Mercado Named August PCL Player of the Month
Outfielder spend the majority of the month with El Paso before joining the Dodgers at the end of August
Oklahoma City Dodgers newcomer Óscar Mercado was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month for August, Minor League Baseball announced Sept. 5.
Mercado joined Oklahoma City after signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers Aug. 25. He played the majority of August with Triple-A El Paso, appearing in 17 games during the month before playing his final three August games with Oklahoma City.
Mercado, 28, batted .325/.407/.632 in August and led the league in slugging percentage (.717).
He finished second among PCL players in home runs (eight), triples (two), OPS (1.145) and total bases (59). He was third in RBI (27). Mercado also posted 10 multi-hit games, including seven straight from August 10–18.
The native of Cartagena, Columbia began the season in the Cardinals organization with Triple-A Memphis, slashing .278/.361/.421 with 12 doubles and 12 RBI in 34 games before being promoted to St. Louis. He appeared in 20 games with the Cardinals, hitting five RBI May 21 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, before eventually being designated for assignment July 3.
Mercado then signed a minor league deal with San Diego July 7 and slashed .339/399./.669 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 37 games with El Paso before opting out Aug. 21.
He was originally selected by St. Louis in the second round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Gaither High School in Tampa, Fla.
He is the fourth Oklahoma City Dodgers player to receive a monthly league honor this season following Matt Andriese being named May’s PCL Pitcher of the Month and Michael Busch and Mike Montgomery being named July’s PCL Player and Pitcher of the Month respectively.
