Carlos Mesa

CARLOS MESA
CORNER OUTFIELDER
Born: February 10, 1988
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 215
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Signed: Int. FA, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2011
How Acquired: Int. FA
Country: Cuba
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

No, this isn’t another relative of Jose Mesa.  The Pirates signed Carlos after he defected from Cuba.  He wasn’t a high-profile defector and at this point appears to be an organizational player.  He doesn’t have great speed so he’ll be limited to a corner.  He’s a solid defensive outfielder and has a very good arm, but he’s played mainly left whenever he’s been on a team with Willy Garcia.  Mesa has some power, but swings and misses too much and almost never walks.

2011
A-:  250/321/379, 124 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 40 K, 4-7 SB

Mesa was the Spikes’ best hitter, in fact almost their only player who was hitting anything at all, in the early part of the season.  He posted an OPS of .990 in July, but got hurt in mid-month.  He went just 3-for-25 after he came back, leaving him with a .700 OPS in the end.  His plate discipline was something of a warning flag, with one whiff every three ABs.  He played strictly in right, but also served as the DH in nearly half his games.

2012
A:  189/199/291, 148 AB, 6 2B, 3 HR, 2 BB, 56 K, 1-1 SB
A+:  223/265/337, 175 AB, 4 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 7 BB, 63 K, 1-3 SB

Mesa opened the season as the outfield backup at West Virginia.  He didn’t hit there, but the team promoted him to Bradenton to be the backup there when Wes Freeman retired.  He didn’t hit much at Bradenton, either.  His plate discipline obviously is atrociousalthough he does at least have a little power.

2013
A+:  225/260/400, 275 AB, 21 2B, 9 HR, 11 BB, 99 K, 2-4 SB

Mesa came to camp in better shape and was a semi-platoon player for Bradenton, appearing in left or at DH most of the times they faced a LHP and occasionally against RHPs.  He had an OPS of .810 against LHPs and only .541 against RHPs.  Obviously, the plate discipline remained dismal.

Mesa will open the 2014 season at 26, so he’s obviously not a prospect.  He could back up in the outfield at Bradenton or Altoona.

STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2014: Minor League Contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2011
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2017
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: 2014
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
2011: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.