he was retiring as a player from major
league baseball.
Mike wasn't a great hitter ending with
a career .199 batting average. When
he was able to hit a home run the
power was there. He had three seasons
where he hit over 20 home runs as a
Mariner.
Mike's best season was as a Mariner
in 2017 where he hit .251 with 25
home runs with 64 RBIs. He struck
out a career high 160 times. The
trouble was Mike had trouble hitting
off-speed pitches just like others.
The reason Mike Zunino lasted
eleven years in the majors was his
defense. He was right there with
Dan Wilson and Cal Raleigh on
the defensive side. Dan had to learn
to hit and Cal is working his way up
as well. Cal has been able to hit
home runs regularly and I know his
batting average will continue to go
up as well.
It would be great to see Mike Zunino
in the Mariners organization as a coach
in the near future.
The Mariners put out their top ten
current prospects. Five of them
were drafted or signed as shortstops.
Cole Young is at the top of the list.
Most likely he will play second base
as long as JP Crawford is around.
Harry Ford is the lone catcher at
number two. Whether he catches
regularly as a Mariner will likely not
happen with Cal around. Maybe
Harry will play another position.
We will have to see.
Hard to know many of the shortstops
at least will stay at the position or
moved to another or be traded. It is
great to have so much talent in the
organization.
The Mariners top list of prospects
several years were dominated by
pitchers. Now the top the first pitcher
mentioned is Emerson Hancock at
number 11. Since he has little
experience in the majors heading
into 2024 he would still be a prospect.
They do have several pitchers listed
between 11 and 20. Most likely they
be in another uniform or in the M's
bullpen at some point.
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