Evan Mendoza came seemingly out of nowhere (or maybe out of the bullpen since he was a converted pitcher?) to secure the third base job for NC State in 2016. I don’t know if it was more surprising that he handled the hot corner like a gold glover from day one, or that he sprayed line drives to all fields en route to a .362 batting average that far and away led the club. Dude was supposed to be a pitcher.
Mendoza slumped a good bit in 2017, hitting exactly 100 points lower, though he did continue to show excellent defense, cut down on what was already a low strikeout rate, and hit for a bit more power.