RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target ~265
CURRENT ADP: 280
ANALYSIS: The Mariners aggressively promoted Mike Zunino, whom they drafted in the first round in 2012, pushing him to the bigs by 2013 after just 96 minor league games. He has been taking the trial-by-fire path to fantasy relevance, and it really hasn’t been pretty most of the time. Fantasy owners have shuddered at his batting average, which was as low as .174 in 2015, but he’s always held some intrigue as a home run hitter and is still only 25 years old. After a cringe-worthy 2015, Zunino improved in a lot of areas last season that shows that he has made some adjustments to his game, giving us reason for optimism that he is close to finally figuring it all out.
In 2016, Zunino showed improved plate discipline, swinging at fewer pitches and – more importantly – swinging at fewer pitches outside the zone. He also cut down his swing percentage on those pitches from 33.7 percent in 2015 to 27.7 percent in 2016. This helped get his walk rate up from just 5.4 percent to 10.9, and he improved his OBP from .230 to .318. His HR/FB rate jumped up to a likely unsustainable 23.1 percent, but his rate of a homer every 13.7 times at bat is closer to what he’s shown at the minor league level.
And, despite the addition of veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz to the squad this winter, Zunino is still very much the Mariners’ starting catcher, as he’s well regarded for his stellar defensive work behind the plate. Ruiz will provide a veteran presence on the team and could spell Zunino if he goes into slumps, but fantasy owners can expect Zunino to get around 120 games in 2017. If the new and improved player we saw last year is the real Zunino, 120 games could result in 25 homers, and even 30 is not that outrageous of an idea.
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