Jenrry Mejia Video

He did throw one curve, 78 mph and threw it for a called strike. It looked a bit “long,” the break seemed not to be crazy late or anything, but if his arm action is similar enough to his fastball, he can throw it for strikes, and consistently get it 15+ MPH slower than his fastball, that’s a perfectly adequate secondary pitch.

We didn’t get to see his changeup though (at least I don’t think), which he supposedly commands better but doesn’t get nearly the velo separation on. The Pitch F/X from the AFL had him throwing his changeup as hard as 90mph occasionally, usually more like high 80s. Both secondary pitches need some refinement, but have some classic signs of developing into plus weapons if he’s given a chance to develop them properly.

they’re thinking about carrying him north with the team this season in the bullpen. Manuel even had a quote yesterday saying something like if he continues to throw strikes and impress he has a good chance of doing so. God I hope not. Let him work in the minor leagues, he needs more time down on the farm.

i posted this a while ago

I just watched Mejia’s full appearance on MLB.TV and here are my thoughts.

The fastball is a really good pitch. I wouldn’t hesitate to call it plus at all. He was very consistent at 94 (overall ranged from 92-96…with 3-4 93s and 95s in there). I was also impressed by the location of the FB. It was consistently down and/or away — but in the zone or very close. I do think that when the regular season rolls around he wont get as many swings and misses on the low FB as he did in this appearance — but the fact that he was pretty consistently low and away makes me think he had some command of the pitch. It appears that he really throws two fastballs — a sinker/cutter combo. Both were consistently in the 94 range and I thought he controlled them equally well.

I believe he threw 5 curveballs. These pitches were 78-81 and did not appear to be especially good pitches to me. If I remember correctly, one was a called strike, one was fouled away, and the other three were not strikes (at least one was not even close). He did appear to maintain good arm action on the curveballs as the batters seemed off balance by the change of speeds. That said, I don’t think he has particularly good movement nor particularly good control of this pitch (at this point).

He did throw one pitch that I believe was a changeup. It came in at 88 and was the only pitch in that range. This pitch was fouled off — but his change doesn’t yet look like too much of a weapon to me. I don’t believe he has enough MPH separation from his FBs and there wasn’t a ton of movement on it. That said, it’s tough to draw too much of a conclusion from 1 pitch.

Overall, I am still very high on Mejia. His fastball is really good. He has the type of movement on it that makes me think he can be a reliever in the bigs right now and get righties out. That said, I do think he will struggle some with lefties until he develops the secondary pitches. If he can get one of them in the plus range (to me, this is most likely the curve), I think he has very good upside (possible ace). One other thing I noticed, the Mets list Mejia at 6’0 162 — but there is no way he’s 162 anymore. He looked pretty thick — probably more accurately in the 180-185 range. I thought he had a good body and I actually liked his mechanics pretty well. He doesn’t seem like a max effort guy — so that may bode well for his health in the long run. Looking forward to seeing more of him…