Mariners: Mike Zunino has been preventing runs
By Ben Renner
We know star-crossed Mariners catcher Mike Zunino for his batting averages hovering near .200, but he has prevented runs, too by helping the pitching staff.
Mariners catcher Mike Zunino is a fan-favorite because he never gives up. The young, once-promising backstop was drafted third overall in 2012 by the Mariners and even attended Mariner High School in Cape Coral, Florida.
Zunino is still young, and still promising. He passes the “eye test,” whatever that is, as a defensive catcher, and if it seems as though he calls a good game and handles the pitchers well, things that fade away a bit when a player hits around .200, its because it’s true.
Until this season, Mike Zunino has helped his pitchers to a better Earned Run Average than the league average. His career catcher’s ERA is lower than the league average on the strength of one excellent season, but he has hovered around the average in his other seasons behind the plate, too. It’s better if you just look at the chart:
| Pitc | Pitc | Puto | Assi | Assi | Erro | Erro | Erro | Erro | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | PA | ERA | RAvg | Fld | F2O% | XI | Tot | Tot | K23 | Tot | Cch | Fld | Thr | bFld | bF2O% |
| 2013 | 22 | SEA | AL | 1847 | 4.13 | 4.46 | 13 | 92% | 0 | 363 | 22 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 75% |
| 2014 | 23 | SEA | AL | 4604 | 3.18 | 3.43 | 35 | 91% | 0 | 1010 | 84 | 43 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 80% |
| 2015 | 24 | SEA | AL | 3868 | 4.02 | 4.32 | 28 | 96% | 1 | 809 | 44 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 100% |
| 2016 | 25 | SEA | AL | 1822 | 3.43 | 3.83 | 11 | 91% | 0 | 400 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% |
| 2017 | 26 | SEA | AL | 1066 | 4.20 | 4.42 | 8 | 88% | 1 | 201 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| 5 Se | 5 Se | 5 Se | 13207 | 3.67 | 3.96 | 95 | 93% | 2 | 2783 | 186 | 85 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 82% | |
| MLB | MLB | MLB | 3.95 | 4.29 | 91% | 84% |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2017.
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2014 was the season when Zunino hit .199/.254/.404 with a 158/17 K/BB ratio. During his truly bizarre offensive season in which he also hit 20 home runs, Z also guided his pitchers to a remarkable 3.18 ERA*.
Mariners management mismanaged Zunino early in his career, hoping that the hot prospect would blossom at the Major League level. You also have to wonder if his decent run-saving skills have kept him in the lineup. He has been at worst a slightly below-average game manager as a catcher. His defense and Tuffy Gosewisch being no Major League option press him into duty yet again.
We’re all rooting for him to stick at the Major League level this time.
Next: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
*This low ERA was dragged down by Felix Hernandez and his 2.14 ERA in 2014. And somehow he finished second in the Cy Young race to Corey Kluber, who had a higher ERA (2.44) and WHIP (0.915 to 1.095). Kluber did have a better Fielding Independent Pitching mark (Felix-2.56, Kluber-2.35).