27 Francisco Mejia C

Mejia is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Braves.

Mejia was behind the plate Tuesday and Wednesday, the first time all season he has received consecutive starts. With five strikeouts in seven at-bats between those contests, Mejia didn't capitalize on the opportunity and still looks to be the Padres' No. 2 backstop behind Austin Hedges.

Mejia is in the lineup, catching and hitting eighth against the Braves on Tuesday.

Austin Hedges will head to the bench to make way for Mejia. The 23-year-old has appeared in 13 games so far this season, hitting a meager .158 in 38 at-bats.

Mejia is starting at catcher and hitting second against the Reds on Saturday.

The 23-year-old backstop hasn't been able to get it going at the dish, hitting just .143 over 28 at-bats, but he'll slot in for Austin Hedges and man the two-spot in the order for this contest against the Reds. He'll look to get on track offensively, but also be more effective in stopping the run game, as the Rockies stole five bases on him in his last start on April 17.

Mejia went hitless and struck out once in three at-bats Tuesday in the Padres' 8-2 loss to the Rockies.

The unproductive night at the dish sunk Mejia's OPS to .386 for the season, but that was the least of the young backstop's problems Tuesday. The Rockies ran wild on Mejia all night, going 5-for-5 on steal attempts. Defense has never been Mejia's calling card, but he'll need to at least provide a token threat of controlling the run game to have any shot of unseating Austin Hedges as the team's top catcher.

Mejia is catching and hitting eighth against the Rockies on Tuesday.

Mejia slots in for Austin Hedges for the second game of this series with Colorado. The 23-year-old hasn't gotten going yet at the plate coming off a standout spring training that saw him log a 1.005 OPS, as he's hitting just .160 over his first 25 at-bats. He'll look to get on track against Rockies starter Jon Gray.