Yohander Mendez

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #5 prospect in 2018
  Mendez reached Triple-A in 2016 and pitched in two games out of the big league bullpen at the end of the season, but the Rangers sent him to Double-A Frisco in 2017 to have him focus on fastball command. He threw a career-high 150 innings, an important step for his durability given his previous injuries, and came back up to Texas as a September callup. Mendez's bread-and-butter is his 80-84 changeup, a plus pitch he relies on heavily to catch hitters leaning out front for either a whiff or soft contact. For the first 10 starts of the season, the Rangers told Mendez he couldn't throw his changeup until he got to a two-strike count. Mendez already had good control, but the Rangers wanted to emphasize using his 90-95 fastball and hitting his spots with that pitch. The plan worked, as Mendez threw more strikes and missed even more bats in the second half. He throws a fringe-average slider and an occasional curveball that's below-average, but he mostly leans on his fastball/changeup combination. Mendez showed promising signs that he can handle a starter's workload and the Rangers plan to keep him in that role. He should compete for a spot in Texas' rotation in 2018 and could settle in as a back-of-the-rotation starter.
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  Ranked Texas Rangers #2 prospect in 2017
  The Rangers signed Mendez for $1.5 million as a tall, frail 16-year-old throwing in the mid- to upper 80s. He earned three in-season promotions in 2016 and made his major league debut as a September callup. Staying healthy helped Mendez pitch more than 100 innings for the first time in his career. His fastball crept up to sit in the low 90s and touch 95 mph. His calling card is his changeup, which he sells well with good separation off his fastball. It's a plus pitch that consistently fools hitters with empty swings or off balance ones for weak contact. His slider has improved but it's still fringe-average, while he mixes in an occasional get-me-over curveball early in the count. Mendez has smooth arm action, an easy delivery and throws strikes, but he needs to tighten his fastball command, particularly glove side so hitters can't key in on one side of the plate. The Rangers want to keep Mendez in the rotation, so he likely will start the year back at Triple-A Round Rock. He should be back in Texas at some point in 2017, possibly before the all-star break.
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #24 prospect in 2016
  For Mendez, the 2015 season was a success for one reason: He finally stayed healthy. Tall and frail, Mendez had never pitched more than 50 innings in a season since signing with the Rangers for $1.5 million on July 2, 2011. The first three months of the season, Mendez never pitched more than three innings in a start, but in the second half, the Rangers started to let him work deeper into games, with several five-inning starts his maximum. After throwing in the mid-to-upper 80s when he signed as a 16-year-old, Mendez now cruises at 88-91 mph, touching 93. He has an easy delivery with good arm action and throws plenty of strikes. He leans heavily on his plus changeup, which created a lot of awkward swings from low Class A hitters and helped Mendez strike out 10.0 batters per nine innings. His curveball is a fringy pitch that's still inconsistent, though that could improve with mechanical work. Placed on the 40-man roster after the season, Mendez will get a big test in 2016 as the Rangers attempt to stretch him out to 140 innings, with high Class A High Desert where he's likely to start.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Texas League #7 prospect in 2017
  The only prospect to make this list in each of the last two seasons, Mendez ranked No. 19 last year and now jumps inside the top 10. He spent 2016 making stops at four different levels, including a pair of relief appearances in the majors, before spending the entire 2017 season with Frisco prior to a September callup. While Mendez's performance didn't markedly improve from last season, he still showcased a plus changeup that kept hitters from making hard contact. Opponents hit just .228 against him. Mendez doesn't overpower batters with a low-90s fastball, but he mixes and sequences pitches well. He throws a slider and curveball that give him two more average to above-average offspeed offerings to pair with his changeup.
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  Ranked Texas League #19 prospect in 2016
  Coming into the season, Mendez had yet to throw a pitch above low Class A. By September he was pitching in the big leagues after generating bad swings at three different minor league stops. Mendez has been handled cautiously--he has thrown six innings just three times as a pro and has never pitched into the seventh. Mendez profiles as a mid-rotation starter thanks to an average 90-92 mph fastball and a plus changeup. His changeup is a swing-and-miss pitch with deception and some fade. His slider is a get-me-over offering most of the time, but he'll show better feel for it in his best starts as it becomes an average pitch.

• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Mendez has big league experience and spent most of 2018 with Triple-A Round Rock, but the Rangers demoted him to the Carolina League in late June. It’s a troubling sign for Mendez, who is making a mechanical adjustment with his hands to try to locate his fastball better to his glove side. He’s still generally a strike-thrower with enough fastball from the left side to complement a plus changeup that disrupts hitters’ timing.
• December, 2017 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Mendez reached Triple-A in 2016 and pitched in two games out of the big league bullpen at the end of the season, but the Rangers sent him to Double-A Frisco in 2017 to have him focus on fastball command. He threw a career-high 150 innings, an important step for his durability, and came back up to Texas as a September call-up. Scouting Report: Mendez's bread-and-butter is his 80-84 mph changeup, a plus pitch he relies on heavily to catch hitters leaning out front for either a whiff or soft contact. For Mendez's first 10 starts of the season, the Rangers told him he couldn't throw his changeup until he got to a two-strike count. He already had good control, but the Rangers wanted to emphasize hitting his spots with his 90-95 mph fastball. The plan worked. Mendez threw more strikes and missed even more bats in the second half. He throws a fringe-average slider and an occasional curveball that is below-average. The Future: Mendez showed promising signs that he can handle a starter's workload. He should compete for a spot in the Rangers' rotation in 2018 and could settle in as a back-of-the-rotation starter.