| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 06-04-2012 |
The Seattle Mariners called the name of Florida Gators catcher Mike Zunino with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 Draft. That came after The Houston Astros tabbed shortstop Carlos Correa at No. 1 and the Minnesota Twins drafted top overall prospect Byron Buxton, an outfielder from Baxley, Georgia.
Zunino, the top college bat in a class lacking depth in that area, generally receives average or better grades across the board, including receiving, blocking and throwing, and offers above-average-to-plus power with the bat.
He understands the game of baseball and knows how to catch. He has leadership skills, big-league makeup and as one scout put it early on draft day, "he has that vinegar, that extra gear of effort and feel that makes you want him on your team."
Hitting | Power
Zunino works counts, doesn't chase a lot and does damage in the form of extra-base hits, but he will swing-and-miss some and since he likes to get deep into counts he will strike out some, though contact rates aren't of great concern. He'll draw enough walks to counter.
Zunino uses the middle of the field and has power from straight-away left field to right-center, and gets good backspin. He covers the plate well and doesn't appear to have any significant problems versus the better breaking balls he's seen in college.
Mechanically, he's sound, though the swing isn't necessarily simple, and he stays closed and rotates his hips well.
Defense
With a 50-55 grade arm in terms of strength, and 55 grades in blocking and receiving, Zunino's one weakness defensively is the pop times, more specifically his release. One scout clocked pop times between 1.97 and 2.03 this spring, which will need to get better.
He calls a good game, too, however, and his overall strength and sturdy frame suggest he can catch 120 games a year and provide that above-average offense.
Tools: Present | Future
Hitting: 50 | 55
Power: 55 | 55+
Defense: 50 | 50
Throwing: 50 | 50
Running: 40 | 40
scouting-mike-zunino
Comments
The following 27 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: rotoenquire on 06-04-2012 18:37:43 I have heard people from ESPN to MLB net. to Baseball America say Zunino could be up next year and should start at Dble-A what is your thinking on this. I believe JackZ likes kids he feels are ready or close too it with such high picks. |
| 2. By: rjfrik on 06-04-2012 18:56:56 After reading.that I still feel blah about zunino. Not too impressed. I know this was a weak draft. Just was hoping.for a future star with this pick. Oh well. Always next year. Hope Zunino blows away everyone's average across the board projections |
| 3. By: eknpdx on 06-04-2012 19:12:44 Jason, if Zunino doesn't make it as a catcher, does he project to hit enough to play another position? |
| 4. By: baseballman on 06-04-2012 19:26:53 You're blah after reading that?? That's an all star catcher that JAC just described. |
| 5. By: sexymarinersfan on 06-04-2012 19:54:20 I LOVE THIS PICK!!! Zunino has a chance to be one of the most solid all around catchers since Dan Wilson, and who wouldn't love to have Danny boy back? A team leader to boot with power and defense who calls his own games. Hats off to the FO. Yes I would've rather had CORREA or BUXTON, but the Mariners got it right with this pick! |
| 6. By: aerichner on 06-04-2012 20:39:01 Good pick. The ones that dont like it wanted a higher upside guy and once that guy didnt work out wouldve wanted Jack and Company fired. It's a good solid pick and a guy that can help in the near future. And I know he hasnt been mentioned in the comments but just in case, get Jeff Clement out of your head. |
| 7. By: Boy9988 on 06-04-2012 22:29:33 rjfrik - All those average to above average grades are also known as all-star when it comes to catchers. |
| 8. By: masonb on 06-04-2012 22:47:05 Anybody know what time Day 2 starts? |
| 9. By: rjfrik on 06-04-2012 22:58:46 Im not saying the M's got it wrong. I was hoping for a star. Zunino isn't a star in my opinion. But that's all right, the only two position guys who profiled as stars were selected before us. Nothing we could do. I read the article different. I think that Zunino is set to be an average to good regular mlb player that might have one or two all star years, maybe. Sorry I was hoping for more with the 3rd pick. But what can you do. I hope Zunino becomes the best player in this draft and becomes a perennial all star and a hall of famer. I just don't see it now. But heres to hoping. to each his own go ms |
| 10. By: VanillaGorilla on 06-04-2012 23:54:43 M's made the right call. I really had my heart set on. Correa and was a bit disheartened when he went first, then I hoped Appel would go to minny, but with the way the board fell, this was the right pick in my opinion. Now I just want to find out if Carson Kelly is signable in round 2 |
| 11. By: CactusFan on 06-04-2012 23:59:46 Mariners had to draft Zunino Olivo Jaso Montero Zunino ..... right? |
| 12. By: Apostle on 06-05-2012 01:00:05 It was a good pick, IMO. Correa and Buxton were off of the board. We need a stick and he'll provide that. I could see a guy who ends up being one of the better defensive catchers in the bigs while posting lines around .275, 25 HR, 80 RBI. Yes, Jason described an all-star caliber backstop, fellas. I think that's what he'll be. What more could you want? The way he calls a game is worth its weight in gold as well, considering all of the young arms we have. At the end of the day, I trust Jack Z. When it comes to the draft and scouting amateur talent, he has never given me a reason to not trust him. |
