Joe

Mack

For the most part, Mack’s contributions offensively will come in the form of the occasional home run. Tonight, though, he raised his average from .217 to .253. He has 13 RBI and 11 runs scored through 28 big-league games, but he remains a weak option in two-catcher mixed leagues at this point.

It’s Mack’s first multihit game since May 9 in the Marlins’ previous series against the Nationals. This one rates his best series to date, as he went 4-for-9 with a homer in the three-game sweep. It raised his OPS from .500 to .597.

Mack’s home run was the first of his MLB career. He hit a two-run shot off Miles Mikolas in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie. Mack is now hitting .214 with a .557 OPS in his first 70 at-bats at the MLB level. He has a 31 percent strikeout percentage and his power isn’t quite there yet. Mack is best left on the waiver wire for now, even in two-catcher formats.

Mack tripled his career RBI total in the rout tonight. He’s hitting .225/.262/.300 with 15 strikeouts through 42 plate appearances. He’ll start contributing with the occasional homer soon, but the average and OBP probably aren’t going to improve by a whole lot.

Mack is the 54th-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. A lot of that value comes from his defense, which is stellar. He’s hitting .244/.388/.378 in Triple-A with three home runs, one steal, and a 22/20 K/BB ratio. Mack hit 21 home runs and stole 9 bases in 112 minor league games last year, while hitting .257, so maybe he profiles as a .240 with 10-15 home runs and 3-4 steals the rest of the way? That’s likely more of a two-catcher league target.

Doing this but sticking with Chris Paddack is a choice. Ramírez, though, isn’t doing enough offensively to justify putting up with his defense, even if he has shown some improvement there this year. Mack is a weaker bet than Ramírez on offense, but he’s an excellent defensive catcher who takes walks and hits the occasional homer. He’s batting .244/.388/.378 in Triple-A. Liam Hicks and Mack figure to split time behind the plate, with Hicks also serving as a DH. Mack won’t get Ramírez’s DH at-bats, so that could open some playing time for Christopher Morel.

We’re not so sure Mack isn’t the Marlins’ best option behind the plate right now, but the team is committed to Agustín Ramírez for the moment and Liam Hicks will stick as the backup. Mack, who is the team’s best defensive catcher, went 3-for-24 with a homer this spring.

The homer was a 336-footer down the left field line that he got just enough of. It doesn’t sound like Mack has a real shot of making the Marlins, as they still want to see if Agustín Ramírez can improve behind the plate. Mack, however, is almost certainly the future at the position for the team, and there’s a good argument for him in the present, too, since he’s just that much better defensively than Ramírez.

A phenomenal defender behind the plate, Mack projects as Miami’s catcher of the future and should enter spring training with a chance to seize the starting role. Agustín Ramírez offers a much higher offensive upside, but his omnipresent defensive challenges make him more of a long-term fit at DH.

The 22-year-old top prospect has been heating up this summer, hitting .279/.323/.574 in July with four home runs, eight RBI, and two steals. The Marlins have said they are moving forward with Agustin Ramirez and Liam Hicks at catcher for the remainder of 2025, but neither one of them is a particularly strong defender behind the plate, which gives Mack a good chance to be the primary catcher in 2026.