ST. PETERSBURG — Victor Mesa Jr. has done so much to help the Rays in so many ways since getting called up in late May that it was only fair he took a moment — actually two at-bats — Sunday to take a shot at a rare individual achievement.
Having tripled in two runs in the first inning, singled and scored during a four-run third, then hustled for a double on a 180-foot pop-up in the fourth that created another run, Mesa took aim at the home run he needed to complete what would have been the third cycle in Rays history.
“I’m not gonna lie,” he said after the 14-4 win over the Astros. “Since I hit the double, I know that that was the missing one.”
That he fell short — flying out and striking out in his final two at-bats, acknowledging he came out of his normal approach in trying to go deep — was surprising only because Mesa has done so much good, enough to win American League Player of the Week honors on Monday.
“Victor Mesa’s on fire right now,” manager Kevin Cash said, “doing a lot of special things at the plate, seeing the ball well and picking up some timely hits with guys on base.”
During a nine-game hitting streak, Mesa has a .484 average (15-for-31), seven extra-base hits, eight RBIs and a 1.478 OPS. That includes his award-winning week, in which he hit .556 with three homers, six RBIs, a .636 on-base percentage and 1.278 slugging percentage over six games.
Over his past 21 games (around a 13-day injured-list stint for a left hamstring strain), he is hitting .377 (26-for-69) with 12 extra-base hits, 13 RBIs and a 1.166 OPS.
In 68 games this season, Mesa is batting. 261 with 22 extra-base hits (including 13 homers), 30 RBIs and an .848 OPS that, among Rays with at least 100 at-bats, is second only to Junior Caminero.
Plus, Mesa, who turned 25 last week, has played smooth defense across the outfield, shown off a tremendous arm and run the bases well. He ranks sixth on the team in WAR per both Baseball Reference (2.8) and FanGraphs (2.5).
“There are a lot of guys on this team that I don’t know where we would be without them, and he’s very much one of them,” baseball operations president Erik Neander said. “He’s exceeded every reasonable expectation you could have for a new player coming into our organization.”
Especially since there didn’t seem to be much of a role for Mesa beyond Triple-A depth when he was acquired from Miami in a small trade the week before spring camp opened.
The Rays had already added three other left-handed-hitting outfielders — signing veteran free agents Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley, and trading for highly rated prospect Jacob Melton — to join returnee Chandler Simpson. They also had multi-positional Richie Palacios available.
Mesa, who’d spent seven years in the Marlins system and had played only 16 games in the majors (and thus still has his rookie status), didn’t do much during his first Rays spring. He was limited by minor injuries and, after a decent start at Triple-A Durham, strained his right hamstring and missed a month.
But when Fraley (who is still out) and righty-hitting Jonny DeLuca were both sidelined in late May, and with Melton on the Triple-A injured list, Mesa got his opportunity and took full advantage of it.
“Loved the talent,” Neander said. “We thought he could really defend, and we thought the bat was showing signs of growth. It’s kind of taken off on us here, and we’re really fortunate for that.”
That appreciation is mutual for Mesa, the son of legendary Cuban manager and former player Victor Mesa, and younger brother of once highly touted prospect Victor Victor Mesa (who got a $5.25 million bonus in 2019 but never made the majors).
“When I got traded over here, I knew it was a good opportunity for me because there’s a lot of other guys that do great here,” Mesa said. “I could tell why right away. It’s impressive all the people here, and that are around here.
“It’s the best thing that could happen in my career.”
In interviews, Mesa makes a point of saying that he hates that it took injuries to others for him to get a chance and he prefers to talk about team success over his own. (He does like to discuss soccer, detailing his idolization of Lionel Messi, which includes having three tattoos of the Argentinian superstar, during this summer’s World Cup.)
“I’m not here to say what I do best. I don’t really like to talk about myself. I think I’m just doing my job,” Mesa said. “I just try to focus on my abilities, on what I can do on the field, and try to be on the field every time.”
Coming up, Mesa said, he appreciated all-around players such as Francisco Lindor, Javy Baez and Fernando Tatis Jr.
“The kind of guy that never got changed out for a pinch-runner or a pinch-hitter or whatever,” Mesa said. “So I always try to do my best on the field to do everything. That’s why I work every day.”
That work has impressed Rays coaches and has paid off, as Mesa has earned a regular spot in the lineup, primarily playing in rightfield. He has gotten some starts against lefties and at times has hit in the middle of the order.
Victor Mesa Jr. hits a single during the third inning of Sunday’s game against the Astros. He came within a home run of hitting for the cycle. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times)
“I just knew he was a very athletic player, kind of one of those guys who’s tooled out — had some pop, can really run, can really defend, great arm,” Cash said. “We’d heard that staying on the field and staying healthy was a little bit of an issue, and we lived a little bit of that. … But once he found good health, we’ve known for some quite some time now he’s a really, really talented player.”
Catcher Liam Hicks, who played with Mesa during his short stint with the Marlins last year, said he didn’t realize how good he was.
“It’s been crazy watching him lately. He’s unreal,” Hicks said. “I hadn’t seen him play a lot. I always knew he was a good hitter but didn’t know how much power he had and then didn’t know how good of an outfielder (he was) and how good of arm he had, too. He’s just all around a really good player.”
And one, hitting coach Chad Mottola said, who puts in the work to be prepared for every situation, whether starting or coming off the bench, dropping a bunt or driving a ball into a gap.
“It’s real,” Mottola said. “This is not a fluke.”
Mesa also brings some intangibles that also are contributing factors to the Rays’ success.
“He plays hard, and he plays with a lot of energy, which I like,” Palacios said. “That’s how I’ve always played, so we kind of feed off each other. …
“We kind of feel that’s our accountability to the team to bring the energy and bring the vibes, as well as playing well. So I love playing with him.”