Mesoraco's potential dwindling?

When Devin Mesoraco first came up to the Reds late in 2011, most fans expected the catcher to be an All Star catcher very quickly. Mesoraco was a first round pick out of high school in Pennsylvania, and after some struggles at the plate as a teenager, he tore up the Reds' minor league system. Mesoraco, a 6'1, 230 pound player, spanned all three levels of the minors in 2010, hitting .302 with 26 home runs. He also hit .289 with 15 homers in Triple A Louisville in 2011. Now, at 24 years old, Mesoraco is at a crossroads in his second season in the majors.

Mesoraco has been partly mishandled by Reds manager Dusty Baker. Baker has put his full trust in Ryan Hanigan, and therefore gives the longtime veteran a majority of the starts. Hanigan is your quintessential underrated player. He won't put up flashy numbers like Mesoraco can, but Hanigan handles the pitching staff with great ease. Mesoraco has typically been given two starts a week when Mat Latos and Mike Leake are pitching. That gives Mesoraco a slim 8 at bats per week give or take a couple, not nearly enough for the catcher to fully lock in at the plate on a consistent basis. Mesoraco has dramatically improved defensively. Latos and Leake are having career years pitching thus far, which has a great deal to do with Mesoraco's signs as the backstop.

Devin Mesoraco has been consistently average at the plate in Cincinnati. The young catcher has the power swing to hit over 20 home runs a year. He also can make enough contact at the plate to stay consistently above the .250 mark in batting average. However, he hit only .212 in 165 plate appearances with 5 home runs and 33 strike outs in 2012. This season, Mesoraco is hitting .229 in 83 at bats. He has 2 home runs and 12 RBI's. There have been flashes of brilliance in his bat. Mesoraco hit the game tying home run in a comeback effort in the 9th inning of a 5-4 victory over Atlanta and closer Craig Kimbrel. Baker has considered switching his rotation to give more playing time to his future at the position. If the Reds want Mesoraco to develop into a consistent hitter, he should be integrated into catching for some of the other pitchers in the rotation. The goal for the Reds should be to have Mesoraco start in the All Star game when Cincinnati hosts All Star weekend in 2015. By that time, Mesoraco should become an everyday major leaguer. I think Mesoraco compares well to Russell Martin of the Pirates. Martin hit 21 homers with the Yankees last season. Mesoraco cannot continue to develop at a snails pace or it could really hurt his chances of becoming the player the Reds drafted him to develop into
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