After a brutal 0-for-19 start to the season, Joey Meneses turned things around in Triple-A and is batting .395 with 26 RBI in June — earning a call-up with the A's facing a stretch of left-handed pitching
The 2026 season did not start off well for Joey Meneses. In fact, it started with him going 0-for-19 to begin the season, hitless through his first four games.
At the beginning of the season, he wasn't feeling great. Then he had a meeting with the hitting coach in Triple-A which has helped to propel him to landing with the A's on Sunday.
In June Meneses has been nearly unstoppable, batting .395 with a .434 OBP, three home runs, eight doubles, and a remarkable 26 RBI in 18 games — numbers that earned him Sunday's call-up.
Meneses has batted .348 in the minors this season with a .401 OBP and a .944 OPS. That's the highest OPS he's had in the minors in his career, which goes back to 2011. Across that span he has played in 287 big-league games and has a career .274 average with a .322 OBP and a .730 OPS.
A lot of those numbers are buoyed by his incredible debut in 2022 where he hit .324 with a .930 OPS across 56 games with the Washington Nationals. The following season he was pretty close to his current career numbers over a full year, but in 2024 his BABIP dropped below .300 and the rest of his numbers fell too.
He finished with a .593 OPS in 76 games before he was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, and he elected free agency following that season. He spent 2025 in the minors with the New York Mets, then elected free agency after the season.
He said before Sunday's game that his agent told him the A's were interested in signing him to a minor-league deal, but with Nick Kurtz cemented at first base, he'd likely have to start the season in the minor leagues.
They decided that playing in the Pacific Coast League for the first time in his career was worth a shot. With Brent Rooker's injury landing him on the IL, there was an opening for Meneses to get the call, and with the A's projecting a number of upcoming left-handers they'll have to face, Meneses figures to get plenty of at-bats.
"For Joey, he's earned this opportunity," A's manager Mark Kotsay said after Sunday's loss. "We got a stretch here where we might see six lefties in nine games, and for Joey that's a good run of playing time. Joey's been playing a lot of first base. He's really good over there. [It gives us a chance] to get Kurtz off his feet and possibly use Kurtz in that DH spot as well."
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