Updating the Top 100: Devin Mesoraco

As with Homer Bailey, one struggles to find new and interesting words to write about Devin Mesoraco. He made his first positive contributions on the field since 2014…and accumulated just 30 hits and 14 RBI on the year. The minimal nature of the stats are largely due to missing the final six weeks of the season due to a broken foot, after having missed time in July with a strained shoulder.

All the same, there were glimpses of glory if you are positively disposed to see them. Playing roughly half-time in the month of June, Mesoraco posted a 945 OPS in 58 plate appearances. While we should remember the maxim that any major leaguer can produce any quality of statistics in as short a time as 58 plate appearances, the principle takeaway would be that it takes a legitimate major leaguer to put up numbers that good, even in such limited samples. So…if Mesoraco’s shoulder, hip, foot, and whatever else are OK and if he has sufficient playing time to get into a rhythm…then we can at least see a path towards a year of redemption. The oft-injured catcher has one more season remaining on his current contract.

Mesoraco has appeared in 384 games for the Reds over seven seasons. His batting line is .234/.310/.408 (95 OPS+) and he has totaled 47 home runs and 159 RBI. While he makes the regular appearance as a pinch-hitter or designated hitter, he has only appeared on the field as a catcher. Mesoraco’s 2017 season (.213/.321/.390, 85 OPS+, 6 HR, 14 RBI) moves him up the list of all-time Reds from #209 to #202.