PITTSBURGH -- The Padres know the grand potential Francisco Mejía holds with his bat, but they’ve been waiting to see the grand output follow.
The time may be now for Mejia, who performed well in three consecutive starts after being recalled from Triple-A El Paso. San Diego is giving him a string of starts to prove himself, with his fourth coming Saturday afternoon in the Padres' 6-3 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park. Mejia went 1-for-3, hitting a single with two outs and one on in the eighth. He also got on base via an intentional walk.
“We just wanted to try to create an environment where he got some regular at-bats to see how that went,” Padres manager Andy Green said, “because he hasn’t gotten four days in a row at any point in time in the big leagues. So we’ve given him that opportunity.”
Before his option to Triple-A, Mejia produced a meager .466 OPS through 19 games. However, he’s gone 4-for-12 (.333) with a homer and a double in his first three starts since his return, with one of his base hits coming off top-notch closer Felipe Vazquez with two outs in the ninth inning before the Padres ultimately lost to the Pirates, 2-1.
“I’m feeling good,” Mejia said through a translator. “I think I’m improving on everything that I’ve worked on and have been working on since the offseason.”
Green didn’t tell Mejia when he was recalled that a long string of starts was a possibility, but the 23-year-old appreciates the consistent work.
“It helps a lot,” he said, “because as soon as one game’s over and I find out that I’m going to be playing again, it allows me to have that mentality to come in prepared, come in ready to go for the next day.”
The short-term results indicate the consistent belief the Padres have had in the young catcher, who was acquired from the Indians in a package for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber in 2018.
“I think we’ve always believed he was going to hit,” Green said. “You’d be a fool to not believe a guy who’s hit .320 [to] .350 most of his life, 50-something-game hitting streaks in the Minor Leagues -- you’d be a fool to believe that guy wasn’t going to hit.”
But don’t count Austin Hedges out of keeping his starting role just yet. Green said that the plan is to give Mejia two of the first three series after his return from his Triple-A stint, then work San Diego’s longtime starting backstop into the mix again.
Hedges has stepped up to help Mejia with game preparation and defense, where Hedges has shined for years. This year, his 17 Defensive Runs Saved are the second-most of any player at any position in the Major Leagues, behind only Cody Bellinger’s 19.
“[Hedges] has a ton of confidence in his ability, and he should,” Green said. “We have a ton of confidence in his ability. That’s why he’s been out there pretty predominantly for the last three years-plus as our frontline guy, and now, we’ll see how this mix plays out. I pretty much knew, with the type of person he was, how he’d walk through this.”
Mejia’s improved defensive work has been apparent to Green, who said those strides are what the Padres have been “most pleased with” of late.
“He’s working hard on the receiving, he’s working hard on that pitcher-catcher relationship dynamic and he’s growing,” Green said. “Not one of these guys in the clubhouse is a finished product, but we like the path that he’s on right now.”
Reyes optioned to Triple-A
Right-handed pitcher Gerardo Reyes was optioned Saturday to Triple-A El Paso to clear space for Chris Paddack, who returned from Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore to start Saturday vs. the Pirates.
Reyes, a native of Mexico, allowed seven runs in 7 1/3 innings this month, and Green said he wants to see the 26-year-old be more effective against lefty bats at Triple-A so he can stretch him out.
“He has been very effective against right-handed hitters,” Green said. “That’s probably his sweet spot. The difficulty with our roster construction in the bullpen right now is we’ve got about five guys that fit that category, who are good against right-handed hitters, and we haven’t been as effective against lefties.”