Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Mejia was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 international prospect in the 2022 class and joined the Cardinals for $2 million out of the Dominican Republic, becoming St. Louis’ top addition of the cycle. He hit the ground running in the Dominican Summer League that first season, hitting .267/.418/.479 with five homers and a 145 wRC+ over 45 games. His 2023 campaign was a significantly different story with Mejia pinging between the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and Single-A Florida State League with little success at either stop; he finished with a .159/.313/.258 line and 28.7 percent K rate over 41 games.

The Cardinals have repeatedly stressed patience with the switch-hitting middle infielder, and it is starting to pay off in the early stages of 2024 back in the FCL, where Mejia is off to a much stronger start in his age-19 season (making him the same age as many American college freshmen). He’s traded some of his catchable pop flies for harder-hit line drives, and that’s fueled a better BABIP (just .226 in 2023) and led to better numbers across the board. His K rate has also dropped significantly in the early sample, and while he may settle in at below-average power, the improvements have helped the hope he can have a solid bat in time.

Just an average runner, Mejia was seen as a long-term candidate to move off short when he signed. That conversion has begun to take hold in ’24 with most of his early looks coming at second base. Keeping him up the middle is certainly notable and important, but so much comes down to the bat and Mejia’s ability to show that 2023 was just a blip on what once looked like a very promising radar.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 prospect in the 2022 international signing class, Mejia signed with the Cardinals for $2 million out of the Dominican Republic, thus getting almost one-third of the organization’s $6,262,600 bonus pool. Unlike many young players who need to ease into pro ball, the switch-hitting shortstop found success almost immediately in the Dominican Summer League with a .267/.418/.479 slash line and five homers in 45 games. His 145 wRC+ ranked in the 90th percentile among qualified 17-year-olds in the DSL.

Mejia’s impressive bat speed lived up to the hype, and he proved not to be overly aggressive with his hacks either by walking 15.9 percent of the time. There’s some natural lift in his swing too -- he hit flyballs on 46.8 percent of his batted balls -- and that helped the power play quickly in pro ball. He was a bit more productive batting from the left side against righties, but that could balance out as he gets more experience against professional southpaws moving forward. The Cardinals got aggressive with Mejia in his first stateside season, mixing in stints in the Florida State League along with his work at the complex, and his performance has cratered, though low BABIPs in small samples could be to blame. Stil, Mejia hasn't performed to the same level in the FSL or FCL, making his age-18 season a difficult one to swallow.

An average runner, Mejia was a potential candidate to move off short even before he signed. The Cardinals will be invested in keeping him there as long as possible, but his arm strength could be a fit at third base too. Both he and the organization will have to flush his 2023 away in the hopes that the exposure to stateside ball lays the groundwork for future gains. Mejia, after all, still won't turn 19 until next April.

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

The Cardinals had a bonus pool of $6,262,600 for the 2022 international period and used roughly $2 million of it to sign Mejia out of the Dominican Republic. He was ranked No. 14 among MLB Pipeline’s top prospects for his signing class and instantly became one of the system’s most promising shortstops.

A switch-hitter, Mejia already shows an ability to cover the plate well from both sides of the box, and he’s capable of hitting the ball hard already due to impressive bat speed. He’s capable of showing good raw power already, but the skill projects to be just average by the time he dives deeper into the pros. Besides the hit tool, Mejia’s other above-average skill is his arm with some grading it out as plus. It’s his best defensive asset right now, and there is a feeling among some that, with average speed, he’ll have to move off shortstop in time. The arm would help with a transition to third base, or he could be a candidate for second base if his overall athleticism holds up.

As is the case with many international signees, Mejia’s range of outcomes is vast. The Cardinals’ investment shows they believe he can be a solid infield regular in the end, and given his present skill set, don’t be surprised if he takes off quickly offensively during early tastes of the Minors.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

Mejia’s favorite player is Javier Baez, and he patterns his game after him. Like Baez, Mejia loves the game and plays with style. The teen has fun when he’s on the field, and it shows.

Put simply, he makes lots of contact and hits the ball hard all of the time. It’s Mejia's hit tool that makes him among the top international prospects in this year’s class. Specifically, he shows advanced plate coverage along with average power and flashes of plus power. He projects to have slightly-above-average game power in the future and his bat speed is already above average.

On defense, he shows plus arm potential, and he is expected to stay at shortstop as long as his abilities will allow him to play the position. There’s also a chance he changes position and develops into an offense-first second or third baseman.

Mejia trains with Nercy Brito, a member of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program, in the Dominican Republic. The Cardinals are the favorite to sign him.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	07/14/2023	SS Jonathan Mejia assigned to FCL Cardinals from Palm Beach Cardinals.
	06/28/2023	SS Jonathan Mejia assigned to Palm Beach Cardinals from FCL Cardinals.
	06/12/2023	SS Jonathan Mejia assigned to FCL Cardinals from Palm Beach Cardinals.
	06/05/2023	Palm Beach Cardinals activated SS Jonathan Mejia from the temporarily inactive list.
	06/01/2023	Palm Beach Cardinals placed SS Jonathan Mejia on the temporarily inactive list.
	05/23/2023	SS Jonathan Mejia assigned to Palm Beach Cardinals from DSL Cardinals.
	03/22/2022	SS Jonathan Mejia and assigned to DSL Cardinals.
	01/15/2022	St. Louis Cardinals signed free agent SS Jonathan Mejia to a minor league contract.