There are very few organizations in Major League Baseball that have legit catching prospects, let alone two legit catching prospects. The Cincinnati Reds are the rare organization that has two legit catching prospects in Devin Mesoraco and Yesmani Grandel.

The Reds will showcase one of those top catching prospects in September as they will call up Mesoraco according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. Mesoraco was hitting .289/.371/.484 with 15 HR’s in 499 PA’s for Triple-A Louisville.

Mesoraco is a 6’1”, 220 lb right-handed hitter, who has always shown a good eye at the plate during his minor league career. He also has good power and projects to be a catcher who can hit between 15-20 HR’s at the major league level. While that might not seem like a lot, if you look at the catching situation around the major leagues, 15-20 HR’s a year would put Mesoraco in the upper echelon of hitting catchers.

Here is the thing with Mesoraco’s call up: I just hope he plays. Yes, Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan have combined to put up pretty solid numbers for the Reds this season, but neither of them are the long-term answer in Cincinnati. Mesoraco might have his flaws defensively as most young catchers do, but the Reds are 13.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers and have no shot at making the playoffs in 2011.

Dusty Baker loves his veterans and I just have a hard time seeing Mesoraco getting consistent AB’s over the final month of the season. That would be a shame.

Here are some other things you should know about Devin Mesoraco…

Age: 23

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

College: None. Went to Punxsutawney High School in Punxsutwaney, PA

Drafted: 15th pick of the 1st round of the 2007 June Draft

Minor League Stats:

 

Keith Law Ranking and Analysis

Ranking: No. 31 out of 100 top prospects in baseball for 2011

Analysis: “Mesoraco went into 2010 as a busted first-round pick, with a composite .240/.311/.368 (BA/OBP/SLG) line across 2½ minor league seasons without ever being especially young for his level. That’s out the window now after he mashed through two levels, repeating one from 2009, and ended the year with two weeks in Triple-A despite playing much of the second half with a badly bruised index finger.

Mesoraco has above-average to plus power already, with strong hands and good hip rotation despite a slight hip drift before his hands get started. Behind the plate, Mesoraco struggled late in the year with receiving, although that might have been because of the finger issue — he doesn’t like to wear a glove or padding inside his catcher’s mitt, so his left index finger took a beating — while his arm strength is good enough to make up for a slow release.

He profiles as an offensive catcher but one who clearly stays behind the plate even with fringy defense. He easily could see the big leagues by the end of the summer.”

By The Baseball Index