BELOIT—Beloit Sky Carp catcher Joe Mack said it’s important to not ride the high waves or stay in the lows that the world of minor league baseball is constantly throwing at you.
So, even though the Miami Marlins’ 31st overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft is on an absolute tear to start the season, don’t expect him to just be out there surfing that tide of positivity.
“Baseball is 90 percent mental,” Mack said. “I didn’t learn that until last year when I struggled a lot. So, I really got down and hammered the mental side and am just trying to stay even keel throughout the game. There’s good moments and there’s bad moments. You got to get back to that even point, that even neutral and have a good positive attitude the whole entire time. Just try and be happy.”
Mack’s new and improved outlook of the game ensures that while he can enjoy the peaks, he is more well-equipped to survive the valleys as well.
“If you strike out, don’t slam anything or go back and show it. You understand it and just improve from it,” the catcher said.
Mack is ranked as the Marlins’ 25th-top prospect by MLB Pipeline. His stock took a significant hit after a hamstring injury limited him to 44 games in 2022 before he struggled for all of 2023. He had been ranked 11th going into 2022 and sixth the next season.
That’s what makes his start to the 2024 season all the better of a storyline. As of April 17th, Mack is hitting .385 (15-for-39) through 10 games. He has two homers, including a grand slam, a trio of doubles and 11 RBI. He has drawn six walks and struck out just seven times as he sports an OBP of .467.
“Joe is in a really good spot,” manager Billy Gardner Jr. said. “It’s his second time through the league, and he’s matured. We’ve always liked the defense, and things are starting to come together for him.”
Mack’s 2023 season saw him bat just .218 in 120 games and hold an OBP of .295. He hit just six homers, though all of them came in the final seven weeks, and he struck out 118 times while drawing 42 walks.
“Last year I took what I learned from here last year and I improved on it,” he said.”I worked a lot in the off season, every day. Obviously, you know how the grind is and all that. I’m just happy I can come out here and help perform for my team.
“If I get a hit, great. If I don’t, but I move a guy, even better. I’m just out here trying to do stuff for the team and trying to win.”
Mack added that the three main components he worked on over the fall and winter were rhythm, timing and spacing.
“My rhythm, how I like to set up in the box, how I like to move my hands and move my body,” he explained. “My timing, when I’m starting my swing and how long it takes for me to actually get ready to hit. And then my spacing, where I’m seeing it out of the hand, where I’m seeing it from his release point to where I make contact in the zone.”
Even amidst the batting struggles last year, Mack continued to progress behind the plate. He only allowed four passed balls in 2023 and committed just nine errors to 71 defensive assists. His stolen base to caught stealing ratio was 125 to 44.
MLB Pipeline describes his defense as such: “He’s more athletic than most catchers and moves well behind the plate. He has improved his receiving and his focus and combats the running game with plus arm strength.”
Mack said he was in little league when he began catching.
“I told my coach. ‘Hey, let me catch.’ Our catcher wasn’t doing the best. So I was like ‘Put me back there.’ And it just stuck ever since,” he added. “I love being in every play. The chance to throw a guy out to a pop fly to just making the blocks and the stops for the team is a really fun part.”
Mack was drafted straight out of Williamsville East High School in Williamsville, New York and struggled to a .132 average in 19 games in rookie ball.
“I made a lot of adjustments with different things with my swing and different things with catching,” he said. “I was taking what the game had taught me and improving on that and working out how I can really have the results that I want.”
And of course, Mack has built a rapport with both strong relievers, like Kyle Crigger and Anderson Pilar who haven’t allowed a run yet, to the starting staff, with players like Ike Buxton (1.74 ERA) and Jacob Miller (1.93), showing loads of potential.
“I love forming relationships with the guys,” he said. “It’s awesome to get to know them as a pitcher and also as a person. At the end of the day, they’re people and forming relationships with that person is a huge key.”
The next step for Mack would be a call up to Double-A Pensacola, which would be sooner rather than later if he keeps the bat up.
“The goal is always the same: to move up a level,” he said. “But it’s also to win. Last year we struggled with that aspect, but it’s a new year. Most of the guys are here from last year, and there’s a couple of new kids that are here as well. We’ll all work together and try to pull out as many wins as possible.”
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