Mets' Mejia draws raves for his cut fastball
JENRRY MEJIA
Team: Mets | Position: Pitcher | Age: 20
There has been plenty of hype around Jenrry Mejia for the Mets this spring. It's still unknown if Mejia will follow the Mets up north, and if so, will he be in the rotation or bullpen? He's been solid in the minors, pitching to the tune of a 2.91 ERA in three seasons. With the Mets' situation, there's a good chance he could not only make the team, but become an important factor immediately. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The hype surrounding Jenrry Mejia went into overdrive Friday after the Mets' top pitching prospect wowed hitters and bystanders during his first live batting practice.
Frank Catalanotto raved about an "explosive" fastball with incredible movement. Omir Santos described the "natural cut" that had hitters asking him what the pitch was. And Jerry Manuel said Mejia's cut fastball is so good that he might be able to get by on that one pitch.
"That one pitch has done pretty good for the guy across town,'' Manuel said of Mariano Rivera. "And if you can command it - just that - you can have some success at the highest level. If he can command just that, down and away, with that type of movement, he has a shot."
That's a big if at this stage. Mejia doesn't merely reach 95 mph on the radar gun, he stays there during the course of a game. But at age 20, he's still trying to control his cut fastball and develop two other pitches, a knee-buckling curveball and what scouts have called a "power changeup."
Mejia was inconsistent with his curve Friday and Santos said his changeup actually looked better. Santos also spoke to him afterward about trying to calm down on the mound. If the Mets can get him to harness that adrenaline and develop better command in the coming weeks, Manuel said he would be tempted to use him in the bullpen if he were "crazy" or "desperate."
"Yeah on both of those," Manuel said. "It's interesting. He's very interesting when you have that type of power."
Pitching probables
For Monday's intrasquad game, the pitchers will be Mejia, Jack Egbert, Clint Everts, Travis Blackley, Jon Niese, Tobi Stoner and R.A. Dickey. Nelson Figueroa will start Tuesday's Grapefruit League opener against the Braves and Fernando Nieve will start Wednesday.
