Francisco Mejía Fantasy

San Diego Padres catcher Francisco Mejia smacked his first home run Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His only knock in four tries, Mejia banged one off the right field foul pole for a two-run shot in the third frame. The 24-year-old has struggled immensely while sharing backstop duties with Austin Hedges, slashing just .103/.188/.241 with seven runs-plus-RBI in 32 plate appearances. Without consistent playing time, the struggling Mejia isnt a must-hold outside of two-catcher formats.

2 days ago

San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler confirmed catchers Francisco Mejia and Austin Hedges will play equally this season. The even timeshare negatively impacts fantasy prospects for both players, especially Mejia as the more attractive signal-caller. The 24-year-old has notched a .714 OPS in 320 plate appearances across three seasons. A former top prospect with hitting chops, Mejia hasnt done enough defensively to earn full time duties. He is also an option at designated hitter. The 27-year-old Hedges struggled immensely in 2019 with the bat, registering an abysmal 47 wRC+. However, hes one of baseballs top defensive catchers with 52 defensive runs saved over the past three seasons. Fantasy-wise, the split dings Mejias prospects as a top-15 backstop but he should still be useful in best ball formats. Hedges likely wont earn any roster spots outside of the deepest two-catcher leagues.

21 days ago

San Diego Padres catcher Francisco Mejia has enjoyed a solid camp and can still win the starting job. After a miserable spring training, Mejia has redeemed himself on both sides of the diamond to compete with incumbent backstop Austin Hedges for opportunities. The 24-year-old posted a .754 OPS in 2019 with eight homers in 244 plate appearances and is the superior offensive option. However, despite Hedges atrocious 47 wRC+ last year, he remains one of baseballs best defensive catchers. Mejia is also an option at designated hitter, but ideally fantasy managers want him to grab the lions share of catcher reps. Falling just inside the top 15 signal-callers with a 236 ADP, Mejia bulls are banking on him making at least half the starts this season.

29 days ago