Rookie Joe Mack continues breakout June as Marlins beat Diamondbacks
Joe Mack’s glove got him to Miami, but his bat is starting to catch up.
In a game that required contributions throughout the lineup, the 23-year-old catcher continued his strong June by going 4 for 4 in the Marlins’ 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, becoming the youngest catcher in Marlins history to have a four-hit game.
The rookie is now 9 for 23 with a .391 batting average this month, pairing the defensive polish he displayed upon arriving in the majors with increasingly productive at-bats.
“The at-bat’s are so much better. Some of the takes, he’s getting himself into better counts. Just seeing him really slow things down in the batters box,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said after the game. “He’s a talented offensive player. Once he got 20-25 plate appearances under his belt, we’ve seen some of the aggression tone down. He’s getting pitches elevated, and he’s putting some really good swings on them.”
During Miami’s 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals on June 3, Mack drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, just one game after hitting his first career home run and driving in three runs on June 2.
The former first-round pick agreed with McCullough’s assessment, attributing his recent success to a more settled approach at the plate.
“I’ve definitely dialed in my approach and what I’m trying to do at the plate. Things have been coming together, hits are falling, and I’m putting good swings on balls,” Mack said.
While his bat has come alive this month, Mack immediately turned heads with his poise behind the plate.
Between his ability to consistently corral pitches in the dirt, smoothly field bunts and choppers near home plate and keep runners in check on the base paths, he's shown enough defensive prowess to rightfully be viewed as the team’s catcher of the future.
Since making his major league debut on May 5, Mack has thrown out 39% of opposing baserunners attempting to steal, the ninth-best mark in Major League Baseball.
“Joe has done a remarkable job defensively, what he’s been able to do from a throwing standpoint,” McCullough said. “Someone like Joe has the ability to make up for pitchers that are a little slower. It’s more than a reputation, he’s got some stuff on video now. He’s thrown out some real runners and come up with some big throws. That part has really helped our run prevention side of things and our pitchers as well.”
He’s barely a month into his first MLB season, but the young catcher is already daring baserunners to get greedy.
“I’m hoping that they steal. I’m like ‘please run, please run’,” Mack said. “It’s probably my favorite part of my game, I know my ability to throw people out and get a guy off scoring position. It’s a lot of fun being able to do that.”
After the Diamondbacks tied the game at 6-6 at the top of the 8th inning, Mack opened the bottom of the eighth with a lead-off single, ultimately scoring the go-ahead run from second base after being driven in on an RBI single from shortstop Otto Lopez.
Lopez kept adding to his All-Star case, going 3 for 4 while continuing to lead the league in both batting average (.341) and hits (89).
His double-play partner and fellow All-Star candidate, second baseman Xavier Edwards, also had a multi-hit game, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs and driving Lopez in on a double off the right-field wall.
What’s next
The Marlins will continue their three-game series against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday at loanDepot park, first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.
Miami is expected to send Ryan Gusto to the mound against Arizona right-hander Ryne Nelson.
Nelson enters the matchup with a 2-4 record and 4.60 ERA, while Gusto is 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA after allowing three runs over two innings in each of his last two starts.