Growing up, he idolized catcher Iván Rodríguez…the Hall of Famer and 13-time Gold Glove Award winner is his greatest inspiration...In 2016, Francisco hit safely in 50 consecutive games in Cleveland’s system, the longest streak for a minor leaguer since 1954…he only became aware of his hitting streak after crossing 40+ games…the streak almost ended at 49 games when he reached base on an error and a walk, but the error on a grounder to third base was flipped to a hit an hour after the game concluded by official scorer Malcolm Haley...Francisco and his wife, Sorivel, have three children: Francisco, Sorianny and Sorielys...Francisco will play for the Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
2022
Appeared in a career-high 93 games and made 73 starts (70-C, 3-DH)…was on the COVID-19 Related IL from April 22–May 4 (positive test) and 10-day IL from July 26–Aug. 4 (right shoulder impingement)…was on the paternity list for the final two days of the regular season...Threw out 18.2 pct. (8 of 44) of potential base stealers…erased 34.8 pct. (8 of 22) from July 2 through season’s end after a 0-for-22 start...Hit .337 (29-for-86) against left-handed pitching...Had seven BB in 299 PA and his 2.3 pct. walk rate was the 4th-lowest in the majors (min. 250 PA)...His last homer came on July 17 vs. BAL…ended the season on a career-long homerless drought of 120 AB and hit one HR in his last 47 games...Made his fourth straight Opening Day roster...Produced runs in his first three PA of the season and drove in the go-ahead run in the first two games… on Opening Day vs. BAL, hit a pinch-hit, sacrifice fly off Jorge López in the eighth inning…the next day, delivered a RBI single in the second inning and a two-run homer in the third…his four RBI were the most by a Rays hitter through the first two games of a season since Ben Zobrist (four) in 2013...Became the first catcher in club history (while playing the position) with 10 RBI through the first 13 games of a season…achieved this despite appearing in just seven games over that stretch...On June 18 at BAL, recorded a career-high four hits, the most by a Rays catcher since Dioner Navarro (four) on May 22, 2009 at FLA…marked the fourth time in franchise history a catcher went 4-for-4 (or better), joining Navarro on Sept. 11, 2007 at BOS, Toby Hall on June 1, 2003 vs. ANA and John Flaherty on May 12, 2001 at CLE...On July 2 at TOR (G2), recorded the second multi-HR game of his career, joining Sep 6, 2018 at CIN (with SD)…became the ninth catcher (15th time) in club history with a multi-HR game...On July 12 vs. BOS, hit a RBI single as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning…with the Rays leading, 3-2, picked off Alex Verdugo at third base for the first out of the seventh after the Red Sox opened the frame with a double and single to put runners on the corners…marked the first pickoff by a Rays catcher since Mike Zunino on July 10, 2021 vs. TOR and the second of his career, joining June 24, 2021 vs. BOS…his throw to third was 84.3 mph with a pop time of 1.43 seconds, according to Statcast…it increased the Rays win probability from 45.6 to 70.9 pct., according to FanGraphs.On Aug 17 at NYY, hit a go-ahead, three-run double off Aroldis Chapman on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the 10th inning…marked his third career go-ahead hit in extra innings, following a two-run single on May 24, 2021 at TOR and a grand slam on May 21, 2021 at TOR…the three RBI tied a season high (fourth time) and were his most since July 2 at TOR (G2)…the Rays went on to lose, 8-7, after a walk-off grand slam by Josh Donaldson... Was 0-for-3 as a defensive replacement in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series at CLE, playing the eighth–15th innings.
2021
Appeared in 84 games and made 68 starts (64-C, 3-DH, 1-1B) in his first season with the Rays…set career highs in runs (31), hits (65) and RBI (35)... Hit .313 (15-for-48) with RISP, including 7-for-12 to end the season…hit .750 (6-for-8) with 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR and 15 RBI with the bases loaded... Recorded four go-ahead hits in the 9th inning (or later), compared to one hit of this type through his first four seasons in the majors... Made his third straight Opening Day roster... On April 17 at NYY, his first homer with the Rays came off Jordan Montgomery in the 2nd inning and went 365 feet—would not have left the ballpark at any other venue…it marked his first homer since Aug 9, 2020, vs. ARI (with SD)... On May 21 at TOR, his second career grand slam came in the 12th inning off Jeremy Beasley… marked the second extra-inning grand slam in club history, following Dioner Navarro in the 13th inning on May 8, 2008, at TOR... On May 24 at TOR, entered as a defensive replacement in the 10th inning and hit a two-run single in the 11th, his only at-bat…became the first player in club history with multiple go-ahead hits in extra innings in the same series... On June 16 at CHW, entered as a pinch-hitter and remained in the game at first base, his first action there at either the major or minor league level…started at first base Oct 2 at NYY... On July 20 vs. BAL, recorded a career-high 5 RBI, with a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a three-run triple in the eighth…his five RBI were one shy of tying the single-game franchise record for a catcher and were the most by a Rays catcher since Travis d’Arnaud (5) in his three-HR game July 15, 2019, at NYY…became the second Rays catcher to homer and triple in the same game, joining John Jaso on May 23, 2010, at HOU... On Aug 10 at BOS, delivered a go-ahead, two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning…became the second catcher in club history with a go-ahead hit at Fenway Park in the ninth inning (or later), following a Dioner Navarro double off Jonathan Papelbon on Sep 9, 2008... On Aug 25 at PHI, hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off Zack Wheeler in the ninth inning... POSTSEASON: Walked as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning in Game 2 of the ALDS vs. BOS, his only plate appearance of the series.
