With all the trade rumors and free agent rumblings in baseball right now Mets fans are certainly focused on what the team will look like in 2023, but prospect Ronny Mauricio is hoping to force his way into those plans with a monster season in the Dominican Winter League.
Mauricio, still just 21, went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and a walk on Tuesday for the Tigres del Licey in their 5-3 loss to the Leones del Escogido.
Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio went very deep on Tuesday night. He drove in three and walked as well.
Mauricio is second in the league with 4 home runs and leads the league with 28 RBIs (2nd has 18).
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) November 30, 2022
It’s the fourth home run of the season for Mauricio which ties him for second in the league. His 28 RBIs –in only 35 games– puts him 10 above the player ranking second in the league. The switch-hitting infielder is also the only player with double-digit doubles at 12 for the season. His slash line of .306/.353/.500 also has him leading the league with his .853 OPS and his eight stolen bases are in the top five. All told, Mauricio is playing well as the third-place hitter on a team fighting for first place.
Mauricio is certainly continuing to show the power that saw him hit a career-high 26 doubles and 26 home runs in Double-A Binghamton this season, but he’s still not walking much. Mauricio has posted a .296 on-base percentage each of the last two seasons in the minors including just a 4.4 walk rate this year and 6.1 in 2021. His walk rate in the Dominican right now is at 6.5%.
With all focus on his offense, the bigger story is likely the fact that Mauricio finally started playing a different position than shortstop recently. Something Mets fans have been seemingly waiting for since the Mets traded for Francisco Lindor and signed him long-term. Mauricio was at shortstop on Tuesday night, however, he played the previous three games at third base. His first time in a pro game playing a different position than third base.
There are two important things to note when talking about Mauricio playing third base though. First, this move came because Oneil Cruz was added to the Tigres del Licey roster and the team wanted him to play shortstop. Lastly, this was a decision made by the Dominican team, not the Mets, though the Mets gave the okay to do so.
