Mejia

 

 

Francisco Mejia will serve as the designated hitter Monday against the White Sox.

It will be his first start since his call-up on Friday. Mejia, considered the catcher of the future for the Indians, is in search of his first MLB hit after going 0-for-2 over the weekend. 

 

Mejia is headed for the Arizona Fall League in October where he will learn to play third base. The Indians say the switch-hitting Mejia will still catch, but they want to see if he can play third as well to increase his versatility.
This year Mejia is hitting .297 (103-for-347) with 21 doubles, 14 homers and 52 RBI. He has an .855 OPS. The Indians signed Mejia as a free agent on July 2, 2012 in the Dominican Republic.



There was an interesting twist to the Arizona Fall League roster that was released for the Glendale Desert Dogs on Tuesday afternoon. The Indians' top prospect, catcher Francisco Mejia, was listed among the infielders. It was not a typo.


Indians general manager Mike Chernoff told MLB.com on Tuesday that the organization is going to have Mejia -- Cleveland's No. 1 prospect and the No. 16-ranked prospect in baseball, per MLBPipeline.com -- try his hand at third base during the AFL this year. Chernoff emphasized that the decision is not a position change, but rather a way to potentially increase Mejia's versatility.
"He's got the arm to play there and the hands to play there," Chernoff said. "By increasing his versatility, it will give him an opportunity to potentially make an impact in multiple ways, because you never know where that opportunity is going to arise."


The Indians also have not ruled out promoting Mejia from Double-A Akron after Major League rosters expand to 40 players on Friday. Cleveland's catching situation in the big leagues currently includes Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez splitting up the duties, but teams often like to carry a third catcher as insurance for the final month. Mejia, 21, is the only other catcher on the Tribe's 40-man roster.


Chernoff would not tip his hand as to whether Mejia might get the call to the Majors for September.
"We consider everyone in the organization," Chernoff said, "in particular, a guy who's on the 40-man roster. So he's under consideration."