Adalberto Mejia

Adalberto Mejia

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lb.

• Debut August 20, 2016
• Final Game September 28, 2019
• Born June 20, 1993 in Bonao, Monsenor Nouel, D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Left-handed pitcher Adalberto Mejia was signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before the 2011 season. He had a couple of good seasons to get his professional career started, going 5-2, 1.42 in 13 starts for the DSL Giants in 2011, and 10-7, 3.97 in 30 games as a swingman for the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League in 2012.

Having found success in full-season Class A ball before turning 20, Mejia appeared to be on the fast track to the majors, but he would soon hit some bumps. In 2013, however, he continued his quick climb up the organizational ladder, as he went 7-4, 3.31 in 16 starts for the San Jose Giants of the California League. He was then given an opportunity to make a start in AAA, with the Fresno Grizzlies, and was not overmatched, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings. Seemingly at the cusp of the major leagues, he was selected to pitch that fall in the Arizona Fall League, but facing some of the top prospects in the game on a daily basis, he was hit hard, putting up an ERA of 8.47 in 7 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions. He was assigned to the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Eastern League in 2014, but the results were only mediocre, with a record of 7-9 and a 4.67 ERA in 22 games, all but one as a starter. He did much better when he returned to Richmond in 2015, going 5-2, 2.45 in 12 games, but his season was cut short by an injury. He also missed 50 games as he was suspended due to a positive test for a banned stimulant. He was back with Scottsdale that fall, then pitched for the Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican League and did well at both stops, with ERA's just below 3.50.

The Giants played things conservatively in 2016, event though Adalberto was now ranked as one of the top 10 prospects in the organization. He was sent back to Richmond for the third straight year and pitched even better than the year before, with an ERA of 1.94 and a 3-2 record over his first 11 starts. On June 18th, he was promoted to the Giants' AAA affiliate, now the Sacramento River Cats and went 4-1, 4.20 in 7 starts. He was also selected to play for the World team in the 2016 Futures Game that summer. With his big league debut likely to take place in very short order, on July 28th, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in return for IF Eduardo Nunez, who was in the middle of a career year. The Giants were gearing up for a pennant run and wanted to shore up their bench, but for the Twins, whose pitching staff had been depleted by injuries, it was an opportunity not to be missed to acquire a major league-ready prospect. Indeed, it took just over three weeks for Adalberto to make his major league debut on August 20th, when he pitched 2 1/3 innings in relief against the Kansas City Royals.

Related Sites

• Adalberto Mejia on mlb.com
• BR Minors page