As Marlins’ Victor Mesa Jr. makes strides, his drive to succeed shows on and off the field

Victor Mesa Jr.’s first at-bat of the week exemplified what the Miami Marlins hope to see from and what the 19-year-old outfielder wants to see from himself.

In the first inning of the Jupiter Hammerheads’ series opener against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, a matchup between the Marlins’ and Minnesota Twins’ Class A affiliates on Tuesday, Mesa hopped away from an inside changeup for Ball 1.

Mesa got back into position, waving the bat over his left shoulder six times as he waited for the pitcher to give his offering. A 93.2 mph fastball rumbles toward the lower-inside corner of the strike zone. Mesa tightens up his bat and swings away.

The ball carries off Mesa’s bat at 105.3 mph and carries through the air until it lands at the base of the wall in right-center field at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium for an RBI double that scores J.D. Orr from first. Mesa claps his hands twice as he sees his teammate slide home.

“I’m just always trying my best,” the left-handed-hitting Mesa said, “and trying to help my team.”

Mesa, the No. 11 overall prospect in the Marlins’ organization according to MLB Pipeline, has his share of success through the first month-and-a-half of the 2021 minor-league season. He leads the Hammerheads with 22 RBI and is tied for the team lead in home runs (two) and triples (two) as he maneuvers through his first year with a full-season affiliate.

Mesa, who along with his brother Victor Victor Mesa signed with the Marlins in October 2018, had a strong professional baseball debut with Miami’s rookie Gulf Coast League affiliate in 2019 (.284 average, 24 RBI, 39 runs in 47 games) and didn’t play last year with the 2020 minor-league season being canceled.

“He’s a ballplayer,” said shortstop prospect Nasim Nunez, who made his pro ball debut with Mesa in the GCL in 2019 and is teammates with him again in Jupiter this year.

But Mesa’s strides extend beyond the baseball field.

All one has to do to understand that is have a conversation with him. Mesa speaks almost fluent English nowadays, a goal of his since he signed with the Marlins. A combination of watching shows on Netflix in English (“The Blacklist” is one of his favorite shows), being around his teammates and language classes led by Marlins education coordinator Emily Glass as well as teachers Pamela Mejia and Colleen Mitchell have helped ease the learning curve.

Why was learning English so important? Mesa has a story for that.

“My English was horrible my first year,” Mesa said. “I knew how to say like, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Where are you from?’ and ‘How old are you?’ During a meeting with [Marlins CEO Derek] Jeter, he came up to a table with a lot of big guy and he told me, ‘Hey, how are you?’ I said, ‘I’m 17 years old.’ Then I said ‘Dammit.’ I was loud enough for every at that table to hear. ... That was a goal that I had this year.”

Mesa has also attracted the attention of some of his veteran counterparts. He spent time this offseason working out with two generations of Marlins staples, Miguel Cabrera and Miguel Rojas, in Miami. Mesa called the chance to work out with them and other veterans like J.D. Martinez “a dream come true.”

“Guys that have been the go-tos in this sport,” Mesa said. “Personally, I’m their friend. I feel good to work with them. That pushed me to work hard every day, to compete, to say ‘OK, I want to be like them.’”

It will take Mesa some time to get there. MLB Pipeline projects his earliest chance for an MLB callup will be in 2023.

But what he has done so far in 2021 is a promising start. His plan to improve his all-around game should only push him forward.

“I like to do everything,” Mesa said. “I like to steal. I like to walk. I like to hit home runs. I like to catch. I try to do everything. I don’t focus my effort on one thing. I’m trying to do my best every day and do what I know. That’s what I’ve been doing for 13, 15 years. Don’t put pressure on myself and try my best to be the best.”

More Marlins minor-league updates

▪ The almost obligatory Jesus Sanchez update: He’s hitting .349 with nine home runs, 28 RBI and 19 runs scored for the Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

▪ 2021 first-round pick Max Meyer threw five scoreless innings in his start for Double A Pensacola last week, dropping his season ERA to 1.59 after seven starts and 34 innings. Jake Eder, Miami’s fourth-round pick in 2021, made it through six innings in his start for Pensacola last week for the first time in his pro ball career.

▪ Offensively in Double A: Outfielders JJ Bleday and Jerar Encarnacion each hit two home runs last week. Bleday had a .304 batting average (7 for 23) and a .950 OPS while Encarnacion had a .273 average (6 for 22) and .937 OPS.

▪ First baseman Troy Johnston only had four hits for Class A Advanced Beloit last week, but three of those were home runs which helped him amass a .983 OPS for the week.