Single-A Profile: Mitsuoki Suzuki

Mitsuoki
Suzuki

Who is Mitsuoki Suzuki and why is he the focus of today's Single A spotlight?

The 21-year-old, 6'2" left-handed batting first baseman plays for the Detroit Death Stars in Triple-A as part of the Georgia Grays minor league system. In all probability he has said good bye to Single-A ball for probably the rest of his career save for a rehab assignment along the way should it be required. The Georgia Grays hope that Mitsuoki's assent is not impeded by any such misfortune as his first 12 games indicated that this unranked youngster from Shimoda is a star on the rise.


In 12 games in Single-A ball, he smashed four home runs and four doubles, walked eight times and struck out eight times. His batting average was .354, on-base percentage was .446, and he slugged .688 all adding up to a very nice 1.134 OPS.  Not known for his D, Misuoki will need to keep his bat going if he wants to buck the odds and make it to the ABL.

Formerly, Suzuki was part of the Yomiuro Giants in Japan but was released and drafted by the Los Angeles Evil Empire in 2012. The Georgia organization signed him to a minor league deal with a $520K bonus in January of 2014 but only saw action in six games and didn't play at all in 2013. This modestly projected player has the potential to make the major league level and could be a .300/25 HR guy if he can continue to improve his skill set. One thing in his favor is that he hits the ball to all fields so defending him can be challenging for the defense. If you are not paying attention he'll drop a bunt down on you, too.

So, as the success of Single A is behind him, next up is the challenge of Triple-A baseball and we'll find out soon if he is Hit or Mits...uoki.