RADIO
San Diego Padres catcher Francisco Mejia is a 2019 fantasy baseball draft value. His ADP is undervalued, making him a potential draft bargain and late-round sleeper to target.
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 225
CURRENT ADP: ~240 overall
ANALYSIS: In 2019, there is a new bat ready to make an impact at the catching position which breaks the mold of your prototypical backstop. Francisco Mejia of the San Diego Padres can hit. Not only can he hit, but he can flat out rake. The only thing standing in the 23-year-old's way is a possible platoon in 2019, but with Mejia’s hit tool and versatility, he should be on everyone’s sleeper list going into this season.
Mejia was a September call up for the Padres last year, and he made an impact early. He walloped two home runs in his first career start for the Padres, and 10 days later he crushed a walk-off grand slam. Other than the home runs, Mejia then showed he wasn’t ready to be a Major Leaguer. He batted just .185 with a disastrous 32.8% K%. Keep in mind that he platooned after his call up, and had nine pinch-hit at-bats and struck out in seven of them. Facing tough bullpen arms cold off the bench is hardly reprimandable.
In the worst case scenario, Mejia is a platoon player next season. Considering there were only seven backstops with 120 games last year, he can still be among the top of all counting stats with his above-average skillset. Either splitting time at a different position or another Austin Hedges injury (three DL trips in the last year in a half), consistent playing time could propel Mejia to a top-five backstop ranking. Currently, he’s the 11th catcher off the board at a 240 ADP. This selection is an extremely low price, and it could soar higher with more information on this situation that should come during spring training. Get your shares now and avoid that feeling of being obligated to fill out your roster in the late rounds.
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