Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Is Victor Victor Mesa 2020 Bound?

It’s been a quick year since Victor Victor Mesa was signed to the Miami Marlins

In his first season of professional ball for the Miami Marlins, Victor Victor Mesa didn’t do too shabby. His slash line lists a .235 batting average, .274 on base percentage and a slugging percentage of .263.

No doubt it’s a solid trio of stats, however it’s his 11 assists in 860 innings, and 0 errors (0 errors!) that are worth stopping and taking note.

There’s no denying Mesa is a strong defender; after all he was awarded the MiLB Gold Glove this past Monday. But let’s consider his efforts at the plate.

A close look at his offense reveals a near-”great” strikeout rate of 12.7% (FanGraphs categorizes 12.5% as great and 10% as excellent), making it easy to believe he’s a good contact hitter. It pairs well with 29 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 464 ABs.

What does all this mean?

Currently he is number one on the international prospects list according to MLB Pipeline, and sits at number 13 on their Miami Marlins’ prospect list. Mesa is performing well in the Arizona Fall League. He started in center field for the Fall Stars Game, though he exited in the 3rd inning due to injury.

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Mesa, who is Cuban born and a 2018 defector, signed last October and was part of the Marlins’ 2019 spring training squad. Chances are we will see him again in spring 2020. The questions to ask is whether or not he can fill any of the Miami Marlins major league level needs. That remains to be seen, as front office off season moves will dictate what exactly those needs will wind up being.

If he can work on his speed, (which some suggest isn’t actually elite level) improve that good contact at the plate, maintain a steady OBP and score runs with big league consistency, he could develop the offensive half of his skill set and combine it with already golden defense.

The numbers can lead a person to wonder if Mesa has the chops to play at the big league level if he makes it in February. Spring training is his opportunity to ramp it up and prove that he has what it takes to push his game to the next level, specifically the big league level. If he takes his outstanding minor league debut and Arizona Fall League experience all the way, we could see him on the roster come opening day.