Mesoraco is from Punxsutawney, Pa., just like the most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania.

It came as no surprise this offseason that the Reds let veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez go and unofficially made the statement to give Devin Mesoraco his shot. Mesoraco was a September call up last season and played in 18 games. In his 50 at bats, he built a .180 average but I really doubt he’ll finish the 2012 season with an average like that. I don’t expect him to be as consistently productive at the plate as Hernandez was, but it’d be nice. Last season in the minors, Mesoraco hit .289/.371/.484.

Hanigan’s average, on base and slugging were down last year compared to 2010, but he also played in 21 more games. In 2010, he hit .300/.405/.429 in 70 games compared to .267/.356/.357 in 91 games in 2011. I think we’ll see Hanigan behind the plate somewhere in between in 2012 with Mesoraco catching the other half of the games. Obviously, it could vary depending on performance. I think Hanigan will bounce back to form and hit closer to .300. I’m interested to see how Mesoraco does at the plate, both hitting and calling games.