Tribe fans will finally get a chance to see one of the organization's best young players in action.
The Indians recalled catcher and outfielder Francisco Mejia from Triple-A Columbus Saturday. The No. 16 overall prospect in baseball (according to MLBPipeline) will be the team's designated hitter and bat sixth tonight against the New York Yankees.
The 22-year-old Mejia burst onto the scene in 2016 after he hit in 50 consecutive minor league games for both the Lake County Captains and Lynchburg Hillcats. He hit .297 with 14 home runs last year for Double-A Akron and earned a September call-up to Cleveland, where he earned two hits in 13 at bats and drove in a run.
After a slow start in 2018 with the Clippers, Mejia has been on a tear since May 26, hitting over .400. However, other than a brief call-up in June in which he saw no in-game action, Mejia has been stuck in the minors behind fellow catchers Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez, and manager Terry Francona and others have even discussed moving him to the outfield for the time being (he started in right field at this week's Triple-A All-Star Game).
Mejia has also been mentioned as a possible trade chip as the July 31 deadline approaches, and the Tribe looks to upgrade its bullpen and outfield. The Dominican native was previously supposed to go to the Milwaukee Brewers two years ago in a deal for catcher Jonathan Lucroy, but ended up staying put after the latter exercised his no-trade clause.
To make room on the roster for Mejia, the Indians optioned starting pitcher Shane Bieber back to Columbus. The 23-year-old has dazzled in the big leagues with a 5-1 record and 42 strikeouts over 43 1/3 innings, and will presumably be called back up following next week's All-Star break. What the club will do with Mejia at that time is uncertain.
