Cleveland Indians Catching Prospect Francisco Mejia Off to Great Start
Cleveland Indians catching prospect Francisco Mejia is off to another great start in 2017 with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks.
One of the best Minor League Baseball stories last season involved Cleveland Indians catching prospect Francisco Mejia. The switch-hitting backstop was barely on the MLB radar when he began a 50-game hitting streak. The consistent hits helped make Mejia someone the Indians could now consider for the everyday catcher job in a few years. His great start to 2017 surely feeds into this possibility as Mejia gets closer to the big leagues.
Through seven games, Mejia is slashing a phenomenal .440/.483/.720. An impressive feat for Mejia through his first week-plus is that he is averaging a double per game. Obviously, this rate should slow down. The gap power is still something to admire especially for a guy without a history of hitting very many home runs. The 11 home runs hit last season was a surprisingly high total, as he had never reached double digits before.
Mejia improved a lot last year from his unremarkable 2015 campaign. That year, he hit only .243/.324/.345. In 446 plate appearances, Mejia knocked a total of 13 doubles. He's already more than halfway there this season and it's just mid-April.
So far, it looks like Mejia has picked up right where he left off. The .342/.382/.514 slash line posted last year will be hard to maintain for a full campaign this season. Now with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, he'll look to at least remain a top talent who can make contact at a high rate and reach base regularly.
More from Call to the Pen
Not many players rose from obscurity as much as Mejia did last year. When the year began, he was absent from all three of the big top prospects lists: Baseball America, MLB.com, and Baseball Prospectus. This year, Mejia is in the top 40 according to all three. Baseball America has the most respect for him: They have labeled him the 28th best prospect in all of baseball.
In addition to his high ranking among all players, Mejia is regarded as the second best in the Indians' system. Outfielder Bradley Zimmer is the only minor leaguer the Indians have who receives more praise. Mejia has nothing to be ashamed of if Zimmer is indeed the one player he must fall behind on any list.
The one roadblock Mejia could face in reaching the big leagues is the presence of Yan Gomes on the Indians' roster. Although Gomes seems to have declined at the plate, he remains a well-respected defensive player the pitchers seem to love. Gomes is also under contract through 2019 with club options in the following years. Backup catcher Roberto Perez was also recently extended, which puts a damper on an easy trip to the big leagues for Mejia.
This will not force Mejia to roam around the minor leagues his entire life. The possibility of a trade involving him or any of the Indians' current catchers will open up possibilities. Mejia's future may not be in Cleveland. Right now, it does look like it will lead him to some city with a big league team.
