The Cleveland Indians have two quality catchers at the big league level in Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez, but talented catching prospect, Francisco Mejia, is going to force his way onto the field before long.
Francisco Mejia has long been one of the most interesting prospects in baseball. Signed for only $350,000 in 2012 out of the Dominican Republic by the Cleveland Indians, Mejia started showing off his offensive potential immediately. After a strong showing in AA, last season Mejia earned a cup of coffee with the big league club and will be knocking on the door in 2018.
However, Mejia’s path to big league playing time is currently blocked by Roberto Perez and Yan Gomes. While neither catcher is a superstar, they both provide defensive certainty to a pitching reliant team. Mejia is a riskier player, but his upside far exceeds that of the other two catchers.
Yan Gomes had a strong 2013 season at and behind the plate producing around four wins above replacement. The Indians rewarded him that off-season with a long-term extension for keeping him in Cleveland through at least 2019. He repeated that excellent performance in 2014 but has been a below average player ever since. Gomes did show signs of life in 2017 however, producing an 87 wRC+ and above average defense. He will be sharing playing time in 2018 with Roberto Perez.
Roberto Perez is the epitome of a defensive back up catcher. Perez has a career 82 wRC+ and has yet to accrue a half season’s worth of playing time in a single year. What keeps Perez on the field is his strong defense. Perez was the sixth-best defensive catcher in baseball last season according to FRAA, a stat that accounts for his excellent pitch framing, while not even playing half of a season.
Perez’s defense makes him a valuable back up year in and year out with potential for more. The Indians also have Perez locked into an extension through at least 2020, which means the catching position looks to be locked down for the foreseeable future in Cleveland.
Francisco Mejia enters 2018 as the Cleveland Indians’ number one prospect and one of the top prospects in the game. Mejia is a switch-hitting catcher with excellent bat speed and incredible bat-to-ball skills giving him the potential to be a double plus hitter in the big leagues. One of the best pure hitters in all the minor leagues, he also has some pop in his bat. Check out this bomb from the left side of the plate:
It’s clear what Mejia can do at the plate, but it remains to be seen what he can do behind it. Mejia is an athletic, young catcher with a cannon for an arm, but is still raw with his receiving. Few think he will ever become an elite defender back there, but most evaluators believe that he can at least be an average backstop.
The other question mark is about his size. Listed at a generous 5’10”, Mejia is small for a catcher, leading many to wonder if he will be able to hold up to a full season’s workload as a catcher. While that may only mean catching 100-120 games per year, Mejia has yet to catch 100 games in a season. Even though questions remain, Mejia is still just 22 years old and has yet to play a game in AAA.
The offensive baseline for today’s catchers is quite low. In 2017, the league’s catchers combined to hit for just an 89 wRC+ or 11% below league average. The only position last year that was collectively worse than catchers were shortstops. This makes sense as both of these positions are traditionally known as defense-first positions.
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Francisco Mejia, without a single at-bat in AAA, is already projected by ZiPS and Pecota to hit like an average league catcher in 2018. If Mejia can become just an average defender behind the plate, then he could provide immense value to the Indians by giving them a quality bat at a position that is bereft of hitting ability.
Mejia will likely play the role of the third catcher for the Cleveland Indians in 2018. Roberto Perez and Yan Gomes will duke it out for playing time in Cleveland, while Francisco Mejia puts the finishing touches on his minor league development in the International League. Should Perez or Gomes sustain a significant injury, Mejia would likely get the call to step in.
Otherwise, fans shouldn’t expect to see Mejia in Cleveland until at least the second half of the season. Until that point, Mejia needs to work on becoming a better all-around catcher. With one more season of development in AAA, Mejia will likely sure up some if not all of the holes in his game and be ready to step in as a regular at the big league level by 2019.
Gomes and Perez won’t be able to stay in Mejia’s way past this season as the 22-year-old has a chance to be a star in this league. It’s rare to have a catcher with this hitting ability especially one that has defensive skills as well. Mejia could step in and immediately be one of the best hitting catchers in baseball.
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While both Gomes and Perez offer certainty, neither of them can provide the impact of Mejia. The Cleveland Indians have a competitive window open for now, but Francisco Mejia is the type of player that could prop it open for years to come.