Even tho it's still the off-season, @Smichaelis9is on the hill slinging heat.
I would definitely add with Mendez: even though his swing is considered 'choppy' (as you adeptly point out), his approach is anything but (let's also not forget this 6'3" height is still relatively new and shows some in his swing plane - he was 5'11" when first signed). He is extremely poised in the box and more often than not works the count and is very capable of extending his AB's with savvy foul balls. His BB:K ratio speaks to this (62:70, respectively). AND, just as Cargo was red hot before his untimely ACL shelved him for the remainder of 2022, let's not forget Mendez was playing his best ball of his 2022 season before he literally ran full bore into the right field wall in late July. I was watching that game. I sincerely hope to never see something like that again. He was batting 0.215 entering July and left the month (albeit injured) batting 0.260. Batting 0,356 in 90 AB's is nothing to sniff at - especially from another bat that flashes as a true lead-off. Let's also not forget: the same Baseball America people who were lauding Jackson Chourio early in 2022, are the same who were bringing up Mendez unprovoked.