Baseball
- Title:
- General Manager/Director of Player Development
- Email:
- dmesoraco@athletics.pitt.edu
- Phone:
- 412-648-8334
Devin Mesoraco is entering his second season as an assistant coach and his fifth season as a member of the Pitt baseball coaching staff after being promoted from volunteer assistant to assistant coach in 2023.
Mesoraco was named the baseball volunteer assistant coach in September of 2020 and worked primarily with the program’s catchers. As an assistant, he will continue to work with the program's catchers, while also serving as the bench coach with a focus on in-game offensive and defensive strategies.
Pitt’s starting catcher, Jayden Melendez, improved both at the plate and behind it in his second year working with Mesoraco. He recorded career highs in hits (44), RBIs (44), runs scored (44), walks (38) and a team-leading 16 home runs. Behind the plate, Melendez improved his fielding percentage by nine points from the previous season.
Mesoraco mentored the catching tandem of Jayden Melendez and Johnny Long III in 2023. Melendez was one of five Panthers last year to hit double digit home runs (10), he drove in 22 runs, slugged .550 and had a .909 OPS in addition to that. Long III recorded 23 hits, scored 14 runs, had 12 RBI and hit two home runs in 2023 as well. The tandem each threw out seven would-be base stealers this past season and were a calming presence behind the plate for the Panther pitching staff.
In 2022, catcher Tatem Levins was selected in the eighth round (No. 246) of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. Levins started all 56 games for the Panthers, leading the squad in batting average (.321), slugging percentage (.613), OPS (1.048), hits (68), extra base hits (27), home runs (16) and total bases (130).
Mesoraco joined the Panthers after spending eight years as a catcher in the big leagues. He made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 3, 2011 and spent nearly his entire career with the organization before ending it with the Mets in 2018. He was selected to the MLB All-Star Game in 2014 and finished that season with 25 home runs and 80 runs batted, leading all major league catchers in home runs and slugging percentage (.534). He wrapped up his professional tenure with a career-batting average of .232, 58 homers and 192 RBI’s.
Selected by the Reds with the 15th overall pick of the 2007 MLB Draft, Mesoraco had a decorated prep career at nearby Punxsutawney Area High School. He set school records in walks, runs, hits, doubles, home runs and stolen bases. As a senior he led the Chucks to the PIAA Class AAA State Championship and was named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year.
Mesoraco lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Kira and son Luke.
