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Prospect watch: Tatis Jr. injures left thumb, Mejia assigned to Triple-A
San Diego Padres top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. will miss some time (potentially the rest of the season) after injuring his left thumb during San Antonio's 7-4 win on Thursday.
After getting hit by a pitch in the top of the 5th, the 19-year-old attempted to swipe second base, sliding headfirst. He was called out and grimaced in pain, but played the bottom of the inning in the field before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the 6th.
Although the injury did not appear to be serious at the time, concern for Tatis Jr. escalated on Friday morning. He will see a specialist this weekend in San Diego to undergo further evaluation.
"We'll have more information I think here this weekend," GM A.J. Preller stated Friday morning on MLB Network Radio. "We'll look at potentially a fracture, some ligament damage. Any of those things, we'll get a sense here coming out of the MRI over the weekend. They want some of the swelling to go down and then get an idea where it goes from there.... He's probably going to miss some time."
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Tatis Jr., 19, is hitting .286/.355/.507 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI this season in 88 games for Double-A San Antonio. He was unlikely to debut with the big league club this season even before the injury occurred, given service time and 40-man roster issues.
Mejia assigned to Triple-A
As expected, C Francisco Mejia, acquired via trade from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, has been assigned to Triple-A El Paso to begin his Padres career.
The No. 15 prospect in baseball is expected to report to the Chihuahuas tonight. It is unknown as to whether he is in El Paso's lineup tonight vs. the Sacramento River Cats (Giants).
Mejia was batting .279 with seven home runs for Triple-A Columbus prior to being dealt to the Padres. In June, the switch-hitter slashed .455/.476/.717 with a 1.193 OPS; hitting 14 doubles, four home runs and driving in 23.
"We'll take the next few weeks at the Triple-A level to evaluate, see where things are with him (Mejia), see where things are with our big league club," Preller said in a conference call following the trade.
"He's a guy that's right there on the doorstep of the big leagues."
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