The best dogs from Bark at the Park for the El Paso Chihuahuas game

Bill Knight | El Paso Times

Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas

You are just 22, barely out of those troublesome teen years. You are in a different country, speaking a different language. And you are the pride and joy of the Cleveland Indians, one of the most promising young prospects in the wide world of baseball.

And then you are traded, then you are in a new organization, a new city and you move quickly, leaving your wife and one-year-old son behind.

It is an old story in the world of baseball, an almost-every-day happening. But when you are 22 and soaring and it happens to you, it is a shock to the system.

"I was surprised," Francisco Mejia said quietly.

Best catcher in minor league baseball

Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas

Mejia is ranked as the No. 1 catching prospect in baseball and the No. 15 prospect overall by MLB.com. He was ranked as the top minor league prospect in the Cleveland Indian organization.

One day he was playing in Triple-A Columbus and had made a few quick visits to the grand show with the Indians. Boom. The next day he is traveling to El Paso.

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Cleveland is running away with the American League Central division but the Indians needed bullpen help. They traded their prize prospect to the San Diego Padres for relievers Adam Cimber and Brad Hand.

Inspired by Texas Rangers legend Ivan Rodriguez

And so here is the 22-year-old, born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the shadows of a ball park with visions of Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez dancing in his young head.

Chihuahua manager Rod Barajas and his staff are giving Mejia a few days to get adjusted, to get past the sudden shift in his career path. He joined the team Friday but is not expected to see his first action with the Chihuahuas until Tuesday in Colorado Springs. In the end, though, Mejia is right where he left off — just one phone call away from the grand stage.

"I was surprised, but I like it here," he said. "I like the team, the staff, the coaches."

There is something else the 5-foot-10, 185-pound young man likes.

Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas

"I want to play more catcher," he said. "They (the Indians) tried to play me at third base and in the outfield.I love it behind the plate."

He has always loved catching.

"I lived near a ball park (in Bani, Dominican Republic)," he said. "I just liked to catch the ball. Everyone was always talking about Ivan Rodriguez and he was my inspiration. I just always liked that position."

Francisco Mejia statistics

Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas

Mejia signed as an 18-year-old in 2013 and since that moment he has been known as a good hitter with a strong throwing arm. He has soared through the Indian organization and it is almost certain he was expecting to be their next catcher.

Last year, in the Double-A Eastern League, he hit .297 with 21 doubles, 14 home runs. He also caught everyone in baseball's attention by hitting safely in 50 straight games — the longest such streak in minor league baseball since 1963.

Smiling, he said, "I really didn't think about it until I got to 40 games. Then my mom called me and said everyone was talking about it on social media. My agent called and told me to just keep doing what I was doing."

He did.

Throughout his minor league career, Mejia is hitting .291 with 111 doubles, 12 triples and 47 home runs and he is obviously still growing into his power.

'Comfortable in El Paso'

Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas

Chris Antonetti, president of Cleveland's baseball operations, told MLB.com at the end of last season, "He did an extraordinary job at continuing his development. Offensively and especially defensively, the way he led the staff, some of the nuances of catching."

Mejia just wants to continue that development — now in El Paso.

"I just want to bring a great defensive presence behind the plate," he said softly. "It gave me a little more confidence to play a few games in the Major Leagues with Cleveland. But now I'm here and I'm looking forward to it. I know some of the guys ... (Luis) Urias, (Franmil) Reyes, Franchy Cordero.

"I feel comfortable in El Paso," he said with a small smile. "It is like I am in the Dominican. Everyone speaks Spanish. Good weather, too."

Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas

Mejia said his wife Sorivel and his young son, Francisco Miguel, will join him soon.

Of course, this is baseball and baseball requires a lot of movement. Mejia could be moving again.

When he was obtained, San Diego general manager A.J. Preller tweeted, "He had two brief stints in the Majors and we'll take the next two weeks at the Triple-A level to evaluate him and see where we're at at the big league level. He's the guy that's right on the doorstep of the big leagues."

And so the wondrous journey of Francisco Mejia continues ... with a detour through El Paso.

The baseball world makes moves every day. But, if you are one of those who just got moved for the first time, just a 22-year-old who thought he would be with Cleveland forever, it is a bit of a shock.

But, in the end, it is still just baseball, just the game Mejia grew up with, there in the shadows of a ball park in the Dominican Republic.

And he is ready to play.

And, as he was in Columbus, he remains just one phone call away from that grandest of baseball stages.