The Keepers - #4 - RHSP - Jenrry Mejia

4.        SP Jenrry Mejia:

Mejia pitched for the 2007 DSL Mets, going 2-3, 2.47 in 14 games (7 starts). He also struck out 47 batters in 43.2 IP.

Mejia's arsenal includes a 91-95 MPH fastball that when low in the zone has tons of movement, sometimes tail and sometimes sink.  This sets up his 77-80 mph hook that drops off the table.

In 2008, Mejia pitched for both the GCL Mets, and Brooklyn, going a combined 5-2, 2.89, in 14 starts. He struck out 67 batters in 71.2 IP.

September 2008:  Brooklyn pitching coach Hector Berrios on:  Jenrry Mejia: “To be here at 18 and playing so well at this level is really impressive. He sits on 94 miles per hour and can get up to 97. He doesn’t quite have the extension of a guy like Holt has, but considering how young he is, I think he has a lot of potential.”

The Cyclones web site said:   The 18-year-old Mejia (6’0”, 182) was signed by the Mets as a non-drafted free agent in 2007, out of the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo).  Mejia began his professional career last season, for the Venezuelan Summer League Mets, going 2-3 with a 2.47 ERA in 14 games (seven starts).  In 43.2 innings, he allowed 24 hits, 17 runs, 12 earned, and 27 walks, with 47 strikeouts.

In September, Patrick Hickey wrote on:  Jenrry Mejia- Jekyll and Hyde. When this youngster is off, he leaves the ball up in the zone and lacks the poise needed to get professional hitters out on a consistent basis. However, when he’s on his game, he mixes in a more than solid 12-6 curve with a 95-97 MPH fastball and gets outs via the strikeout at a solid pace. Considering his age, Mejia is definitely worth keeping an eye on and with plenty of confidence and charisma on the mound already, should develop into a major league caliber pitcher if he learns to develop some sort of consistency.  Final Grade- B

February 2009:      From Toby Hyde:  -  #5 - RHP Jenry Mejia - Why Ranked Here: A very late comer to baseball, Mejia brings a special fastball. Virtually unknown entering 2008, the broad chested and big shouldered Mejia introduced himself with a 93-95 mph heater that easily allowed him to conquer the GCL and then New York Penn League. His second pitch is a hard changeup with a little sink at 87-88 mph, an offering with the same velocity as some of his teammates’ fastballs. It’s just enough off his fastball to catch hitters out in front and induce lots of groundballs. His curve is his third pitch. In the NYP, he struggled to find his release spot at times, but when found his release, he snapped off a short tight bender that showed plus potential. There’s some effort in his delivery, raising concerns about command down the road and a risk of injury. However, given his age (20 in October 2009) and experience (slight) his command is ahead of where one might expect it. The Mets’ staff raved about Mejia’s work ethic and intelligence. - 2008: Mejia made clear with three dominating starts in the GCL that the rookie league simply did not provide enough challenge for him. Promoted to Brooklyn in the first week of July, Mejia walked a season-high five batters in his first NYP League start and 11 batters in his first 18 innings (5.5 BB/9). In his final 38.2 IP in the league he walked just 12 batters (2.8 BB/9). That’s an impressive adjustment for a very young pitcher. When he reached the NYP, he tried to pitch with his curveball instead of his changeup as his second pitch. Once he returned to his change as his second offering, he threw more strikes and worked himself into better counts. Also, his curve improved over the course of the summer. Projected 2009 Start: Savannah rotation. St. Lucie is a possibility, but given Mejia’s age, and the number of older, other slightly more experienced arms fighting for time in the FSL, I see no reason to push Mejia to advanced-A yet.

February 2009:  MYOB on: - Jenrry Mejia RHP - signed out of the Dominican Republic for only $16,500, showing you that there are good bargains out there if you have the scouts to find them.  He has a mid-90s fastball now that projects to the upper 90s as he fills out.  He needs to improve his command and work his secondary pitches more, becoming less reliant on the fastball.  He limited opponents to a .199 average and finished with a combined 2.89 ERA at two levels.  If he improves his secondary pitches he could develop into a top of the rotation starter, otherwise he will be closer material.

1-10-10 Forecast: - Everybody loves Jenrry Mejia. He was the talk of the winter leagues, both for his speed and the speed the ball went off opponent’s bats. He still has a long way to go and will start again at AA, but anyone who has spent any time observing him says he’s a can’t miss.  Me?  He’s a closet closer.

5-22-10: - SP Jenrry Mejia: It’s impossible to project Mejia’s future right now because he’s supposed to return to the minors and be stretched out back to a starter. The problem is he’s still sitting in the Queens pen. So far this season: 20 outings, 19.0-IP, 3.79 ERA, 14-K, 11-BB… okay, but not what a 19-year old is supposed to be doing. The good news… he’s an extremely talented young man that should be a Met for a very long time.

