Francisco José Mejía (born October 27, 1995) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

Career

Mejía was born in Bani, Dominican Republic.Francisco Mejía Stats, Fantasy & News , MLB.com
/ref> He studied at Las Carreras de Baní. Mejía is represented by the sports agency Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE).

Cleveland Indians

In July 2012, Mejía signed with the

for over $100,000 as a non-drafted international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the Arizona Indians of the Rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it f ...

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 The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were a M ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

where he posted a .282 batting average with two home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games. He spent 2015 with the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following t ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

; there, he batted .243/.324/.345 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs.Francisco Mejia Minor, Winter & Fall Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> Francisco Mejia (26535690801) (cropped)

In 2016, Mejía began the season again with Lake County, and was promoted to the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

in June. At the time of his promotion, Mejía was in the midst of a

hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 plate ...

that had reached 24 games. His hitting streak lasted for 50 games, and was the fourth-longest streak in the history of Minor League Baseball. He was reported to be involved in a trade to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

for

Jonathan Lucroy Jonathan Charles Lucroy (born June 13, 1986) is a former American professional baseball catcher. Between 2010 and 2021, he spent 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Oakl ...

; however, the trade fell apart after Lucroy would not waive his no-trade clause. 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 A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the season. In 2016-17 he played for the

Estrellas de Oriente Estrellas Orientales (English: Eastern Stars), also known as Estrellas de Oriente, is a baseball team in the Dominican Winter League. Based in San Pedro de Macorís, the team has historically struggled, winning championships only in 1936, 1954, 196 ...

of the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

, and batted .227/.217/.227 in nine games. Francisco Mejia (36434435044) (cropped)

Mejía began the 2017 season with the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League. 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. In the Major Leagues for the 2017 season, he batted .154/.214/.154 in 11 games.

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

ranked Mejía as Cleveland's top prospect going into the 2018 season. He began the 2018 season with the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

San Diego Padres

Mejía was traded to the

in exchange for

Brad Hand Bradley Richard Hand (born March 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Toronto B ...

and

Adam Cimber Adam Christian Cimber (born August 15, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Miami Marlins. Cimber is one ...

on July 19, 2018. The Padres assigned him to the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. 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). 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. 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+ OPS may refer to: Organizations *Obscene Publications Squad, a former unit of the Metropolitan Police in London, England *Oceanic Preservation Society *Office of Public Safety, a former US government agency *Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg * ...

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 In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...

and mustering just 3 hits in 39

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 29, 2020, Mejía, along with prospects Luis Patiño, Blake Hunt, and

Cole Wilcox Mitchell Cole Wilcox (born July 14, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Amateur career Wilcox attended Heritage High School in Ringgold, Georgia, where he played baseball, basketball, and foot ...

, was traded to the

in exchange for

Blake Snell Blake Ashton Snell (born December 4, 1992), is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Tampa Bay Rays selected Snell in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He ma ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia, Francisco 1995 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players Arizona League Indians players Cleveland Indians players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States El Paso Chihuahuas players Estrellas Orientales players Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mahoning Valley Scrappers players San Diego Padres players Tampa Bay Rays players