This is how Victor Victor Mesa figures into the Miami Marlins’ spring plans and beyond
He hasn’t played a game yet, but he’s already one of the more well-known names at the Miami Marlins’ spring training camp this year.
As he took his first round of batting practice on Monday as the team held its first full-squad workouts, the chants from the small crop of fans at Roger Dean Stadium began.
“Me-sa, Me-sa.”
Yes, Victor Victor Mesa — the 22-year-old outfielder from Cuba and the Marlins’ No. 2 prospect — is here, part of the 68-player contingent at major-league camp. The fanfare came with him, although the timeline for him to get the big leagues is still up in the air.
“We just want to get him on the field and get him playing,” said Michael Hill, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations. “The timeline for any player is up to the player. It’s our job to get them the resources to reach their maximum potential. For us, we want to get him out there and on the field and get him with our coaching staff and start that process toward getting into the big leagues.”
That process started in January when the Marlins held a hitters camp with the team’s top prospects, resumed Monday when position players reported to camp and will continue over the next five weeks in Jupiter and then into the regular season.
Mesa knows the expectations are high as he begins his time with the organization, but he said he is trying to stay away from the outside noise as much as possible.
“My thing is to play baseball and be on the field,” Mesa said through a translator on Monday. ”That’s my primary focus.”
It has been a while since he has been on the field. Mesa and his brother, 17-year-old Victor Mesa Jr., defected from Cuba last May and haven’t played organized baseball in more than a year.
And while Mesa has taken batting practice and kept to a strict routine to stay in shape, he has to get re-acclimated to facing live pitching and get back into the structure of team practices.
The team’s focus as spring training continues and games begin on Saturday: Find out how much he progresses between now and the end of camp.
“We’re going to get him as many at-bats as we can,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We have to get our club ready to play and we’ll go see him in different areas and different situations. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing him on the field. I know it’s going to be a little bit of a process.”
He’s had help along the way. Mesa said most of the veteran players in the clubhouse have approached him to start building a relationship. He also has bonded with third-base coach Fredi Gonzalez, who knew Mesa’s father from their time in Cuba.
“I feel very comfortable,” Mesa said.
Now, he has to stay comfortable on the field.
Mesa said in addition to improving “every single detail” of his game, maintaining his health and improving his stamina to endure the long season ahead.
And hopefully down the road, whether it’s this season, next season or later on, he’ll have the chance to step onto the field at Marlins Park as a member of the major-league roster.
“I believe that the moment will come,” Mesa said. “I just have to work hard.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2019 at 11:10 AM.
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