6-21-10: - Maybe it took two loses to the Yanks, or maybe somebody finally just hit Jerry in the head, but Jenrry Mejia has been returned to the AA-Binghamton market are put back into the starting rotation. I also understand he will start on Wednesday. All this makes my prediction of Mark Cohoon being promoted from Savannah here a distant long shot, but we’ll see. I still think there’s a good chance that Mike Antonini will move on to Buffalo this month. Right now, the B-Mets rotation (Mejia, Antonini, Eric Niesen, Josh Stinson, and Chris Schwinden) is a pretty good one. And, no AAAA waste here. All pitchers that actually have a chance of getting to the Bigs. Is the Mejia move something that will enhance his value in a trade. I think so, but we’ll see.

6-27-10: - Suffering from a stiff right shoulder, Jenrry Mejia was forced to leave his start for Double-A Binghamton today after just an inning-plus. Mejia faced two batters in the second inning and seven for the game against Akron before departing. He allowed no runs, surrendering two hits and two walks while striking out two. He threw 43 pitches, 23 strikes. The Mets said Mejia was removed for "precautionary" reasons, though certainly this is an alarming development.

6-28-10: - Jenrry Mejia was examined in New York on Monday and diagnosed with a posterior cuff strain in his right shoulder. The Mets say he will return to throwing "as tolerated," but we're not exactly sure what that might mean. Mejia was lifted from a start at Double-A Binghamton on Sunday after complaining of discomfort in his throwing shoulder. He's been working on building up his stamina down in the minors with the hope of returning to the big leagues as a starter around late July

8-2-10:  Mejia’s rehabbing stint made its way to St. Lucie last night and it was quite impressive:  4.0-IP, 1-H, 0-R, 7-K. Mejia’s conversion back to a starter seems to be right on target and I expect him back in the Binghamton rotation by mid-August and on to Queens in September.

8-8-10: - It would be impossible not to write about Mejia’s performance last night. First, the stats: 4.1-IP, 3-H, 0-R, 4-K, 2-BB, 10-GB.  He sat most of the night at 96 and hit 99 once. His seasonal minor league ERA, where he’s been a starter all the time, is now 1.17 (his WHIP is 1.69 due to 6-BB in 7.2-IP). I’m sure we’ll see him in Queens again this year, this time as a starter.

8-14: - Look… if last night’s outing by Jenrry Mejia is the worst he ever pitches, we’ll have ourselves a future HOFer. Mejia went: 5.2-IP, 8-H, 3-ER, 3-BB, 5-K, and his AA-ERA “soared” to 2.70. Reports from the stadium were that he didn’t have the pinpoint accuracy he had his last outing, but the velocity was still there. Mejia is sitting at 96 now, and hit 98 again last night. Remember… the Mets really only need one more SP (Santana, Niese. Pelfrey, Dickey). This sure looks like a strong candidate for 2011 (btw… Mejia threw this game against Michael Cisco, son of ex-Met Galen Cisco).

8-20-10: - We’re running out of superlatives involving Jenrry Mejia’s current return to an SP role in Binghamton. He easily had his best minor league outing on Wednesday night, going 7.0-IP, 1-H, 0-R, 8-K, 2-BB, with a 1.77 ERA. Even more important, Dylan Owen, who seemed lost this year as a starter, seems to be reinventing himself as a successful reliever, going 2.0 hitless innings and lowering his seasonal ERA to 3.57.Okay, Owen’ reliever ERA (4.55) is still higher that the six outings he started (2.70 ERA)… so why the relief role? I’m getting confused. Nack to the main issue… Mejia is game ready which is very good news for the Mets.

2-23-11: - Stock Up: -  SP Jenrry Mejia – I talked with one of the beat guys down in Port St. Lucie and he told me that there are a lot of pitchers that look good right now, but everyone is talking about Mejia. Other Met ballplayers were literally stopping what they were doing and walking over to watch Mejia throw on the back field mounds. My contact said he was easily sitting at 94-95.

3-3-11:  Up:  SP Jenrry Mejia – Through March 3rd, Mejia has had two successful outings and is holding down a 0.00 ERA. Like Ruben Tejada, no one expects Mejia to make the Queens squad on April 1st, but it’s nice to see the kids putting pressure on the rest of the team.

4-8-11: - Up – SP Jenry Mejia –just an  outstanding first outing in 2011. We all knew that he could throw the heat, but it’s his breaking ball and cutter that have become his out pitches. Far less of a 12-6 version. You simply can’t beat velo and sickness, all in the same pitch.

5-2-11: - SP Jenrry Meija was diagnosed today to have a complete MCL tear of the right elbow. Surgery has been recommended though Mejia will first seek a second opinion. This is as bad as it gets for a person like me. Mejia is the top prospect in the system and was scheduled to be the next one up to Queens. Obviously, he is lost for the season and recovery for a TJ surgery like this is usually at least 15 months. It seemed like he was a little lost three outings ago when I watched him pitch on MLB-TV. The sharpness and speed just wasn’t there. There is no announcement yet on who will replace him in the Bisons rotation.

