St. Louis Cardinals Prospect Report: Alex Mejia records a multi-hit game; C.J. McElroy creeps toward 30 SBs; Chris Rivera looks to become a TTO catcher with a cannon arm.

Yesterday's Scores

Memphis was able to get Zach Petrick the win, thanks to solid offensive performances from the likes of Tommy Pham and Xavier Scruggs, among others, as well as fellow recent-Cardinal Sam Tuivailala who got the last two outs for the save.

Springfield recovered from an abbreviated Mike Mayers outing (2/3 IP, 3 ER) to win 6-5. Palm Beach won behind Trey Nielsen's scoreless outing, but Peoria lost after Luis Perdomo was lit up for 7 runs, 5 earned, in 4 1/3 IP. State College lost 9-7 in 10, after a Josh Swirchak single tied it up for the Spikes in the 9th. Johnson City beat Elizabethton despite several walks from Ronnie Williams, thanks in part to multi-hit games from Edmundo Sosa and Magneuris Sierra.

Highlights

Alex Mejia, SS, Memphis -- 2-for-4, R

Mejia is a guy I had almost forgot about. Perhaps overshadowed a bit by fellow Memphis SS Greg Garcia, Mejia actually has a bit higher pedigree (4th round rather than 7th round pick) and is a year and a half younger. However, he's never hit as well as Garcia, consistently posting wRC+s below 100. Still, he has had his best offensive season yet this year, with wRC+s of 102 at Springfield and 97 at Memphis. That's not great, in fact it's the definition of mediocre give or take, but for a SS that's potentially passable. The better numbers appear to be boosted by much improved walk rates and ISOs. Mejia is unlikely to excite anyone, but he could compete for a bench role next Spring.

C.J. McElroy, CF, Palm Beach -- 2-for-5, 2B, SB, K

McElroy was drafted as a young and toolsy OF, with his main tool being raw speed. His SB yesterday was his 28th on the season, against 10 times having been caught, so his speed is still there. However, he's now 22 and still in (High) A ball, and has shown almost literally no power (he had his first professional home run this season). You can get by without power, but while McElroy's BB and K rates aren't bad, they're middle-of-the-road at best, and you need to excel in at least one of those areas if you can't hit for any power.

Chris Rivera, C, Johnson City -- 1-for-2, HR, 2 BBs, 2 Runs, 2 RBI,

I've mentioned in the DFR before, Rivera was a drafted SS that is now shifting to C. He'll still be able to make use of his plus arm there, as he showed by catching the Elizabethton Twins' only attempted base stealer. The 20-year-old has shown good power in the past, and continues to with his 4th home run in 19 games, and his second in his last two starts. He's striking out quite a bit so far, at just under 30%, but that'll be fine if his power swing can draw some walks. It's still early to call him a prospect though, as he's still in Rookie Ball, new to catching, and hasn't hit well enough to advance yet. For comparison, he's nearly a year younger than Carson Kelly, who is also learning catching and not hitting, but in High A.

Today's Games

Some notable starters for tonight's games are Tyler Lyons for Memphis, and Luke Weaver for Palm Beach. This may be our last chance to see Lyons with a Cardinals affiliate! (I don't have any information to support that -- he just seems like trade fodder to me.)