Oops! All Astros: Sandy Mejia

Oops, we’re reviewing all of the Astros. There were 316 to appear at some level of Houston’s system in 2022.

Sandy Mejía is a six-foot, 160 lb. right-handed pitcher from Monte Plata, DR. Born on January 3, 2004, he signed with Houston to his first professional contract just after his 18th birthday, on January 15. Prior to the start of the abbreviated rookie leagues, he was assigned to the DSL Astros Blue squad.

Through his first professional season, Mejia pitched in 12 games, starting seven of them. His best performance, by far, was on July 13 in a 2-0 Astros win over the DSL Mariners. Mejia held the M’s scoreless through 7 ²⁄₃ innings, striking out 12 while allowing only three hits. On July 26, in a 3-2 win over the DSL Marlins, he collected six strikeouts in three scoreless innings, giving up just one hit. In a 4-2 win against the DSL KC Glass on August 22, he struck out four and retired all but one batter (solo home run) in four innings.

Still 18-years-old at the conclusion of the season, Mejia held opponents to a .206/.337/.322 slashline. His elevated OBP (relative to his AVG) was due to his surrendering 29 walks in 40 ²⁄₃ innings. He also struck out 44, going 2-3 with a 4.20 ERA, but uncorked 11 wild pitches.

Mejia showed plenty enough to stick in Houston’s system, perhaps enough even to see a promotion to the Low-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Most likely, however, he’ll probably join one of the Astros affiliates in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League to begin 2023.