Francisco Mejia

Mejia still has a fair amount of his shine despite a 2018 trade from Cleveland and a finish outside the top 35 at the catcher position in 2019. The main reason he didn't earn more value was a lack of playing time, as he spent time in the minors, on the IL with knee and oblique issues and split duties with Austin Hedges when active. When on the field in 2019, Mejia was close to a league average offensive rate contributor. He was especially hot coming out of the break, slashing .309/.361/.527 over a 37-game stretch before the oblique injury popped up. We had seen a similarly torrid stretch from Mejia in September of 2018, and the next step will hopefully be finding a greater level of consistency and staying healthy for a prolonged stretch in 2020. He has a track record of posting K-rates in the teens in the minors, and even with Hedges still in town, Mejia could sneak into the C1 discussion.

Mejia remains a polarizing player for prospect evaluators. Most of the contention boils down to this: a disagreement as to whether or not Mejia can stick behind the plate. His bat should play anywhere on the field -- he's been well above league average with the bat at pretty much every stop -- but the bat would be far less exciting from a fantasy perspective at third base or a corner outfield spot than it would be at catcher. After arriving to the Pacific Coast League following a July trade from Cleveland, Mejia flexed with a .328/.364/.582 line. Mejia's K-rate jumped to 32.8% in his brief major-league sample with San Diego late in the year (58 PA), but he has a track record of posting marks in the mid-to-high-teens, so the bat-to-ball ability is not a huge concern. The Padres seem intent on giving Mejia every chance to stick at catcher, but remember Austin Hedges is there too. It's no lock that Mejia will even be the primary guy to start the season.

For the second year in a row, Mejia enters the year as the top catching prospect in baseball, according to the majority of outlets. He once again displayed excellent contact skills -- his strikeout rate in the minors has never been higher than 17.5 percent -- while posting his highest ISO (.193) since rookie ball. The overall offensive package could be very similar to prime Jonathan Lucroy. A decade ago, he would have been a cinch to stick behind the plate, but in this era of heightened importance on catcher defense, his shaky receiving and below-average pitch framing led to him getting assigned to the Arizona Fall League as a third baseman. He is listed at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, but is probably closer to 5-foot-9, which is why second base might actually make the most long-term sense, especially considering he might not have enough power for third base. So much of his long-term value is tied to him qualifying at catcher, and that is looking less and less likely.

The national spotlight was shown on Mejia when his hitting streak reached historic proportions (50 games) and he was brought up in reports of the nixed Jonathan Lucroy trade. Overall, Mejia hit for an .896 OPS between Low-A Lake County and High-A Lynchburg as a 20-year-old, establishing himself as one the top hitting catchers in the minor leagues. He put bat to ball with great consistency, striking out just 63 times in 443 plate appearances while flashing notable power. There are some growing concerns about his ability to stick behind the plate long-term, and while his bat would probably play at first base, his long-term keeper league appeal is tied closely with his current positional eligibility. If he sticks at catcher, he could eventually be a top-five fantasy option at the position.

Mejia’s tools remain in front of his production, but it is hard to hold that against him after he held his own over a full season as a 19-year-old at Low-A. In 109 games in the Midwest League the switch-hitting Dominican catcher belted nine home runs with four steals and a .243/.324/.345 slash line that was hampered slightly by a .281 BABIP. Considering how rare it is for a catcher to hit for a high average in the big leagues, the fact that Mejia probably projects to be a .240-.250 hitter is not a major issue. He could offer above average power thanks to quick-twitch reflexes, and he certainly has the arm to stick behind the plate. However, Mejia remains on a very slow track to the big leagues, and it could take him a couple seasons in the majors before he starts to tap into his potential at the plate, so the lead time is extreme.