2020
Appeared in 17 games and made 12 starts, all at catcher, for the Padres…missed 27 games from Aug 17–Sept 15 with a left thumb contusion… appeared once as a pinch-hitter following his reinstatement but was optioned to the alternate training site on Sept 19...Finished the season hitless in his last 12 AB and in a 1-for-25 drought…his only hit over that span was his lone homer of 2020, a 2-run shot on Aug 9 vs. ARI, off Taylor Widener...Played 18 games for the Estrellas de Oriente in the Dominican Winter League...Was one of four players acquired by the Rays from the Padres on Dec 29 for former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
2019
Made his 1st-career Opening Day roster and spent the majority of the season with SD…also played in 18 games with El Paso (AAA)...Slashed .265/.316/.438 and set career highs in games played (79), hits (60), runs (27), HR (8), RBI (22), BB (13), AVG (.265), SLG (.438), OPS (.754), BABIP (.319), XBH (21) and swing-and-miss percentage (25.5)...Made 60 appearances (52 starts) behind the plate, catching 463.0 innings with a 4.80 catcher ERA and just 1 passed ball.…also made 4 appearances (3 starts) in left field, recording 3 outs in 19.0 innings...In 22 games as a sub, he slashed .350/.381/.550, and as a starter, hit .257/.309/.427 over 57 games...His AVG sat at .200 (22-for-110) on July 16 in his first 37 games of the season before hitting .328 (38-for-116) to close out the campaign in his final 42 games...Reached base safely in 16-straight starts from May 1-July 13, including 1+ hit in 14 of those starts…hit safely in 8 straight starts from May 1-June 25, batting .345 (10-for-29)...Posted a career-high 6-game hit streak from July 18-25, batting .471 (8-for-17)...Missed 34 games across 2 separate stints on the IL... missed 18 games from May 11-June 1 (sprained left knee) and 16 from Aug. 30-Sept. 17 (strained right oblique)...While on a rehab assignment and after being optioned to ELP (June 1), he hit safely in 15 of his 18 games (.365) for the Chihuahuas with 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 12 RBI and 14 runs scored before being recalled on June 17...Entered 2019 rated as the No. 26 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, No. 29 by ESPN.com and No. 32 by Baseball America...Also entered 2019 rated as the No. 2 catching prospect overall by MLB Pipeline and No. 3 by Baseball America...Among prospect rankings in the Padres system entering 2019, he was rated No. 3 by ESPN.com and No. 4 by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
2018
Split the season between Columbus (AAA), El Paso (AAA), CLE and SD...acquired by SD from CLE on 7/19 in exchange for LHP Brad Hand and RHP Adam Cimber...Began the season with Columbus (AAA) and appeared in 79 games, making 40 starts at catcher, 19 in LF and five in RF… slashed .279/.328/.426 with 22 doubles, seven HR, 45 RBI and 32 runs scored...Earned International League Mid-Season All-Star honors and was named IL Player of the Week on 7/1...Selected to the World roster for the SiriusXM All-Star Futures game for the third consecutive year...Recalled by CLE on 7/14 and went 0-for-2 with two walks as the DH that same day vs. NYY before being optioned to Columbus the next day...Acquired by SD on 7/19 and optioned to ELP…made 26 starts at catcher for the Chihuahuas and slashed .328/.364/.582, hitting safely in 24 of his 31 games played...Hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games with ELP from 8/12-9/3, slashing .356/.368/.712 with six doubles, one triple, six HR, 18 RBI and 16 runs scored...Recalled by SD on 9/4 and made 10 starts behind the dish and one as the DH, slashing .185/.241/.389 with a 1.000 fielding percentage (no errors in 107 total chances)...Hit his first two career ML home runs on 9/6 at CIN, becoming the first Padre to ever hit a home run in his first two at-bats in his first start with SD...he became the second Padre in club history to homer in two of his first three at-bats with the team (also: Seth Smith, two HR in 2014)…in the last 10 years, he's one of just four players to homer in each of his first two at-bats in his first start with a team (PHI Daniel Nova in 2017, CLE George Kottaras in 2014 and DET Jhonny Peralta in 2010)...Slashed .163/.226/.265 over his remaining 18 games