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Travis d'Arnaud emerging as mixed-league catcher

It's too early to tell anything -- most any player can go off for a two-week stretch -- but the timing of this particular hot streak and the history of the player in question make it too enticing to ignore.

In 13 games since returning from the minors, Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud is hitting .300 (15 for 50) with three home runs and a .900 OPS.

No, his plate discipline hasn't been especially good -- he has 13 strikeouts to just three walks during that stretch -- but that wasn't exactly his calling card in the minors either. He was just a good hitter, routinely hitting well over .300 with plus power.

It's worth noting he hit .436 (24 for 55) with six home runs and a 1.384 OPS during his stint in the minors, but that was at Triple-A Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League, a level he dominated while in the Blue Jays organization as well. Still, it all plays into d'Arnaud's theory that he was simply trying to do too much in his previous stints in the majors.

So a former top prospect who struggles to find his footing in the majors gets sent down, rediscovers his stroke and comes back to put up the numbers everyone from him all along. Again, it's not an open-and-shut case, but if you need a catcher (perhaps if you lost Yadier Molina), it's reason enough to act.

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