Best Case Scenario For Mejia
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It’s too early in the developmental process to completely ride off Mejia as a catcher. One thing to keep in mind moving forward is Mejia has only caught 13 major league games before his extended stay this season. And to take it further, the Cleveland Indians moved him around the diamond (C-1B-3B-OF) during his stay despite being the organization’s top catching prospect. This type of shuffling did hinder Mejia’s growth at the position.
As we close the book on August, Mejia has been hitting the cover off the ball as he’s batting .348 with a .606 SLG and 1000 OPS. Eight of his 23 hits in the month have been of the extra-base variety. This type of offensive production screams for Mejia to become a fixture in the batting lineup. His presence offers more balanced at the top of the order.
It’s too late to send Mejia back to El Paso and learn his trade. Also, San Diego Padres Padres manager Andy Green cannot fall into the trap of using Mejia strictly as an outfielder to take advantage of his bat in the lineup. It’s time for him to fulfill his potential as a catcher.
The best-case scenario is Mejia progresses well enough to become an average defensive catcher with an outstanding bat. That’s Mike Piazza, who had a pretty good career. He only led the New York Mets to a World Series appearance in 2000 and has a plaque hanging in the Baseball Hall-of-Fame. I think all Padres fans would sign up for that ending.
The worst-case scenario is Mejia’s catching skills regress enough that he becomes another mediocre outfielder with a good stick that holds very little trade market value. Suddenly, Preller goes under the microscope for trading a quality closer (Brad Hand) and setup man (Adam Cimber) in exchange for nothing of quality in return.