Prospect Report: Matt Mervis Hits Two Home Runs
Image credit: Matt Mervis (Bill Mitchell)
MESA, Ariz. — Although his two home runs made more noise, Matt Mervis said his first at-bat of the night primed him for the outburst in the later innings.
In his first at-bat, the hulking Cubs first baseman lashed a double to center field to get his Mesa club on the board. Jasson Dominguez, who had walked a batter prior, scored on the play.
“I think the double to left-center actually got me locked in,” Mervis said. “I’ve been off fastballs a little bit since I got down here and staying on a two-strike fastball the other way (on the double) I think kept my direction through the middle, and that helped me pull the offspeeds (for the home runs).
After the double, Mervis clubbed towering home runs to right-center field in both the third and seventh innings, off of Chase Solesky and Jake Gozzo, respectively.
Mervis, whom the Cubs signed as an undrafted free agent after the five-round 2020 draft, authored one of the biggest minor league outputs in 2022. The 24-year-old Duke alum rocketed from High-A to Triple-A while bashing the baseball at every stop.
All this came after a 2021 season when he posted a .677 OPS spent mostly at Low-A. He worked hard over the offseason to overhaul his swing, and the results were smashing.
His 36 home runs were third in the minors, his 40 doubles were tied for second, his 158 hits placed seventh and his extra-base hits (78) and total bases (310) each were tops in the sport.
“I’m appreciative of the struggles that I went through,” Mervis said. “Obviously the game is hard. There’s ups and downs, it’s gonna beat you up sometimes. So obviously, I had to make some adjustments after (2021) and I really focused on in the offseason on what I wanted to work on.”
Big change requires big changes, so Mervis set to work overhauling his swing. He used the plan the Cubs prescribed as well as help from his longtime hitting coach Keith Gordon to become more of a consistent hitter.
“I was really mechanical in 2021 I think that kind of got me into some trouble during the games,” he said. “I tried to hit pitches a certain way instead of just trusting the work that I put in before the game and just trusting myself.”
Both of Mervis’ home runs were booming shots pulled deep into the night at Mesa’s home of Sloan Park, which also serves as the Cubs’ spring training home. Mervis didn’t get an at-bat during big league spring training, but that’s sure to change next season.
There were 734 fans at Thursday’s game. Come March, that total will be much, much bigger. And if Mervis goes deep, the noise from his bat will likely only be rivaled by the cheers from the crowd.
Zack Gelof, 2B, Athletics: It was an Athletic Coast Conference kind of night in Mesa. Along with two home runs from Duke product Matt Mervis, the Solar Sox got two more longballs from Gelof, each accompanied by a noticeable “Wahoowa!” from the crowd. The blasts were Gelof’s first two home runs of the Fall League. The 22-year-old slugged 18 home runs in the regular season, which he split between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Nashville.
Heston Kjerstad, OF, Orioles: Kjerstad opened the Scottsdale scoring on Thursday by lofting a home run the other way out to left-center field against Surprise. The blast was Kjerstad’s third of the fall, tying him with Mesa’s Matt Mervis for the AFL lead. Overall, the second pick in the 2020 draft went 3-for-6 with a double and four RBIs. His 14 hits are the most in the Fall League.
Easton Lucas, LHP, Orioles: The 26-year-old, who was acquired by Baltimore from Miami in a 2019 trade for Jonathan Villar, opened eyes on Thursday with a pair of shutout innings with five strikeouts. He paired a hoppy fastball in the 93-95 mph range with a snappy slider and got six whiffs in 27 pitches, good for a mark of 12.7%.
Jordan Lawlar, SS, D-backs: The sixth overall pick from the 2021 draft was excellent in his first full season as a pro, after a debut campaign that was limited by a shoulder injury to just two games. He advanced from Low-A to Double-A and had nearly as many stolen bases (39) as extra-base hits (41). On Thursday, he propelled Salt River to its second straight win by going 3-for-4 with a triple.
