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Cleveland Indians Prospect Francisco Mejia Extends Hitting Streak

By Benjamin Chase

May 16, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Cleveland Indians baseball hat and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Indians at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Cleveland Indians baseball hat and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Indians at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Indians catching prospect Francisco Mejia extended his minor league-leading 41-game hitting streak. What kind of prospect is he?

Coming into the season, many looking at the Indians organization saw top prospects like Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier or big arms like Justus Sheffield or Brady Aiken, but not many were really thinking much about Francisco Mejia, but he’s grabbed a ton of headlines as he’s now moved his hitting streak to a minor league season-best 41 games with a hit on Thursday night.

Who Is He?

Mejia was signed by the Indians in 2012 for a modest $350K bonus, but he’s shown to be a bargain signing for the Indians. He stung the ball his first year in the Arizona Rookie League, going .305/.348/.524. Many thought that while his defensive skills were elite, his bat wasn’t quite to that level, and the next two years showed that to perhaps be the case, as he had a season at short-season A-ball in 2014, hitting .282/.339/.407 and then really struggled last season with Lake County in the Midwest League, hitting .243/.324/.345. The walk rate improvement was good, but everything else seemed to step backward.

Mejia came into the season looking more lean and cut than in previous seasons, and the ball has been sharply leaping off of his bat every season. After hitting .344/.374/.524 in a return to Lake County, he was promoted to high-A Lynchburg in the Carolina League, and he’s just kept hitting, going .333/.342/.500. He’s already tied his career high in home runs with 9, topped his career high with 21 doubles, and tied his career high with 4 triples, so the power has come along with the contact.

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What To Expect
Mejia is absolutely a legitimate prospect. After ranking him 10th in the organization to start the season, Baseball America moved Mejia up to #6 in the system in their midseason update. He’s always had great defensive tools, including an incredible arm, so to add the contact skills he’s shown this season really puts him into the short list of the best catching prospects in the game right now.

He’ll likely finish out the season with high-A Lynchburg this year, but I could definitely see him bumped up early to AA next year. Mejia has shown a propensity to attack pitches that he believes he can handle, and that has led to a less-than-pretty BB/K ratio, but with the skills he’s showing this season, I doubt anyone will get too uptight until he’s striking out at a much higher rate. He’s absolutely one of the guys you want to see behind the plate currently in the minor leagues.

Next: The Top Ten Prospects In Baseball

Here are a few looks at Mejia in action:

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