| 13. By: DUWORKSON on 06-05-2012 01:00:11 Jason, where would Zunino rank on this list? Johnaton Mayo's top five propects catchers Devin Mesoraco Travis d'Arnaud Gary Sanchez Wilin Rosario Yasmani Grandal |
| 14. By: Apostle on 06-05-2012 01:10:37 An average to above average player who makes a couple of all-star teams is more than deserving of the #3 overall pick in a perceived weaker draft when the two top position players were already off the board. It's not unfeasible to think that maybe this draft doesn't contain any true stars. I am sure that won't be the case, but you never know. From an offensive standpoint, the M's improved their farm system by adding Zunino. If they chose him with Buxton or Correa left on the board, I could see the resentment... But that wasn't the case. Zunino is likely the catcher of the future... If Montero figures it out, Zunino could make for a nice trading chip if his bat doesn't profile at another position. 1B - Smoak 2B - Ackley SS - Franklin 3B - Seager/Catricala/Liddi LF - Liddi/Carp/Trayvon Robinson CF - Saunders RF - ... DH - Montero C - Zunino Felix Hultzen Paxton Walker Ramirez/Noesi A bullpen made up of Stephen Pryor, Carter Capps, Furbush, The Bartender... I am sure at some point Vargas and League could be moved for some prospects. THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. The lineup I posted could be feasible by the middle of 2013. Walker may not be up that quick, but he just might be. |
| 15. By: Juan Valdez on 06-05-2012 01:20:20 I like the pick. They drafted a guy that is almost certain to be a major league regular, an above average player at a critical position. It's value for the pick. There may be a positional conflict with Montero down the road, but that's by no means certain to be the case. |
| 16. By: docsmith on 06-05-2012 04:25:35 Is it just me or is something off with TMac and JZ in their press conference regarding Zunino. They seem stressed (TMac) and down (JZ) if they had gotten their guy. I also noticed a quick little smile from TMac when he dodged the signability question. http://blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners/2012/06/04/video-and-audio-gm-jack-zduriencik-and-director-of-scouting-tom-mcnamara-talk-about-mike-zunino/ Regarding the pick, I am mostly trusting the M's, JAC and the other internet rankings. The M's have drafted well and Zunino was consistently in the Top 5, usually Top 3, in terms of prospect grades. So good, glad we have him. Now let's see what we get in the rest of the draft. |
| 17. By: rjfrik on 06-05-2012 11:41:13 #16 I think our gm really really really wanted Correa and had his heart set on the kid. Maybe he was a little "down" with having no chance to grab the kid. Just a guess. |
| 18. By: rotoenquire on 06-05-2012 13:57:00 #11 Jaso is a Backup Olivo will be gone at years end Montero will be a DH/C/1B Zunino C/1B/DH Zunino and Montero as a 1-2 Catcher combo that will switch off with DH and 1B. Smoak will be the full time 1B and can DH it keeps the catchers healthy in such a hard position and gets 3 darn good young bats in a lineup. |
| 19. By: rjfrik on 06-05-2012 14:55:09 I'm fairly confident that Zunino will never touch 1B. The guys a catcher and will always be a catcher. Montero will become full time DH and back up catcher. Olivo won't be resigned and Jaso will be traded. Zunino isn't Jeff Clement. The kid can catch a game. That's the best thing about him. He has no business at 1b. |
| 20. By: rotoenquire on 06-05-2012 15:08:17 Zunino Catches 120 and Montero 40 Zunino will see 10-30 games at 1B/DH. His bat will be to good not too. Every expert I have heard who has seen this kid says he will play some at 1B and DH. I have heard comparisons to Napoli with a better average from several experts. |
| 21. By: rjfrik on 06-05-2012 17:37:45 I understand what you might have read roto. Not sure what the sources are, but I don't buy him ever touching 1b. He's been a catcher his whole life, never played 1b. The m's will be playing him at catcher down on the farm to develop to an everyday catcher for the show. I'm not saying that on his days off he won't be in the lineup as a DH, but there is just no reason for him to ever play 1b unless it's in an emergency situation. Even JZ and Mac are enthused by his ability to catch and catch a lot. If you listen to Mac talk about when JZ went down to Florida to watch him, Zunino just got done with a 16 inning game and then came back and played a 9 inning game and didn't miss a beat. They were very impressed. If you look at his American league comps, Avila, Varitek, A.J. Pizz, Weiters none of those guys ever switched over to 1b, because if the bat was needed in the lineup they could DH and rest the legs. Only reason Napoli plays 1b on occasion is because he's never been that great of a defensive catcher, so he would play first while inferior players, (Mathis), would catch. Zunino is a ten times better catcher defensively then Napoli at this stage. Posey only plays 1b, because there is no DH in the National league. I think Zunino will be in the lineup 159 out of 162 games a year when he ready, if he becomes what every one hopes he becomes, but I don't think one of those games will be at 1b. Just my opinion. I beg to differ with yours. No biggy. |
