MIAMI - Rookie catcher Joe Mack, MLB Pipeline’s No. 41 overall prospect, has transformed the Miami Marlins’ run-prevention game since his May 4 debut, posting a 38 percent caught stealing rate — well above the 24.3 percent league average — while his bat has come alive with a career-high four-hit night in a comeback win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Baserunners are just 16-for-26 (62%) against Mack, who became the 13th MLB catcher with double-digit caught stealings and did so in far fewer games (28) than his peers. The numbers tell the broader story: before Mack’s debut, Miami allowed 42 steals on 45 attempts (most in MLB) with a 93.3% stolen-base percentage against, second-worst in the league. Since his arrival, those figures have dropped to 23 steals on 35 attempts and a 65.7% stolen-base percentage against, sixth-best in baseball.

“I actually want them to steal,” Mack said. “I’m hoping that they steal. I’m like, ‘Please run, please run.’ It’s probably my favorite part of my game, and I know my ability to throw people out, and get a guy off scoring position, and save the pitchers some pitches, and help him go out there for the next inning [is my thing]. It’s a lot of fun being able to do that, and I genuinely want them all to run, and have that part of my game show, so it’s pretty cool.”

At 23 years and 164 days old, Mack became the youngest catcher in franchise history to record a four-hit game. Three batters after his career-high fourth hit in the eighth inning, Major League hits and average leader Otto Lopez singled to score Mack in what became a decisive four-run frame after the bullpen had surrendered a three-run lead. Manager Clayton McCullough had stuck with the left-handed-hitting Mack against southpaw Brandyn Garcia in a 6-6 game — a decision that paid off.

“Tough call there, leading off an inning,” McCullough said. “That’s a big moment in that game [with] how this thing might end up going. What he is able to do defensively is such a key for our team right now. Certainly weighing the offensive potential upgrade in that at-bat versus defensively what comes down.”

Mack has started at catcher in seven consecutive games, matching the most for any Major Leaguer this season alongside William Contreras and Logan O’Hoppe. His offense has surged during a recent stretch: since the start of the series in Washington, Mack is 9-for-23 (.391) with one double, his first homer and seven RBIs. Prior to that stretch, he was 13-for-64 (.203) with three extra-base hits and six RBIs to open his career. Mack did commit his fourth passed ball in the seventh inning, but his successful ABS challenge in the sixth helped righty Anthony Bender escape a jam with two inherited runners on base.

“He’s got his feet wet now, and he’s been challenging good, too,” said righty Max Meyer, who allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings. “He knows the game, he’s able to hose runners. It’s awesome having a guy back there that can do that, and takes off a lot of pressure for the pitchers, too, in innings, when you know that if they steal, there’s a really good chance that he’s probably going to get hosed.”

McCullough credited the young catcher’s maturation at the plate. “We all knew he’s a talented offensive player, and once he got 20-25 plate appearances under his belt, we’ve just seen some of the aggression toned down and it be placed in more appropriate places in the zone that he should be swinging at,” McCullough said. The Marlins continue their homestand at loanDepot park against Arizona.