Francisco Mejía

Francisco José Mejía (born October 27, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball catcher and outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres.

For the Mexican general, see Francisco Mejia (general).

Francisco Mejía
Mejía with the San Diego Padres in 2019
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 28
Catcher / Outfielder
Born: (1995-10-27) October 27, 1995
Baní, Peravia, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2017, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.225
Home runs12
Runs batted in33
Teams

Career

Mejía was born in Bani, Dominican Republic.[1] He studied at Las Carreras de Baní.[1] Mejía is represented by the sports agency Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE).[2]

Cleveland Indians

In July 2012, Mejía signed with the Cleveland Indians for over $100,000 as a non-drafted international free agent.[3][4] He made his professional debut in 2013 with the Arizona Indians of the Rookie-level Arizona League with whom he spent the season, batting .205 with four home runs and 24 RBIs in 30 games. In 2014, he played for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League where he posted a .282 batting average with two home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games.[5] He spent 2015 with the Lake County Captains of the Class A Midwest League; there, he batted .243/.324/.345 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs.[6]

Mejía with the Lake County Captains in 2016

In 2016, Mejía began the season again with Lake County, and was promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in June. At the time of his promotion, Mejía was in the midst of a hitting streak that had reached 24 games.[7] His hitting streak lasted for 50 games, and was the fourth-longest streak in the history of Minor League Baseball.[8][9][10] He was reported to be involved in a trade to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jonathan Lucroy; however, the trade fell apart after Lucroy would not waive his no-trade clause.[11] In 102 total games between Lake County and Lynchburg, he posted a combined .342 batting average with 11 home runs, 80 RBIs and an .896 OPS. The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the season.[12] In 2016-17 he played for the Estrellas de Oriente of the Dominican Winter League, and batted .227/.217/.227 in nine games.[6]

Mejía began the 2017 season with the Akron RubberDucks of the Class AA Eastern League.[13] After batting .297 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs, he was called up to the major leagues for the first time on September 1, 2017.[14][15] In the Major Leagues for the 2017 season, he batted .154/.214/.154 in 11 games.[6]

MLB.com ranked Mejía as Cleveland's top prospect going into the 2018 season.[16] He began the 2018 season with the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League.[17]

San Diego Padres

Mejía was traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber on July 19, 2018.[18] The Padres assigned him to the El Paso Chihuahuas of the Pacific Coast League.[19] The Padres recalled Mejía from the minors on September 4, 2018.

In 2019, he had the best arm of all major league catchers (88.6).[20]Mejia struggled to find playing time throughout his time in San Diego, putting up a slash line of 185/.241/.389 in just 20 games in 2018.[21] While he received more playing time in 2019, he was given a chance to prove himself and he was around league average, putting up an OPS+ at 99. In the 2020 season, Mejia played in just 17 games, while being on the injured list for a month with a bruised thumb. He struggled in 2020, putting up a .322 OPS and mustering just 3 hits in 39 at bats.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 29, 2020, Mejía, along with prospects Luis Patiño, Blake Hunt, and Cole Wilcox, was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Blake Snell.[22]

References
  1. Francisco Mejía Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com
  2. "Home", iseworldwide.com.
  3. "2013 International Signings Overview; Cleveland Indians," Baseball America.
  4. "Mejia walks off with highs in hits, RBIs". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  5. "Only 18 years old, Indians top catching prospect possesses elite arm". FOX Sports. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  6. Francisco Mejia Minor, Winter & Fall Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
  7. "Francisco Mejia, Tyler Krieger promoted after Lake County Captains beat Great Lakes". News-herald.com. June 27, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  8. Zack Meisel. "Cleveland Indians prospect Francisco Mejia has hitting streak snapped at 50 games, for real this time". cleveland.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  9. Kramer, Daniel (January 20, 2016). "Indians prospect Francisco Mejia's hit streak | MLB.com". M.mlb.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  10. Peng, Michael (August 12, 2016). "Cleveland Indians' Francisco Mejia's hitting streak ends at 50, while Bobby Bradley homers in third straight for Lynchburg Hillcats". Milb.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  11. Smith, Daren (August 12, 2016). "Riding 42-game hitting streak, Indians prospect Francisco Mejia involved in rumored Milwaukee Brewers Jonathan Lucroy trade". Milb.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  12. Beck, Jason (January 20, 2016). "Indians add Francisco Mejia to 40-man roster | MLB.com". M.indians.mlb.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  13. "Toolshed: Mejia hitting where he left off"
  14. "Francisco Mejia Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  15. "Indians expand rosters to 34 players". Indians.com. September 1, 2017.
  16. "Tribe's 2018 Top 30 Prospects list is 100% homegrown". MLB.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  17. Indians option Francisco Mejia to Triple-A - Let's Go Tribe
  18. "Indians deal for ace reliever Brad Hand". Indians.com. July 19, 2018.
  19. "Mejia collects three hits for Chihuahuas". MiLB.com. July 29, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  20. "Statcast Catcher Pop Time Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com". Baseballsavant.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  21. "Francisco Mejia Stats". Baseball-Reference.
  22. Cassavell, AJ. "Padres' blockbuster trade for Snell official". San Diego Padres. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
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