FanPost

Mr. Zunino – Real Estate Investor

When I die and go somewhere, the person in charge there will say, "Hi Eric, you’ve lived life and have known what it is to be mortal. As an introduction to the infinite beyond, you may ask me one question that you have always wondered but could never know."

Of course, as almost all of us would , I'd ask "What would have happened if Mariners brass hadn’t rushed Mr. Zunino through the minors?"

The answer to my question remains hidden in a thick fog until I pass out of this world and on to the next…

Anyway, since talking about what could have been is probably the single most pointlessly hypothetical topic to discuss, let’s take a step back and simply talk about what we have and what we will have for the foreseeable future in our young backstop Mr. Zunino.

  • In 2014 Mr. Zunino’s wRC+ of 80 is only good for 11th best in the American League (of catchers with a minimum of 200 PA).
  • In 2014 Mr. Zunino’s defensive runs saved above average is good for the 4th best in the American League (of catchers with a minimum of 200 PA).
  • In 2014 Mr. Zunino’s WAR is good for 10th best in the American League (of catchers with a minimum of 200 PA).

Now while 10th best catcher WAR in the American League doesn’t exactly blow anyone’s hair back, if you add in his pitch framing abilities, Mr. Zunino is worth somewhat more than the 1.1 WAR that Fangraphs wants to give him (how much more is a question that is beyond me).

I’m no pitch framing guru, but I do read a lot of Lookout Landing posts, so I can give you a different way to consider Mr. Zunino’s performance – nobody is talking about upgrading him. The Mariners trade deadline wish-list in no particular order involves someone who can play in the outfield and preferably bats right handed, someone who can play first base/DH and is preferably right handed, and someone who can start a game and we don’t care which handed he is. Nobody’s talking about upgrading Mr. Zunino! Remember when people were screaming for a catcher upgrade? After the Dan Wilson era, the Mariners catcher WAR goes Kenji Johjima, John Jaso, Mike Zunino, and then 22 garbage names that you don’t want to hear. Consider that we've given a combined 490 PA to Miguel Olivo and Jesus Montero who have graciously returned the favor by giving us a combined -1.7 WAR. Alternatively consider that Wiki Gonzalez ranks 7th in WAR on that list simply by way of only having appeared in 14 games for a WAR of .2. On a more personal note the name Ben Davis rings a bell only because I remember that my mom had a crush on him.

The point is this, compared with the catching debacle of the last 10 years, Mr. Zunino feels like the oasis after the desert. He’s not the type of player that a GM builds a team around like Felix, but he is the type of player who can be a solid contributor to an above average team, which is exactly what he is! His arbitration starts in 2017, and his first year of free agency is 2020, so unless the next incarnation of Mike Piazza magically appears in Tacoma adorned in a Rainiers jersey, Mr. Zunino is our guy.

With that in mind I think that it’s time for Mr. Zunino to settle into the Seattle area for the long haul. There’s no better time to buy a tract of land, build a house from trees felled by his mighty swing, and start a family to turn that house into a home. Mr. Zunino, may your heart be happy in Seattle, and may your knees be ever healthy.