Mercedes, signed by the A’s as a non-drafted free agent in February of 2013, burst onto the scene to start his first campaign above Rookie ball, slashing .370/.417/.556 across his first 14 games with the Lake Monsters. While his production has steadily waned, the 20-year-old still features one of the better power bats in the NYPL, owning a .181 ISO that ranks fourth-best among qualifiers. Mercedes’ tall, strong build yielded exclusively pull-side power in BP and in-game, and his swing generates natural loft and topspin off the barrel. Though his plate discipline metrics have been generally poor (0.29 BB/K; 27.5% strikeout rate), Mercedes showed some selectivity and patience in the game and didn’t expand his zone in either of his two plate appearances.
