It was also enough for Mengel to make the all-conference first team, even with his team finishing fifth overall in the conference.
That performance was also enough for the Blue Jays to select Mengel in that June's draft. But it wasn't enough for a long career as a pro. Mengel's professional career lasted just four seasons, making it to AA, but no higher.
Mengel's pro career began that year with his selection by Toronto in the 43rd round of the draft out of Cal State L.A.
At Cal State L.A., Mengel hit a double in a January 1989 game, knocking in a run. In the field, Mengel recorded what is still tied as the most putouts in a game in school history May 13, 1988, with 18.
With the Blue Jays, Mengel signed by late-June and was assigned the club's rookie mini-camp. Soon, he arrived in the Pioneer League, at rookie Medicine Hat. He hit .238 there, over 42 games.
For 1990, Mengle moved to single-A Myrtle Beach, improving his average to .273. He also hit five home runs and knocked in 47.
He played 1991 at high-A Dunedin, winning league Player of the Week honors in early-June. It was a week in which he hit .429, picking up 12 hits, scoring 7 times and knocking in 10, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
The rest of 1991, though, Mengel's average dropped back to a .239 average, a single home run and 32 RBI. In a July game, Mengel scored the only run in a 1-0 win, crossing the plate on a wild pitch.
Mengel's final season came in 1992 with a promotion to AA Knoxville. He got into 89 games, hitting .238. Mengel picked up one of his 22 RBI in an August game, but his career ended with season's end.
- Los Angeles Times, May 25, 1989: Muir Girls Send Powerful Team to Masters Track Meet
- Orlando Sentinel, June 9, 1991: Royals Go South To Aid Youngster
Players/Coaches Featured:1,351
Made the Majors: 720 - 53.3%
Never Made Majors: 631-46.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 312
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 185
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