Cleveland Indians Minor League Report: 3 players who were cold in May

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Oscar Mercado #35 of the Cleveland Indians (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

Oscar Mercado, OF, Triple-A Columbus

Staying in Triple-A Columbus, we move from a prospect to a player that has previously showed a lot of potential in Oscar Mercado. After a strong 2019 campaign that saw him receive American League Rookie of the Year votes, Mercado struggled in 2020 and is now appearing to have those struggles carryover to the 2021 season as well.

Playing in 22 games for the Columbus Clippers, Mercado has logged just 15 hits in 88 at-bats for the lowest average on the team among qualified players at .170. Unlike Jones, he hasn’t been able to load up on walks to help his slash line much, coming in at .170/.263/.227. The low slugging percentage is also due to only five doubles, no triples and no home runs with just five RBI.

Mercado was also applauded for speed in Cleveland during the 2019 season, swiping 15 bases. With Columbus, he has three so far. Now, part of that is due to his struggle to get on base since it’s hard to steal bases when you can’t get on base in the first place.

One good sign for Mercado is that he only has 17 strikeouts, meaning he is putting the ball in play. Hopefully, more of those balls will begin to fall in the field and he can start turning a corner and raising those numbers in June.

Next: Aaron Bracho