Mejia homers in RubberDucks return

Indians No. 2 prospect adds a double; Bradley also goes deep

Akron catcher Francisco Mejia has hit .293/.349/.439 in 329 career Minor League games. (David Monseur/MiLB.com)

By Michael Avallone

May 21, 2017

The end result left something to be desired for Double-A Akron, but one missing piece of the lineup made his impact felt immediately upon his return.Francisco Mejía homered, doubled and drove in two runs in his first game back from the disabled list Saturday, but the visiting RubberDucks fell to

The end result left something to be desired for Double-A Akron, but one missing piece of the lineup made his impact felt immediately upon his return.
Francisco Mejía homered, doubled and drove in two runs in his first game back from the disabled list Saturday, but the visiting RubberDucks fell to Hartford, 6-5, at Dunkin' Donuts Park.

Gameday box score
The No. 2 Indians prospect and Bobby Bradley were instrumental in trying to rally Akron, which fell behind, 6-2, before scoring three times in the eighth inning. Mejia drove in his second run of the night with a one-out double that scored Tyler Krieger. Bradley followed with his seventh homer, a two-run blast over the right-center field wall that trimmed the deficit to a single run.

The RubberDucks continue to miss Indians No. 9 prospect Greg Allen, their catalyst and leadoff hitter who suffered a fractured right wrist on May 7 and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Mejia was reinstated from the DL after missing 11 days with a groin strain.
Despite the injury, MLB.com's No. 35 overall prospect is off to a fine start in his first Double-A campaign. The 21-year-old is batting .302/.340/.500 with 12 extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in 22 games. Mejia hit a career-high .342 with 11 homers and 80 RBIs with Class A Lake County and Class A Advanced Lynchburg in 2016, a season that featured a 50-game hitting streak.
While Bradley has yet to get untracked in his first six weeks in the Eastern League, the 20-year-old is second on the club in homers and RBIs (20) after a 29-homer, 102-RBI campaign with Lynchburg. The Mississippi native has hit 71 roundtrippers and driven in 264 runs in 313 Minor League games.

Dorssys Paulino doubled home Bradley in the second following his leadoff walk. The 22-year-old finished with a season-high three hits and a walk.

Josh Fuentes hit a solo homer and Dillon Thomas cracked a three-run shot for the Yard Goats.
Rockies No. 22 prospect Parker French (3-3) got win after allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts in six innings.

Michael Avallone is a contributor to MiLB.com. Followhim on Twitter @MavalloneMiLB.