Boston Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings after 2022 MiLB season
By Hunter Noll
No. 24: Red Sox catching prospect Yorberto Mejicano
I feel like I said this 1,000 times this year, but Yorberto Mejicano got a chance to showcase his talents after Nathan Hickey was promoted to High-A. The catcher didn’t disappoint, highlighting a really strong all-around game.
Meji (a nickname given to him by a child that got to announce during a Salem Red Sox game and I absolutely loved it) had some wild streaks during the season. The right-handed hitter slashed .262/.325/.373 with 11 doubles, one triple, and five home runs in 68 games in Low-A this season. He drove in 37 runs, scored 38 more, and stole seven bases.
Mejicano walked 20 times during the year, but it felt like a good chunk of them came in one six-game stretch. The reason I’m highlighting this is because I feel he has a better eye than the numbers show. Meji worked plenty of counts, but it didn’t always end in a walk. And that six-game stretch saw him draw 10 base-on-balls. Clearly the ability to get on-base is there.
Mejicano has good offense from the catcher position. There’s some power in the bat too, even if the five home runs don’t show it much. Salem is not a home-run-friendly park. So you always need to keep that in the back of your mind when looking at someone playing in Low-A.
Mejicano isn’t exactly a burner but there’s okay speed there. And from the catcher position, you’d give it an even higher grade. He’s got a strong arm and solid defense. The defense great actually gets a boost in grade though, because he showed plenty of skill at first base too. Being able to play two different positions at a high level is certainly cause for a good grade in the “field” tool.
Mejicano seemed to be a streaky hitter in 2022. But it was also his first season in Low-A, and he spent the first half getting very sporadic playing time behind Hickey. So it will be interesting to see if he can clean that up a bit in 2023. If so, we could see Meji get a boost in the rankings next time around.
Hit: 55
Power: 55
Run: 45
Arm: 60
Field: 65
Overall: 55