with 17 SO against three BB.. Hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning on 9/16 vs. TEX, becoming the second rookie in Padre history to ever hit a walk-off GS (first: Everth Cabrera on 8/9/09 vs. NYM) and the seventh Padre overall to ever hit a walk-off GS (last: Derek Norris on 5/29/15 vs. PIT)...the only other rookie to hit a walk-off GS in 2018 was CHC's David Bote on 8/12 vs. WSH...Following the season, played in 19 games for the Dominican Winter League champion Estrellas de Oriente, their first championship in more than half a century...Entered 2019 rated as the No. 26 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, No .29 by ESPN.com and No. 32 by Baseball America...Among prospect rankings in the Padres system entering 2019, he was rated No. 3 by ESPN.com and No. 4 by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline...Also entered 2019 rated as the No. 2 catching prospect overall by MLB Pipeline and No. 3 by Baseball America.
2017
Had another productive season in his development, spending the year at Double A Akron and was named an Eastern League Midseason and Postseason All-Star and was named E.L. Rookie of the Year in his first year at that level...Hit .297 (103/347) at Akron with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 14 home runs, 52 RBIs, 52 runs scored and 7 steals...He finished 6th in the league batting average, 8th in slugging pct (.490) and OPS (.835)... Led E.L. catchers in assists and threw out 30% (18/60) of potential basestealers...Hit .352 (32/91) off left-handed pitching and .299 (29/97) with runners in scoring position... Had 33 hits over an 18-game span, May 26-June 17...Hit .361 (30/83) in June with 18 R, 6HR & 19 RBI in 22 games. Recalled to Cleveland for the first time in his career on September 1 and made his debut in the night game of a doubleheader that night as a pinch-hitter...Made his first defensive appearance at catcher on Sept. 3 and started at DH at Chicago-AL on Sept. 4...Overall made 3 appearances at catcher, was 1-for-7 as a pinch-hitter and collected his first hit on Sept. 4 at Chicago-AL, a single off James Shields (his lone start at DH in September)...Named an MiLB.com organization All-Star (C) and was named to the Baseball America Postseason Double-A All-Star team.
2016
Hit a combined .342 (139-407) in 2016 with 63 runs, 29 doubles, 4 triples, 11 home runs and 80 RBI between Class A Lake County and A Lynchburg (.382/.514/.896)... He led all Indians Minor League hitters in average and OPS (.896) and ranked fifth in RBI and hits...His overall .342 batting average was also fifth-highest in all of Minor League Baseball in 2016 (min. 400 plate apps)...The Bani, Dominican Republic native hit in 50 consecutive games from May 27-August 13, the longest hitting streak in the Minors in 62 years and tied for fourth longest in Minor League history... He was named an organizational allstar and the 84th-overall MiLB prospect by MLB.com and enters 2017 as the top organizational prospect and best hitter for average in the system according to Baseball America... Hit .333 (92-276) vs. RHP for the year with 19 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 47 RBI and .359 (47-131) vs. left-handed pitching with 10 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR & 33 RBI (.932 OPS)...Hit .419 (39-93) in June with 7 2B, 6 HR and 22 RBI in 23 games on his way to Topps June Player of the Month honors... Appeared in 9 games for Estrellas in the DWL after the season.
2015
Appeared in 109 of Lake County's 137 games...His 53 RBI were the second-most among Captains players... Entered the 2016 season ranked as the 10th-best prospect and Best Defensive Catcher in the Indians organization by Baseball America
2014
The Indians seventh-best prospect, ninth-best prospect in the New York-Penn League (Baseball America), started 52 games at catcher for the Scrappers, batting .319 (23-72) with RISP, hitting 6 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homer and 33 RBI...Mejia led Mahoning Valley in hits (70), triples (4) and total bases (101).
2013
Signed as a non-drafted free agent in July, 18-year-old Mejia led the AZL Tribe in batting, wrapping up the season with a .305 average (32-105), 9 doubles, a triple, 4 homers, 24 RBI and a .872 OPS (.348 OBP/.524 SLG).
