stretch.
Overall, since Nido was called to the majors on April 11th, Mazeika has hit .290/.333/.548 with two doubles, two homers, and five RBI.
Considering the position he plays, his results at the plate matter as much if not more than his play behind it. Once again, Mazeika showed why some, including MMN‘s Michael Mayer, believe he has improved his play behind the plate.
Mazeika was 1/2 in his attempts to catch base stealers, and he has so far thrown out an astounding 47.1% of attempted base stealers.
While the caught stealing rate is impressive, the main way you’d assess a catcher is their ability as a receiver. This is always hard to quantify, but it should be noted Rumble Pony pitchers struck out 14 batters last night.
Mazeika got the unexpected opportunity to catch everyday in Double-A, and he is showing the Mets what he can do. He’s excelling both at and behind the plate. With d’Arnaud out for the season, he has a chance to show this is more than just one hot streak. He can show the Mets he’s improved all aspects of his game.
