Cleveland Indians 2017 top prospects: No. 28, Gabriel Mejia

After just missing our list last year, speedy outfielder Gabriel Mejia comes in at number 28 on our 2017 Cleveland Indians top prospect list.

Coming in at No. 28 on our 2017 Cleveland Indians’ top prospect countdown is speedy outfielder Gabriel Mejia, our first non-2016 draft pick to crack the list.

Who is Gabriel Mejia?

Mejia was originally signed as an amateur free agent back in October of 2013 out of the Dominican Republic. He’s a 21-year-old switch-hitting outfielder who’s spent the last three seasons in the Cleveland Indians’ organization, including the last two stateside. He moves up from our “just missed” list in 2016 to crack the top 30 this year.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Mejia remains one of the fastest prospects the Cleveland Indians have in their system. He has true “80-grade” speed and has 140 stolen bases over the past three seasons, including a Cleveland Indians Arizona League Rookie level record 34 in 2015, which more than doubled the previous record of 16.  He’s been much more than just a speed-only guy as well, hitting .333/.412/.387 as a professional.

On paper, his offense slipped a bit in 2016 as he “only” hit .322 with a .378 on-base percentage. However, he spent all of 2016 at short-season Mahoning Valley, facing tougher competition than in rookie level ball.

Related: Bauer set to be a key piece in 2017

He continued to show off good plate discipline, walking 8.2-percent of the time. He fits the “slap hitter” mold to this point, showing zero power. In fact, he has no home runs in his three professional seasons and had just 11 extra base hits in 2016 (eight doubles and three triples) in nearly 300 plate appearances.

Defensively he’s been solid in center field the last two years after playing five different positions in 2014 (center field, left field, right field, second base, and first base). He’s not the plus defender one might hope for given his speed (he’s no Billy Hamilton out there at this point), but he holds his own (similar to former Indian Rajai Davis) and there’s still time for him to improve in that regard.

Where does he go from here?

The Cleveland Indians have been pretty conservative with Mejia to this point (too much so for my tastes). He’ll turn 22 at the end of July so he should hopefully begin the season in full-season ball with the Class A Lake County Captains.

He could be the reason yesterday’s prospect, Conner Capel, begins at Mahoning Valley. It is possible the Tribe could try to work both into the Captains’ outfield with the two splitting center field and a corner outfield spot.

Next: Indians 2017 Top 30 Prospects: No. 29, Conner Capel

Mejia has something many prospects don’t have, a true plus-plus tool (speed). That alone won’t be enough to get him to the big leagues but if he can continue to hit like he has the last couple years he certainly looks to have a big league future. If nothing else maybe he’s like Terrance Gore of the Kansas City Royals and is a pinch run extraordinaire late in games.