He may be a Sooner, but veteran Houston Astros minor league infielder Jack Mayfield will see major league action much later than he’d like. At 27, he’s more than mastered Double-A and Triple-A ball, but as a more than capable player, finds his road to Houston blocked by several World Champion mainstays.
UPDATE: Congratulations, Jack, on your promotion and MLB debut start against the Chicago Cubs, Memorial Day, May 27, 2019!
Mayfield (no relation to OU’s 2017 Heisman Trophy winner, Baker Mayfield) was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma in June 2013, the Astros’ first American League year. That was also the season Houston went a putrid 51-111, limping to a distinction that Forbes Magazine called, more charitably than it had a right to, “profitable, but the second worst team of all time.”
Had the 5’11”, 190-pound Mayfield been ready to burst onto the scene in 2013, he would have had to best Ronny Cedeno for the shortstop gig, or battle a neophyte Jose Altuve for the second base job. Of course, in 2018, Mayfield has Astro superstars Carlos Correa and Altuve fresh off an MVP performance and World Series victory, eyeing a repeat, and possessing a death grip on their respective positions.
El Sueño Comienza
Jack Mayfield was born (and still lives) in the border town of Del Rio, Texas, September 30, 1990, and attended Del Rio High School. Growing up about four miles from the Mexican border, he also experienced a multi-lingual household thanks to his Hispanic mother, Maria.
She and Jack’s dad, David, have been married more than 27 years, and together, run the concession stand at the Del Rio’s Bank & Trust Ram Field. Maria, of course, mans the kitchen, and while ballpark staples like hot dogs and chili bags are in abundance, you can also buy Maria’s own homemade specialties including tapatios, gorditas, brisket sandwiches, tacos and more.
Maria made sure Jack knew how to cook as he grew up. In fact, according to a July 13, 2017, Del Rio News Herald article, “She’s even gotten used to taking her talents on the road, especially when it came to following her youngest son, Jack, as he played baseball across the state and eventually in college.
As she told the Herald, “I don’t like eating in restaurants, so I would always take my crock pot and skillet to cook. We went to visit Jack in Oklahoma one year and I made some guisado. His teammates weren’t sure of what it was but once they tried it they came back for more.”
Maria’s son was a four-year letter-winner for the Rams under head coach Gene Flores, Sr. Mayfield drove in 80 runs with 18 homers, and had a career batting average over .400 in his Del Rio career. He hit .481 with nine homers and 30 RBIs as a senior, while being named the team’s MVP.
It was during this time that the right-handed Mayfield suffered an arm injury that necessitated a screw being inserted into his elbow. Whether that turned off teams as draft day approached during his last two years at OU is anyone’s guess.
“Captain” “Super” Jack, Two-Way Player at OU
Mayfield began his Oklahoma career in 2010, and was the only Sooner to pitch and play the field that year. He tossed a complete-game shutout in his first career start (after 11 relief appearances) against rival Oklahoma State in May, walking no one, giving up five hits and logging seven strikeouts.
“I was a little nervous, but I was more excited,” Mayfield told the OUDaily at the time, who allowed five hits, struck out seven batters, and was perfect through the first three innings in the Sooners’ 6-0 victory. “I loved the experience.”
For someone who through most of his college career and subsequent pro career has played every infield position but first base, it’s remarkable how important and leaned upon Mayfield’s mound presence was in his early OU days.
Notice head coach Sunny Golloway’s reaction following Mayfield’s shutout: “I’m sure the Internet is going to be lit up with ‘why hasn’t Coach Golloway been starting Mayfield before now?’ and that’s a good question,” Golloway said. “I don’t really have the answer, but he needs to be in our rotation.”
His sophomore season was the last time he stepped on a college mound. Overall, Mayfield earned a 5-1 record and a 2.86 ERA in 66 IP (four starts, 24 relief appearances). He walked 25 while whiffing 47.
Between his frosh and sophomore seasons, Mayfield spent the summer of 2010 helping lead the North Shore Navigators of the New England Collegiate League to the NECBL Championship. He hit .279 in 12 games, and was also 1-0 in three appearances on the mound.
In the summer of 2011, Mayfield played 28 games in the field for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League. He finished with a .225 average, with four doubles and a homer, and four RBIs.
Mayfield came into his own in his junior season, starting 65 of his 66 games played (all at 2B), hitting safely in 50 of those 65 starts. He tied for third on the OU team with 34 RBIs, a career high (he had only 10 in 2011 and six in 2010). Mayfield hit safely in 33 of the last 41 games with 43 hits, including an eight-game hitting streak. He ended up 8th in the Big 12 with 15 doubles.
Cementing his middle infield flexibility, Mayfield started all 64 games at shortstop as a senior, hitting .254 with 55 runs scored and 35 driven in. He clocked 14 doubles and seven home runs with seven stolen bases. “Captain” Jack wrapped up his OU career with 157 hits, 111 runs, 85 RBIs, 33 2Bs, 11 HRs, and a .263 batting average.
Skipped on Draft Day, Houston Provides the Pen
Jack Mayfield, if his career continues on its gently upward trend, will continue to prove what an inexact science (and art, for that matter) scouting and drafting has proven to be for decades. Especially if he makes his MLB debut, prompting 29 other teams to wonder what they overlooked in Mayfield in the 2013 draft.
He began his pro career customarily, finally reaching Double-A Corpus Christi in 2015, and spending parts of both 2016 and 2017 at Corpus and AAA Fresno. For both teams, he’s played SS, 2B, and 3B, weighted slightly more toward second base, followed closely by shortstop. Not once has he climbed the mound or jogged out of the bullpen.
In his three seasons with Corpus, Mayfield has put together a .269 BA in 151 games (tantamount to a standard number of MLB games, for comparison), with 29 doubles and 30 homers (18.7 ABs per HR), and 92 RBIs. He’s even stolen 12 of 15 bases while struggling to make more consistent contact at the plate Astros brass would like to see. While walking 44 times, he struck out 120 times, for a 2.73 K/BB ratio.
In two seasons with AAA Fresno, Mayfield has combined for a .238 BA in about half the number of AAA games (87) and ABs (286) as Double-A. Adding 17 doubles to eight homers and 41 RBIs, he stole five of six bases, while posting 21 walks to 57 Ks, remaining static with his 2.71 K/BB ratio.
While playing for Fresno, Mayfield suffered multiple facial fractures (around his cheekbone), and was hospitalized on August 29 after being hit in the face by a pitch.
Mayfield got through his surgery successfully, but the injury ended his 2017 season. He’s recovered fully, and will be ready to go for Spring Training.
What Now, My Glove?
So, finding his three infield positions blocked in Houston (Alex Bregman at 3B, Correa at short, and Altuve at 2B), even killer stats wouldn’t cause a budge at the top. Mayfield, while solid, and in need of improvement, certainly lacks killer stats.
So, unless he’s able to have his shackles unfettered by being traded away, like recently-dealt third baseman Colin Moran to Pittsburgh (for pitcher Gerrit Cole), maybe he should offer to don his pitcher’s togs again, and re-visit his early OU hurling days for Fresno as 2018 breaks. Astro infielder J.D. Davis was also a college pitcher and he too may benefit from making that permanent switch from RBIs to ERAs.
Related: Astros Poised to Throw J.D. Davis, Prospect Joe Perez Into 2-Way Player Debate
NRI This Spring
Mayfield, who patterns his play after the Giants’ Evan Longoria, received his second straight non-roster invite to Houston’s Spring Training, and a brief chat with Houston pitching coach Brent Strom might be in order. For 2017’s spring camp, Mayfield went 3-for-15 (.200).