Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik and director of amateur scouting Tom McNamara met with the media a few minutes ago to talk about catcher Mike Zunino, who they just took with the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft. We should hear from Zunino on a conference call soon, but for now here are a few highlights from Zduriencik and McNamara.
McNamara, on why Seattle picked Zunino: “We have history with Mike, we’ve seen him play since high school. He went on to the University of Florida, he was the SEC player of the year last year as a sophomore, this year he’s led his team into the NCAA regionals, and the other night he finished with his 18th home run.”
“There’s a lot I like about Mike Zunino—his character, his integrity, the family he comes from. We talk about it all the time in our meetings, he’s a winning player with character. Obviously you have to have talent to be the no. 3 pick in the country. He’s a good defensive catcher, he’s got extra base power, and he’s a leader.”
McNamara also told a story about how he and Zduriencik went to Florida to scout Zunino during the season, and when they arrived late on a Friday night, noticed that he had just caught all of a 16-inning game. The next day, Zunino was back behind the plate for nine innings.
“That tells you about his stomach and what kind of character the kid has,” McNamara said.
More from McNamara on what they like about Zunino: “I did see him in high school, and we liked him as a high school player. We liked his defense and his leadership ability. We knew he had instincts, he comes from a baseball family. When he signed with the University of Florida, we tracked him and watched him for three years.
“He’s steady. He doesn’t jump out and wow you like some other players, but what you get at the end of the day is a steady, hard-nosed, tough kid whose got power and can really catch.”
Zduriencik on Zunino: “He’s a nice looking player. He’s a tough kid. You think about that position, it’s very difficult to fill it, as well all know and everyone in baseball knows. When you have a kid that has this type of pedigree, leadership skills and well as a chance to hit the ball out of the ballpark, I thought it was a real nice package. Sitting in with the scouts all week long, everyone was sold on this kid’s makeup and the other intangibles that he brings to the plate at that position. That was big in our decision.”
Zduriencik on what this means for catcher/DH Jesus Montero: “We’ll see what happens as we go forward. You can never have enough catchers, as we know, as you go through the course of the year. And fortunately in our league you do have the DH, so as we move forward—things happen. If you like a player, you take him and let it fall where it may. I’ve been in this game long enough and you guys have been around it long enough to know things happen. We do think that this guy’s a very nice receiver, we like Montero an awful lot, and they’ll both be in our plans as we go forward.”
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