5-3-11: - There’s already discussion in the Mets to take the pressure off of Jenrry Mejia’s eventual return and return him to the bullpen. On paper, this is a good idea. Another thing the Mets need to do is write him off for the entire 2012 season. He will not be able to soft toss until this time next year and that means you have a good 3-4 months rehab after that. The Mets are going to have to create their 2012 rotation without him. Look, let’s turn a real negative into a positive. He may wind up being the next Mets closer.

7-13-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/765098-new-york-mets-dillon-gee-and-the-mets-top-10-young-pitching-prospects#/articles/765098-new-york-mets-dillon-gee-and-the-mets-top-10-young-pitching-prospects/page/2 - His fastball has impressive movement, he has a good curveball and a decent changeup. Baseball Prospectus calls his talents rare, rates him as the Mets' only five-star talent and calls his 93-95 mph fastball that can touch 98 mph big league-ready. At 19 years old, he was already dominating the Double-A hitters that came his way, and this is an interesting analysis of his pitch f/x. Mejia ranked 23rd on ESPN Keith Law’s Top 100 prospects, ahead of Zach Britton, and said that if the Mets take it slow with Mejia, he prospects as an ace talent. Following successful recovery from surgery for an injury, Mejia will likely miss the rest of this season due to Tommy John surgery. Frankly, it’s good that he’s taking the time to recover. He is the most highly regarded talent for the Mets, and every dream is for him to turn out to be the next Dwight Gooden. Things may not work out that way, but for Mets fans, they can only hope that this sensation is everything that he is cracked up to be.

8-11-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/baseball-americas-mets-top-10-list-prior-to-2011-where-are-they-now.html  - SP – Jenrry Mejia: Coming in Mejia was the best prospect in the Mets farm system. He pitched out of the bullpen in 2010, which in my opinion was a huge mistake. It happened because Manuel and Minaya were desperate to keep their jobs, and with little no bullpen help he pitched his way onto the roster for opening day. He struggled, and was sent down and eventually  lost due to the questionable back and forth decision making from the Minaya regime. Started 2011: #1 Starter in AAA Currently: lost for the season after Tommy John Surgery

10-25-11: - http://www.minorleaguerundown.com/2011/10/25/2011-top-20-new-york-mets-prospects  - 2011 Top 20 New York Mets Prospects - 1.Jenrry Mejia, RHP (AAA, Majors): At the ripe old age of 22, it’s clear that Mejia still needs a good bit of development time. It would certainly help if he was given some quality time down in the AA rotation to work on the finer points of pitching, as opposed to random action out of the major league bullpen. I hope Mets management won’t continue to view Mejia as a bullpen piece with quality starters like Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler on the way, as he deserves a shot at starting before they start knocking on the door. His 11 strong starts between AA and AAA the past two years (3.49 FIP, 44.1 IP/2.83 FIP, 27.1 IP) are a good indicator of his talent level as a starter, more so than his 4.72 FIP in 39 major league innings. 

12-12-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/12/mmo-mets-top-20-prospects-4-jenrry-mejia-rhp.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29 - As a 19-year-old, in 2009, he was radically challenged by being sent first to the advanced A, Florida State League to play with St. Lucie. There he did more than merely hold his own against a league averaging players who were 22-23 years old. In 50 innings at St. Lucie he went 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA in 9 starts. He was then rushed up to AA Binghamton at mid-season. This was a big mistake. This was the first time the Mets blew it with this kid. I mean what did they expect anyway? That they could just keep throwing him out there with older and older players, and that they weren’t going to catch up to him eventually? What they did to this kid was just awful. He could have had a wonderful season if they had let him have another ten starts in St. Lucie but when they tossed him to the Eastern League, AA (average player age: 24 years), the sharks smelled blood in the water, and he was eaten alive. His first exposure to AA, he went 0-5 with a 4.47 ERA in ten starts. He threw 44 additional innings which got him up to 94 for the season. So there you have it: 3 minor league seasons, 210 professional innings. He hit a wall at AA as a 19-year-old. The smart move would have been to start him out in St. Lucie in 2010, and have him pitch 125 innings that year. But the Mets were not smart, not even a little bit.

1-10-12 - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-15-prospects-new-york-mets/  - THE EXCEPTION: Jenrry Mejia, RHP: Most top prospect lists still include Mejia but you’ll find him missing from this list because he’s technically not a rookie any longer due to service time (although he’s below the 50 IP threshold). Were he to be considered for the list, Mejia would slide in between Wilmer Flores and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. I see him as a long-term, high-leverage reliever at the Major League level.