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Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6’0”, 162 lbs
Acquired: NDFA (4/4/07)
Born: 10/11/89 (Azua, DR)
Why Ranked Here: A very late comer to baseball, Mejia brings a special fastball. Virtually unknown entering 2008, the broad chested and big shouldered Mejia introduced himself with a 93-95 mph heater that easily allowed him to conquer the GCL and then New York Penn League. His second pitch is a hard changeup with a little sink at 87-88 mph, an offering with the same velocity as some of his teammates’ fastballs. It’s just enough off his fastball to catch hitters out in front and induce lots of groundballs. His curve is his third pitch. In the NYP, he struggled to find his release spot at times, but when found his release, he snapped off a short tight bender that showed plus potential. There’s some effort in his delivery, raising concerns about command down the road and a risk of injury. However, given his age (20 in October 2009) and experience (slight) his command is ahead of where one might expect it. The Mets’ staff raved about Mejia’s work ethic and intelligence.
2008: Mejia made clear with three dominating starts in the GCL that the rookie league simply did not provide enough challenge for him. Promoted to Brooklyn in the first week of July, Mejia walked a season-high five batters in his first NYP League start and 11 batters in his first 18 innings (5.5 BB/9). In his final 38.2 IP in the league he walked just 12 batters (2.8 BB/9). That’s an impressive adjustment for a very young pitcher. When he reached the NYP, he tried to pitch with his curveball instead of his changeup as his second pitch. Once he returned to his change as his second offering, he threw more strikes and worked himself into better counts. Also, his curve improved over the course of the summer.
Dr. Pangloss Says: A #2 starter’s job is hardly out of the question in a few years. Failing that, Mejia’s fastball should carry him to some type of bullpen role.
On the Flipside: All of the usual caveats (injury, unpredictability) about very young pitchers apply here, and Mejia’s effort in his delivery might give a nay-sayer reason to worry.
Projected 2009 Start: Savannah rotation. St. Lucie is a possibility, but given Mejia’s age, and the number of older, other slightly more experienced arms fighting for time in the FSL, I see no reason to push Mejia to advanced-A yet.
| ERA | G/GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | K/BB | BB/9 | SO/9 | GO/FB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCL | 0.60 | 3/3 | 15.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 5.00 | 1.80 | 9.00 | 4.60 |
| NYP | 3.49 | 11/11 | 56.2 | 42 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 23 | 52 | 2.26 | 3.68 | 8.33 | 2.47 |
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After DVRing the two Brooklyn games that were on SNY in which Mejia was pitching, I slo-moed his delivery and, in my amateur opinion, didn’t find any serious mechanical problems. He doesn’t do that chicken wing thing that killed Prior’s elbows, and he doesn’t raise his arms above his shoulders (which is what kills your rotator cuff). As far as effort in the delivery, Pedro didn’t screw up his shoulder until age 34, so it’s not unprecedented that a short righty could hold up until then.
I got to see Mejia in Brooklyn this past season and the first thing that struck me when I saw him pitch was, “Wow, this guy reminds me so much of Octavio Dotel.”
Same height and stuff. Mejia can bring it and his control of his change makes that a very solid weapon. I’d like to see him perhaps work on take a little bit more off the change, while keep the arm action because it would make it that much more of an effective weapon.
His curve was inconsistent, though he’s only 19, so he has some time to work on it.
My only concern is his delivery, which, as Toby stated, can be a bit violent. I’m always suspect of players with that type of delivery and how they would hold up over 200 innings (probably not). He’s not a tall guy, but solidly built.
If he improve his breaking pitch, then he has the “potential” to be no worse than a #3, maybe #2. Personally, I think that delivery may eventually push him to the bullpen, where I can see him as an Octavio Dotel-type reliever (when he was healthy).
saw mejia once in brooklyn and was very impressed. especially being 18 then and pitching against alot of college guys, (alot of teams send their college draft picks to the penn league)
off topic of mejia, but does anyone know jose sanchez’s status? he’s been progressing steadily each year and is still only 24. he actually had better overall numbers than parnell at binghamton last year
everybody loves parnell but i never hear anything about sanchez. even his strikeout rate (7/9 innings) was better than parnells in AA
sanchez is not as hard a thrower, and may not have the upside of parnell and others, but i would think he’d be at least one of the starters in buffalo this year
any info?
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Mejia back in Brooklyn before the year is over. I wonder how they will handle his workload being he is so inexperienced and only threw 72 innings last year. Could they keep him in St. Lucie for a while and give him the occasional start there until the NYPL season? Or maybe they follow the same plan they used with Guerra?
Jose Sanchez is probably at the point where he isn’t going to improve, and doesn’t really have any indicators of big league success. There is no reason he can’t be a long time AAA and winter league starter and make a nice living for himself, but for him to be in the Mets plans in any form would be very worrisome.
I also believe he is a minor league free agent because the Mets didn’t want to add him to the 40 man roster before 2008 or 2009.
My interest in Mejia is as a reliever long-term, mainly due to his mechanical concerns….I think throwing less innings would likely allow him to hold up better long-term. But it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he replaced K-Rod as our closer in 3-4 years.
My Top 15. Other than Francisco Pena and Bobby Parnell’s ranking, it’s pretty comparable.
1. Fernando Martinez, OF
2. Wilmer Flores, SS
3. Brad Holt, SP
4. Jon Niese, SP
5. Jefrey Marte, 3B
6. Jenrry Mejia, SP
7. Bobby Parnell, SP
8. Reese Havens, 2B
9. Scott Moviel, SP
10. Eddie Kunz, RP
11. Ike Davis, 1B
12. Dillon Gee, SP
13. Francisco Pena, C
14. Javier Rodriguez, OF
15. Cesar Puello, OF
The reason for the sink on his changeup is because he grips it differently than a regular changeup. The regular changeup grip puts all your fingers on the ball(the thumb is on the bottom of course) and places your middle and ring finger on the spot that your index and middle finger take up in a 4-seem fastball. on the changeup the index finger and the pinky grip the sides of the ball to slow the pitch down.
The difference in Mejia’s changeup is that he does exactly this but instead of his changeup being based off of the 4-seem fastball it’s based off the 2-seem fastball. This means that instead of looking like a 4-seem fastball the pitch looks like a sinker/2-seem fastball.
In the summer Jenry showed me all his grips in person at Keyspan Park.