| ORG | CLASS | PLAYER | AB | R | H | RBI | AVG | NOTES |
| ARI | WIN | Jordan Lawlar, SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0.333 | 3B (1), SB (3), |
| ATL | WIN | Justyn-Henry Malloy, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.370 | BB (9), |
| ATL | WIN | Cal Conley, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0.308 | 3B (1), 2 BB (6), SB (4), |
| BAL | WIN | Reed Trimble, OF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | 3 BB (4), |
| BAL | WIN | Heston Kjerstad, OF | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.368 | 2B (4), HR (3), |
| BOS | WIN | Stephen Scott, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0.364 | HR (2), E (1), |
| CHC | WIN | Owen Caissie, OF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.200 | BB (1), |
| CHC | WIN | BJ Murray, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.167 | HR (1), BB (1), |
| CHC | WIN | Matt Mervis, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0.263 | 2B (2), 2 HR (3), |
| CIN | WIN | Noelvi Marte, SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.192 | 2 BB (4), E (1), |
| CIN | WIN | Matt McLain, SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.200 | 2 BB (10), SB (2), |
| CIN | WIN | Rece Hinds, SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0.250 | HR (2), |
| CLE | WIN | David Fry, C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.385 | 2B (1), BB (2), E (1), |
| COL | WIN | Grant Lavigne, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.409 | 2B (5), BB (4), SB (1), |
| COL | WIN | Braxton Fulford, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.250 | 2B (1), |
| COL | WIN | Zac Veen, OF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.455 | |
| CWS | WIN | Moises Castillo, SS | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.526 | 2B (4), BB (3), |
| DET | WIN | Parker Meadows, CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.222 | |
| DET | WIN | Colt Keith, 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.353 | 2B (2), BB (7), |
| DET | WIN | Gage Workman, SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.050 | E (1), |
| HOU | WIN | Scott Schreiber, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.273 | 2B (2), |
| KC | WIN | John Rave, OF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.294 | |
| LAA | WIN | Kyren Paris, SS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.143 | |
| LAA | WIN | Werner Blakely, SS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.182 | 2B (2), E (1), |
| LAD | WIN | Jose Ramos, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.545 | |
| MIA | WIN | Victor Mesa, CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.217 | CS (1), |
| MIL | WIN | Jeferson Quero, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | |
| MIL | WIN | Tyler Black, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.267 | BB (6), SB (3), |
| MIL | WIN | Zavier Warren, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.440 | |
| MIN | WIN | Austin Martin, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.464 | BB (4), CS (1), |
| NYM | WIN | Kevin Kendall, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.310 | 2B (1), BB (6), |
| NYM | WIN | Stanley Consuegra, OF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.222 | 2B (1), |
| NYY | WIN | Jasson Dominguez, CF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.182 | BB (7), |
| OAK | WIN | Zack Gelof, SS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.259 | 2 HR (2), |
| OAK | WIN | Michael Guldberg, OF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.167 | BB (2), |
| PHI | WIN | Johan Rojas, CF | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.364 | 2 BB (4), 2 SB (5), |
| PIT | WIN | Nick Gonzales, 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.381 | HR (1), BB (3), |
| PIT | WIN | Henry Davis, C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.235 | |
| PIT | WIN | Jacob Gonzalez, 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
| PIT | WIN | Blake Sabol, OF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.200 | BB (3), |
| SD | WIN | Tirso Ornelas, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.217 | |
| SD | WIN | Jackson Merrill, SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | |
| SEA | WIN | Robert Perez, 1B | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.179 | 3B (1), BB (5), |
| SEA | WIN | Jose Caballero, SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.417 | 2 BB (4), |
| SF | WIN | Logan Wyatt, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.412 | BB (8), |
| SF | WIN | Luis Matos, OF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.258 | |
| TB | WIN | Blake Hunt, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.412 | 2B (1), BB (4), E (2), |
| TB | WIN | Ronny Simon, 2B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.267 | BB (5), |
| TEX | WIN | Luisangel Acuna, SS | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.300 | 3B (1), E (2), |
| TEX | WIN | Trevor Hauver, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.200 | 2 BB (7), E (1), |
| TEX | WIN | Cody Freeman, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.364 | |
| TOR | WIN | Samad Taylor, 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.190 | BB (2), |
| TOR | WIN | Tanner Morris, SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.286 | BB (2), |
| TOR | WIN | Addison Barger, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.217 | |
| WAS | WIN | Drew Millas, C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.400 | BB (2), |
| ORG | CLASS | PLAYER | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA | NOTES |
| ARI | WIN | Chad Patrick, RHP | 3.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10.13 | |
| ATL | WIN | Austin Smith, RHP | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | |
| BAL | WIN | Nolan Hoffman, RHP | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6.35 | |
| BAL | WIN | Nick Richmond, RHP | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.23 | |
| BOS | WIN | Aaron Perry, RHP | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.25 | |
| CHC | WIN | Sheldon Reed, RHP | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.60 | Sv (1) |
| CHC | WIN | Bailey Horn, LHP | 2.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| CIN | WIN | Jacob Gozzo, RHP | 1.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11.25 | L (0-1) |
| CLE | WIN | Hunter Stanley, RHP | 3.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1.35 | |
| CWS | WIN | Sammy Peralta, LHP | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| CWS | WIN | Chase Solesky, RHP | 3.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9.00 | |
| DET | WIN | Jack Anderson, RHP | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 | W (1-0) |
| HOU | WIN | Rhett Kouba, RHP | 3.0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7.20 | |
| LAA | WIN | Ivan Armstrong, RHP | 0.1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 27.00 | |
| LAD | WIN | Tanner Dodson, RHP | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7.71 | |
| LAD | WIN | Hyun-il Choi, RHP | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10.38 | |
| OAK | WIN | Colin Peluse, RHP | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | |
| PIT | WIN | Omar Cruz, LHP | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.59 | |
| PIT | WIN | Tahnaj Thomas, RHP | 0.2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17.18 | |
| SD | WIN | Alek Jacob, RHP | 1.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3.18 | |
| SD | WIN | Jordan Guerrero, RHP | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 63.00 | |
| SF | WIN | Will Bednar, RHP | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16.20 | |
| STL | WIN | Kyle Leahy, RHP | 1.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19.50 | |
| TB | WIN | Sandy Gaston, RHP | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16.88 | W (1-0) |
| TB | WIN | Alexander Ayala, LHP | 0.1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19.29 | |
| TEX | WIN | Daniel Robert, RHP | 0.0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | L (0-2) | |
| TEX | WIN | Nick Starr, RHP | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | |
| TEX | WIN | Grant Wolfram, LHP | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.80 | |
| WAS | WIN | Amos Willingham, RHP | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10.80 | L (0-1) |
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