Jesús Méndez (minors01)

Jesús Méndez Chalao

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 173 lb.

• Born June 14, 1964 in Caracas, Distrito Capital Venezuela

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Jesús Méndez spent six seasons in AAA but did not reach the majors. He later was a scout.

Méndez hit .317/.317/.390 as the Venezuelan 1B in the 1984 Amateur World Series, third on the team in average. His 5 RBI tied for second. He had previously played for Venezuela in the 1983 Pan American Games He batted .305/?/.348 for the 1985-1986 Tigres de Aragua in his pro debut, finishing fourth in average behind Joe Orsulak, Raul Tovar and Toby Hernandez and ahead of a slew of future major leaguers. He won Rookie of the Year honors. Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, he made his US debut in high A, hitting .274/.317/.348 with 6 triples for the St. Petersburg Cardinals. He batted .327/~.377/.389 for Aragua in 1986-1987. He again was 4th in the Venezuelan League in average, this time behind Dave Concepcion, Terry Francona and Andrés Galarraga.

Back with St. Petersburg in 1987, he produced at a .305/.358/.368 clip and only struck out 24 times. He was 9th in the Florida State League in average, was 4th with 78 RBI and led with 159 hits. He fell to .278/~.345/.322 for Aragua in 1987-1988. In the summer of '88, the Caracas native hit only .248/.294/.315 as the main first baseman with the Arkansas Travelers.

(in progress)