Remember how the Texas Rangers had rumored interest in signing 21-year-old outfielder Nomar Mazara to a long-term extension? The price for such a deal might be going up.
Mazara is off to a blistering start. On Friday, he drove in six runs and recorded his first career grand slam as part of a Rangers victory over the Oakland Athletics. Take a look at his home run and you can see why scouts have been high on Mazara’s offensive potential for a while: he combines a sweet swing with good plate coverage, bat speed, and barrel control.
Friday’s performance pushed Mazara’s offensive totals to video-game levels. He entered Saturday batting .588/.588/1.059 with 10 hits, four extra-base hits (including a pair of homers), and one strikeout. The blemish here is that Mazara hasn’t taken a walk, but c’mon -- would you be taking pitches if you were hitting .588 with a four-digit slugging percentage?
It’s obviously way, way, way too early to worry about such things. But, for the curious, Mazara leads the American League in batting average, slugging percentage, adjusted OPS, and runs batted in. He’ll celebrate his 22nd birthday in less than three weeks.