| 22. By: baseballman on 06-05-2012 21:40:52 I remember when people complained about the Mariners picking Franklin and then Walker and then Hultzen...yeah that was funny then and it's even funnier now. JZ and TM know more than you guys do who don't like the Zunino pick. |
| 23. By: rjfrik on 06-05-2012 23:51:53 Who the hell ever complained about any of those three guys? If they did they were idiots. I can't recall people complaining about that at all. Not sure who is complaining about Zunino. He was the obvious choice after Correa and Buxton were off the board. He was the pick. The M's made the right choice, the only choice. Nuff said. Not sure who is complaining about the pick. |
| 24. By: Edman on 06-06-2012 09:01:02 rjfrik, many complained about those three being taken ahead of others in the draft. If you missed that, you weren't watching well enough. In all three cases, several complained that they were overdrafts. Nobody should be complaining about Zunino. He's not the kind of hitter that Ackley is, but his overall game should make him a highly valued catcher. I think the Franklin, Walker and Hultzen picks have silenced some of the doubters. There was a lot to overcome after the previous two regimes epic failures. Regardless if a pick goes bad, it's clear that Tom's crew do their homework. When it comes to scouting kids, there will always be mistakes made. But I feel confident that with Tom in charge, that his scouts will not be allowed to turn in half-efforts. He expects them to turn up gems. |
| 25. By: Edman on 06-06-2012 09:06:36 #11, Seattle didn't have to draft anyone. They do not draft for need. They take the best available player on their board. #16, I wouldn't read too much into it. They have probably been working on a few hours of sleep, and involved in heavy discussions about draft picks. And #17, I doubt that Jack and Tom were let down by not being able to draft Correa. They have their list of the top three players on their board, well aware that the teams ahead of them haven't tipped their hands either. |
| 26. By: slamcactus on 06-06-2012 13:48:14 I'm not sure anyone really complained about the Walker selection. I remember a couple "but we need bats!" comments, but those were a pretty small and not very vocal minority. There's just not a whole lot of use in complaining about what a team does with a pick in the mid-40s, and anybody who thought we'd be able to use that pick on a guy who was considered a blue-chip bat on draft day doesn't know enough to have an opinion worth counting. Franklin and Hultzen were disappointing to a lot of people, including Jason if I recall correctly (I know he didn't like the Franklin pick, and think he at the very least said Hultzen wouldn't have been his pick at 1-2). People didn't like Franklin because they saw him as a low-upside overdraft. More importantly there were a couple of guys who fell due to signability who the Ms didn't take - Rex Brothers, Tanner Scheppers, and a few others whose names escape me at the moment and who I'm too lazy to go back and look up. People always want the Ms to be one of the top spending teams in the draft, and they didn't make a huge splash with the Franklin pick, money-wise. I think the disappointment there (which I shared, to a degree) was that the team so rarely got compensation picks that having #2, 27, and 33 in a solid draft class was seen as a way to get a huge influx of premier talent in a single day, and McNamara and co. chose not to go the extremely high-spending route. Hultzen was purely a function of wanting more upside with pick #1-2. It's a question of preference at that point, because the guys at the very top of the draft are combed over so comprehensively that there really aren't any hidden angles. Most people wanted Rendon, who would've been a pretty good safe pick for the FO folks, even though he's an injury risk - can't really criticize a team for taking the best college hitter in the draft, no matter the injury concerns. Others wanted Bauer, because "hey, Tim Lincecum thwarted all conventional wisdom about sub-6-footers with wonky deliveries who dominate bad hitters in college, so obviously you choose the college arm with the best stats, scouting concerns be-damned!" That's a defensible position too, though I obviously don't happen to agree with it - betting on replicating the Giants' score with Lincecum is a lot like betting on a soft-tossing lefty becoming the next Jamey Moyer. Nobody knows if Hultzen was the "right" choice, and won't for years, but it was surely defensible. And anyone who called it an overdraft was wrong. He was one of six names in the mix for the #1 overall slot, and he was considered the best bet of those six to succeed in the bigs. |
| 27. By: rjfrik on 06-06-2012 23:56:19 slam, You are wrong about Fanklin. You are mixing him up with Baron who was in the same draft. People were pissed about the Baron pick and not going after high upside guys like Scheppers or Brothers. Franklin was actually celebrated on that draft day. A lot of people, including Jason, were very happy with that pick. As they should of been, he was one of the top high school SS in the draft and very worthy of his pick. The huballoo came with Baron, not Franklin. Anyone that was pissed about Walker is an idiot. As you said, how can you be pissed about the 40th pick. It was arguably the best pick in the draft. Hultzen, as you said a few were pissed because they wanted a higher upside guy, but after looking at the big picture after the 1st round was finished I think most people realized it was the right pick. |
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