Andrew Mogg: The Replacement at Catcher for Mark Zagunis

May 26, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; A fly ball falls between Virginia Tech Hokies outfielders Mark Zagunis (2) and Kyle Wernicki (4) against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the ACC baseball tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball season isn’t too far away for the Virginia Tech Hokies who will be looking to improve a lot this season after going 21-31 in 2014. The Hokies were hosting a sub-regional in the NCAA Tournament only two seasons ago, and will look to return to the NCAA Tournament this season.

The most significant player that the Hokies lost this past season is catcher Mark Zagunis who was drafted in the third round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. The Hokies will need a replacement at catcher, and the man that is most likely going to take over for Zagunis is junior Andrew Mogg.

Mogg was not a very good hitter last year as he had a batting average of .140 with 4 RBIs in 43 at-bats last season. Mogg did also have four walks as well to have an on-base percentage of .208.

Mogg will likely not be a big part of replacing the offensive production Zagunis provided, but Mogg should be a better hitter this season after an offseason of knowing that he could be the full-time starter.

The one area where Mogg should be able to replace Zagunis well is behind the plate as a catcher. Of course, Mogg will have to make sure his communication with himself and the rest of the pitching staff is effective, but that should not be too big of a problem since Mogg has a lot of experience.

Andrew Mogg was fairly effective at throwing out base stealers as he threw out 25% of base stealers compared to Zagunis who threw out only 19.4% of base stealers. Of course, Mogg only had 16 opportunities to do that compared to Zagunis who had 62.

Mogg had only two errors last season either and his fielding percentage was just slightly worse than Mark Zagunis. Mogg is going to be a very good defensive catcher that will be a quality defensive replacement for Zagunis.

Andrew Mogg has the challenge of replacing a very good catcher in Mark Zagunis and while he isn’t a perfect replacement, Mogg should be a quality defensive catcher that isn’t too bad of a hitter.

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