After ripping three doubles and a homer in the Mets’ most recent game, New York’s No. 6 prospect is slashing .380/.436/.880 with 12 extra-base hits, including a team-leading six dingers. It’s the second straight game that Baty and Mauricio have both gone deep.
The exit velocities on all three of Mauricio’s doubles Friday night? 105.5 mph, 105.7 mph and 108.4 mph.
“We’re finally starting to see him putting it all together,” Baty said of Mauricio. “Even tonight, he was taking some pitches that were really competitive pitches that they were making, and he was just sitting on them like he saw it the whole way. … He’s a tremendous talent. He has every single tool in the book and he’s a great teammate to play with. We’re just having fun right now hitting baseballs.”
Source: Stephanie Sheehan, MilB.com
Mauricio hit 26 HR in Double-A and people weren’t impressed. He didn’t make any major top 100 prospect list, after being on Baseball America’s list the previous four years. Maybe it’s time to start treating him more like a starter at the MLB level. The Mets can start that way by giving him an outfielder’s glove.
It’s great to see these exit velocities and it’s great to hear Baty talk about how Mauricio is laying off pitches. Strike zone judgment is a concern but he’s got an 18.2 K% this year, after a 23.1% rate last year in Double-A.