Cleveland Indians next catcher: Francisco Mejia or Eric Haase?

The Cleveland Indians’ spring training has been a good one as far as position battles go. One major one developed when Eric Haase and Francisco Mejia both performed well for the team in March.

The Cleveland Indians entered spring training with very few battles in their preparation for 2018. A very intriguing battle did break out among prospects, however.

Eric Haase and Francisco Mejia both have performed well in the spring to spark a position battle of their own. Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez are the MLB duo but the two young studs are battling for the next call up to Cleveland from the minors.

Francisco Mejia

Mejia made his name in 2016 when he went on an incredible hot streak hitting in 50 straight games. This shot his name into the minds of Indians fans and got them excited about the young prospect’s future with the club.

Mejia then backed up the hot streak with a scorching hot 2017 campaign. He spent the year in AA Akron where he hit .297 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs on the year.

Mejia came up to the Tribe in September but nothing suggested he was anywhere near ready for a full-time MLB spot. He did get some exposure to the Indians faithful and the fans love the bright future he possesses.

Eric Haase

Haase is not a big name among the prospects Cleveland has in their system. He has not made a big impact to the fans the way Mejia has with his production in the minors.

He spent all of 2017, aside from two game, in Double-A Akron and hit .258 with 26 home runs and 59 RBIs. His offense has not been a huge upside of his game but he does display power in his bat.

Haase and Mejia both have defensive work to do in their development. Their offenses have been the story of the spring.

Who has the most promise?

Mejia performed well in his spring play hitting .421 in 19 at bats. They optioned him to minor league camp and he will play in AAA Columbus.

Haase hit just .250 this spring so far but his power has been on display. He has three home runs and 10 RBIs in the 2018 spring.

Both young catchers have shown promise in their development and the Indians have reason to think positively about their futures.

Next: Q & A preview for upcoming season

For the time being, Haase has shown enough to jump Mejia as next man up in the Indians organizational depth chart at catcher.