First, let’s reacquaint ourselves with what I said last year, “Welcome back to the Mets’ Future Stars Game! Arriving any moment will be Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio. There’s nothing that could go wrong–What’s that? Hmm, this is still a breaking story, but we’re hearing the actor who played the pilot in Lost and the actor who played the pilot in Yellowjackets were flying the young stars to this game. This is a developing story. We can return to discussing the Mets’ offseason trade of Pete Alonso for Jarred Kelenic…” So, Ronny Mauricio seems as surefire as surefire comes. There doesn’t seem a miss in this bat. Been a bit surprised that it seems like the majority of people are interested in Jasson Dominguez and not as much in Ronny Mauricio. I get it; the first at-bat homer helps Jasson’s appeal for right now. I agree, but Ronny Mauricio has better eligibility and, for just this year, he could easily be better. Will he? I’m not a part of the Psychic Friends Network. He could be though, as soon as we locate that plane!” And that’s me quoting me! Geez, remember Jasson Dominguez? I do. Barely! Let’s see what Itch’s previously said, “A 6’3″ switch hitter with natural power and back-to-back 20/20 seasons, Mauricio is a wide awake fantasy sleeper for redraft leagues, and I’d like to put asleep Grey with my fist.” Okay, not cool! So, what can we expect from Ronny Mauricio for 2024 fantasy baseball?
It’s the Mets! Okay, I will put that aside in a second, but it’s worth noting they said they’re going to be in rebuild mode in 2024. So, that’s good for Ronny Mauricio, right? Hahahahahahaha *wheezing from cackling* Good?! It’s the Mets! Again: It’s the Mets! It means they’ll say they’re in rebuild mode until December 1st when they give Jorge Soler $98 million for five years. I don’t, honestly, buy that Cohen is going to let them rebuild, but Ronny Mauricio might still see everyday at-bats. I hope so, I really do! Here’s some clips:
Ronny Mauricio’s first Major League plate appearance results in an absolutely smoked 117.3 mph double. It’s by far the hardest ball put into play BY ANY MET ALL SEASON. pic.twitter.com/SVBTqwftuj
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 1, 2023
That’s about as impressive as any rookie highlight. As the tweet says, he smoked that ball, and look at his poise. Oh bois! Speaking of smoke:
Ronny Mauricio just absolutely smoked his first career home run into the second deck in right field. A projected 440 feet at 112.4 mph off the bat. pic.twitter.com/KuuEo18f8v
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 13, 2023
It’s hard to find highlights that won’t show him in a good light. That’s why they’re called highlights. In Triple-A, he had a 23/24/.292 season in 490 ABs. He also had seven steals in the majors in 101 ABs. He was caught a lot in Triple-A (7 times in 31 attempts), but steals can be taught, and, if he’s playing, he’s likely hitting at the bottom of the order, and would likely be allowed to run. Bad rate or not. That’s slightly more anecdotal. It’s hard to know. I don’t even know how his new manager will use him. I’d say goodbye to Jeff McNeil and let Ronny get 550 ABs, but I am not managing the Mets. Shocking, I know! The bigger concern is his contact, and predisposition to ground out. He had a 27.1% fly ball rate in his limited major league time (none of his minor league batted ball numbers look much better either). 27.1% FB rate would’ve been the 7th lowest in the majors if he qualified. He’s a bit of a worm killer.
So, not a great batted ball profile, and don’t really know where he’s playing. My guess is he will be playing near-every day, but there’s risk there. What I’m less convinced of is he can consistently elevate the ball. From a bottom of the order bat, that’s not terrible, but that’s not fantastic for redraft leagues. There’s lots of upside here, how’sever I’m a little lukewarm. For 2024 fantasy, I’ll give Ronny Mauricio projections of 58/13/63/.229/21 in 461 ABs with a chance for more.
