It’s Friday & many leagues are already in the playoffs, so the chances to add to your roster a player who could turn the tide & tip the scales in your favor, so here are 2 players to assist in your quest for the title! (All ownership listed based on ESPN)
Francisco Mejia – C/DH – 11% Owned
Chances are that you already heard about Francisco Mejia and his two bomb coming out party last night in Cincinnati. What does this 22 year old prospect have to offer and is he worth the FAAB?
Since the trade to the Padres where he joined hitter friendly Pacific Coast League, Mejia has been crushing the ball. In those 31 games, he hit seven home runs while accumulating an OPS of .946. Mejia’s plate discipline is a work in progress as his walk rate is poor (5.3%). The good news is that his strikeout rate is not alarming at 17.7%. The expectation is that the walk rate will improve as he matures as a hitter. But it’s probably too much to ask for it to happen this season.
The top 10 prospect was brought up as part of September call ups and in his first game as a starter made an immediate impact, and it was hard. Mejia made contact with three balls last night and their exit velocities were 103.1 mph (HR), 100.3 mph (HR), and 99.4 mph (groundout). There should be no question about his power. Adding to the intrigue, he also has shown that he tends to lift the ball (>36% in the MiLB this season). His profile will inevitably include home runs. His major league OPS now sits at 1.587, which will, without question, continue for the rest of his career (pausing to take tongue out of cheek).
The biggest rub (and it’s a big one) with Mejia is his eligibility. ESPN currently has him as a DH only and Yahoo classifies him as a Utility player. This significantly hampers his value and your dreams of upgrading your catcher position which probably has been the main source of all your late night ice cream binges this summer. Only Fantrax has him as eligible for catcher (bless them). It is unlikely that he will gain catcher eligibility for it to matter in the current season in the other formats. The other downside is his playing time as he will likely serve as a back up primarily to spell Austin Hedges and to pinch hit.
In keeper and dynasty leagues, Mejia is probably already on someone’s roster. But if he isn’t, by all means make the add. In redraft leagues, Mejia offers you a lottery ticket in this final month in power categories, but it will be at the expense of another player that offers you more flexibility and plate appearances. (@FreshMeatLeague on Twitter)
Brad Keller – SP – 12% Owned
Keller really should be more in the conversation for Rookie if the Year, but he plays for Kansas City. By that I mean after Andujar, Ohtani, & Gleyber of course, I personally overlooked him recently in comparing rookies. His last 5 starts he’s allowed 2 ER or less including 2 starts at CLE (combined 12 IP, 3 ER, & 10 K). He’ll get you a raw 4-5 K per game (6 K/9), average a QS, and has managed to hold teams in the yard with a 0.52 HR/9. His 3.14 ERA & 3.71 FIP will play & considering he plays in the weak AL Central, so his last 3-4 starts against those foes could help win your league.
Fantasy Front Office Podcast 
You must be logged in to post a comment.