Buck Showalter knows Ronny Mauricio's hot start is only a beginning
The Mets’ Ronny Mauricio celebrates after scoring on a Francisco Alvarez RBI single in the second inning against the Mariners at Citi Field on Sunday. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Buck Showalter has seen this before, and he doesn’t even need to reach deep into his decades of experience in professional baseball to explain.
Ronny Mauricio’s major-league career got off to a charmed start over the weekend. He went 5-for-11 (.455) with a double and two steals in three games against the Mariners. His first hit came off the bat at 117.3 mph, the hardest batted ball of any Mets player in two years. He seemed fine playing second base.
It is a good start. But it still is just a start, Showalter was quick to remind.
“Like Baty, like Alvarez and like Vientos?” the manager said Sunday. “They all have done this. It also tells you something.”
When the Mets called up Brett Baty in April, he hit .333 with an .861 OPS in his first 10 games. Then he struggled so much that the Mets sent him back to the minors last month (and brought him back last week).
Francisco Alvarez was so good in May — seven homers and 15 RBIs in a 15-game stretch — that he looked as if he had a real shot at being an All-Star despite opening the year in the minors. Now, after a slump that has lasted more than a month, he is at risk of his OPS dipping into the .600s.
Mark Vientos, who had performed well in Triple-A, hit a huge tying home run in a dramatic win over the Rays in his first game back in the majors. But he has done little in inconsistent chances since.
All of the above have about the same potential to be long-term members of the Mets as when they arrived in the majors for the first time. Showalter’s suggestion — with a hand gesture as much as his words — is to pump the brakes, slow down. Let’s see more.
“It’s great. I’m happy for him,” Showalter said of Mauricio. “I see his family up there celebrating. Super. Great.
“I’m watching the other parts of it. When offense has its peaks and valleys, can he impact our team in other areas? So far, so good.”
Showalter and Francisco Lindor, Mauricio’s double-play partner in the middle of the infield, separately mentioned the same play that impressed them. When Alvarez threw behind a runner at first base, Mauricio began running in that direction to back up, just in case it got by Pete Alonso. Alonso made a diving stop of the off-target pickoff attempt, so Mauricio didn’t wind up in the play, but in this case, it was the effort that counted.
“Little things like that show me that his IQ and his baseball awareness is at a high level,” Lindor said.
Lindor has a vested interest in the development of Mauricio and the other rookies because he is under contract through 2031. If the Mets are going to win a World Series in the next few years — during the rest of Lindor’s prime — the likes of Mauricio, Alvarez, etc., are likely to play big roles.
“He looks to his right and there’s Vientos and Baty and he looks to his left and there’s Moe [Mauricio] or whoever. He embraces it. He likes helping them,” Showalter said. “He doesn’t go, oh, gosh, another guy, now I got to [learn a new second baseman]. No, he likes that.”
Mauricio spoke through an interpreter about his work at the position: “It’s been really good. I’m starting to feel more comfortable. There’s a lot of work to do to get fully accustomed to second base, but so far, so good. I’m looking forward to it.”
Showalter said on multiple occasions in recent days that Mauricio, who started three of three games at second, will move around defensively the next four weeks.
Much of his work in the minors this year centered on expanding his defensive versatility. In addition to shortstop, his primary position, and second, he played leftfield and dabbled at third base. Questions about his fielding ability have followed him to each stop.
Mauricio said he hasn’t practiced anywhere other than second since getting called up and cited infield coach Joey Cora as a presence in these first days of his major-league life.
“Joey is there, he’s been on top of me to continue working,” Mauricio said. “He’s really excited and he’s really passionate about helping me get through this.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
