Scouting New Twins Prospect Adalberto Mejia

Newly acquired Minnesota Twins LHP Adalberto Mejia doesn’t have the fire-breathing stuff that many of his fellow 2016 Futures Game participants do, but he combines a deep, usable repertoire with advanced sequencing to accrue outs — and was arguably the most advanced arm in the 2015 Arizona Fall League.

Mejia signed with San Francisco early in 2011 for $350,000 and dominated the Dominican Summer League later that year. He was sent directly to a full-season affiliate for his stateside debut the next year as a 19-year-old. In July of 2013, when the Giants needed an arm for a spot start at Triple-A, they were comfortable enough to let Mejia, then 20 years of age, make that start. Over 18 starts between Double and Triple-A this season, Mejia has a 2.81 ERA.

There were times in last year’s Fall League when Mejia would run his fastball up to 94, but he mostly sat (and sits) in the upper 80s and low 90s with some sink. Mejia’s arm slot looked lower to me, or at least more inconsistent, in this month’s Futures Game and if that variation continues it will impact his fastball plane and command. Usually, Mejia is able to command the fastball to both sides of the plate and keep it down in the zone. About 45% of the balls he’s allowed into play this season have been on the ground, according to data at MLBfarm.com. That’s a league-average mark.

Mejia has two different breaking balls, a slider in the 81-83 range with two-plane movement and a slower, more vertically oriented curveball. When Mejia is keyed in he can throw both pitches for strikes with regularity. The slider is consistently average but will flash above and Mejia can back door or back foot the slider to right-handed hitters. If the arm-slot variance I saw in San Diego a few weeks ago becomes a regular bugaboo, then the curveball quality will likely suffer because it’s more difficult to get on top of the ball from a lower slot, though it’s Mejia’s fourth pitch anyway and only projects to average.

The changeup is average and one could argue it has some more projection based on how loose and free Mejia’s arm action is, but he’s already 23 and I’m inclined to believe it remains an average offering. I’ve seen it anywhere from 81-86 mph, with movement.

While the repertoire lacks a true swing-and-miss offering (though Mejia did strike out Alex Bregman with a slider in the zone at the Futures Game and I think it’s his best pitch) his ability to locate each of his pitches and set booby traps for hitters through sequencing allows his stuff to play up a bit. He’s a solid athlete despite his soft build, and as long as the arm slot issues from the Futures Game aren’t a permanent issue, I think he projects for plus control/command. I see a league-average fourth starter.