Devin Mesoraco has burst onto the baseball scene in 2014. He is hitting an incredible .293/.366/.580 with a 161 wRC+ and 3.4 fWAR. Mesoraco’s 161 wRC+ is good 7th best in all of baseball of any player with 300+ PA.
Among MLB catchers, Mesoraco has been without question the most productive offensive catcher. Here are Mesoraco’s ranks among MLB catchers with 300+ PA:
The power numbers that Mesoraco has put up this season are very rare to occur from the catcher position. Mesoraco is one of only 33 catchers in MLB history to put up .945 OPS with 300+ PA. Even more impressive is that he is one of only 18 catchers in MLB history to put up a .580 SLG with 300+ PA.
Mesoraco is putting together one of the best seasons ever by a Reds catcher, and certainly the best offensive season since Johnny Bench. Here are the numbers:
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Mesoraco crack the top five all-time among Reds catchers in HR, and crack the top 10 all-time among Reds catchers in bWAR.
As good as Mesoraco has been, it is crazy to think about the numbers he could have put up if he would have been healthy all season. Mesoraco is only on pace to play in 108 games. He has a 13.8 AB/HR, which is the highest in the NL (3rd highest in the MLB behind Encarnacion and Abreu). If you pro-rated Mesoraco’s stats this season to if he had 650 PA, he would have 41 HR and 125 RBI. If you pro-rated his bWAR to if he played in 147 games, like Bench did in 1972 when he set the Reds record for bWAR in a single season of 8.6, Mesoraoco would have a 6.9 bWAR.