Alex Meyer Stats & Scouting Report

IP	95
ERA	4.642
WHIP	1.463
BB/9	5.874
SO/9	10.137

Full name Alex John Meyer
Born 01/03/1990 in Greensburg, IN
Profile Ht.: 6'9" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Kentucky
Debut 06/26/2015
Drafted in the 1st round (23rd overall) by the Washington Nationals in 2011 (signed for $2,000,000).

View Draft Report

The Red Sox offered Meyer $2 million as a 20th-round pick out of high school three years ago. While he had the arm strength to merit first-round money, most scouts believed he would need time to improve his secondary pitches, command and maturity. They were proven correct when he went 6-7, 6.34 in his first two seasons at Kentucky. Meyer started making the transition from pitcher to thrower this year, and as a result he could go in the first 10 picks. He's as intimidating as ever, a 6-foot-9, 220-pounder who works at 95-96 mph and can scrape triple digits with his fastball. His slider gives him a second plus-plus pitch at times, though it's still more of a chase pitch than a true strike. He also has unveiled an effective changeup. The Wildcats have helped Meyer repeat his delivery better, though that's still an issue at times because his levers are so long. His command may never be more than average, but it's a lot better than it was in high school. So too is his ability to compete. Meyer still isn't a finished product, but the huge strides he has made this spring have been encouraging. He finished strong, outdueling projected Vanderbilt first-rounder Sonny Gray with a five-hit shutout in early May and beating then-No. 6 ranked Florida in his final start of the year.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

The 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft, Meyer has battled injuries and control issues and been traded twice, first by the Nationals to the Twins for Denard Span, and then to the Angels in the Ricky Nolasco-Hector Santiago swap in August 2016.He pitched a total of just 54 innings in 2016 because of recurring shoulder issues. Meyer lowered his arm slot as a pro due to a biceps injury, so the Angels worked to get his release point back to the higher slot he used in college. They also helped the 6-foot-9 righty refine his mechanics to help his fastball control and keep him from pulling off on his front side. Meyer's best pitch is a sinking four-seam fastball with tail that averages 95-96 mph and in the past touched triple digits. He complements it with a hard mid-80s knuckle curveball that gets swings and misses. Meyer's circle changeup with armside fade is a hard pitch around 90 mph, while a sinker with tail generates plenty of ground balls. If Meyer can stay healthy and improve his mechanics, he will be in the Angels' rotation in 2017 and beyond.
Stunned to learn he was the only piece heading back to the Twins in the trade that sent center fielder Denard Span to the Nationals after the 2012 season, Meyer has been unable to justify that faith thus far. Signed for $2 million as a first-round pick in 2011, Meyer joined fellow ex-Kentucky Wildcats Taylor Rogers and Logan Darnell as Twins pitching prospects. Meyer missed 10 weeks with a shoulder strain in 2013 and a tired shoulder nixed a planned September callup in 2014. Converted to a relief role last May after command issues surfaced again, he stayed healthy but his weeklong stay in the majors went poorly. Largely due to his towering frame, Meyer continues to struggle with repeating his delivery. Along with nagging command issues, Meyer's confidence frequently wanes and his lack of mound presence has become a concern. Even out of the rotation, his four-seam fastball sits at 95-98 mph and has touched 100 mph. He mixes in a low-90s sinker with good armside run and a power knuckle-curve at 84-87 mph. After making progress with his changeup in 2014, Meyer seemed to lose feel for the pitch. Whether a starter or reliever, the clock is ticking on his ability to convert all that potential into something useful.
Acquired from the Nationals in a straight-up trade for Denard Span, Meyer has spent the past two years marinating in the upper reaches of the system. He missed 10 weeks with a strained throwing shoulder in 2013, then remained healthy in 2014 until mild shoulder fatigue in his final start at Triple-A Rochester kept him from an expected September callup. A towering 6-foot-9 and gangly, Meyer still struggles at times to repeat his delivery. Control remains an issue, as shown by a walk rate of 4.4 per nine innings. On the plus side, Meyer led all Twins starters with 10.6 strikeouts per nine, thanks to a double-plus four-seam fastball that sits at 95-98 mph and has touched 100. He mixes in a low-90s sinker with good armside run and a power knuckle-curve that shows good depth and finish at 84-87 mph. With the help of pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen, Meyer altered his changeup grip to more of a pitchfork style and had success turning over the pitch and generating sink and fade. Meyer will be 25 when he reports to spring training, and the Twins were ready to bring him to the majors in a relief role last September until he showed signs of fatigue after throwing a career-high 130 innings. Soon enough he will join fellow 20-somethings Kyle Gibson and Trevor May in a rotation that needs all the help it can get.
Even Meyer was shocked when he heard he was the only piece the Nationals had to give up to get Denard Span after the 2012 season. Signed in 2011 for the same $2 million he rejected from the Red Sox out of high school, Meyer is heir to a prominent Ford dealership outside Indianapolis. He came down with a strained throwing shoulder on June 1 and missed 10 weeks. He made up for lost time at instructional league and at the Arizona Fall League. Armed with both the best fastball and best curveball in the organization, Meyer also has made significant progress with his changeup. His four-seam fastball sits at 95-96 mph and touched 100 five times in the first inning during one AFL start. He mixes in a 92-95 mph sinker with good armside run. His power knuckle-curve comes in at 84-87 mph and shows good depth and finish. His changeup has good sinking action and projects to be above-average. Meyer is 6-foot-9 and with such long levers, maintaining body control can be a challenge at times, but he continues to make progress in that area. He left instructional league more confident than ever in his overall command. Despite his stature, he holds runners and fields his position well. After waiting years to get their hands on such a powerful arm, the Twins will continue to exercise caution with Meyer. He almost certainly will open the year at Triple-A Rochester, but a first-half promotion is certainly possible, if not likely.
In his first professional season, Meyer showed the talent that had prompted the Red Sox to offer him $2 million out of high school and the Nationals to sign him for the same amount three years later after drafting him 23rd overall in 2011. He made his pro debut in 2012, ranking second among Washington farmhands in ERA (2.86) and strikeouts (139) while pitching at two Class A stops and earning a trip to the Futures Game. The Nationals had been looking for a center fielder and the Twins desperately needed pitching, so they swapped Meyer for Denard Span in November. Like many tall pitchers, Meyer struggled to repeat his mechanics consistently in college, but he did a good job staying tall and creating more downward angle last season, improving his fastball command. He also learned to trust his electric stuff and to avoid overthrowing. Meyer's best pitch is a 95-97 mph four-seam fastball that bumps 99 mph, and he mixes in a 92-95 mph two-seamer with good armside run and sink at times. He throws a power slider with a knuckle-curve grip at 84-87 mph, getting good depth and late, hard finish. His slider has a chance to be a plus-plus pitch, though it still flattens out occasionally. His straight changeup needs more consistency, but it has good sinking action and a chance to become an above-average offering. Meyer has solid control, but it remains to be seen if he'll develop the command to be a frontline starter. His size, stuff and improvement make him a key piece for the pitching-poor Twins, who will send him to Double-A.
Meyer turned down $2 million from the Red Sox as a 20th-round pick out of high school in 2008. He struggled in his first two seasons at Kentucky before coming on strong as a junior in 2011. The Nationals matched the $2 million he once declined to sign him as the 23rd overall pick. Meyer sat at 94-97 mph and broke 100 on occasion with his four-seam fastball last spring, though he topped out at 93 in instructional league. He mixes in a 91-93 mph two-seamer with above-average life when it's down in the zone. He uses a knuckle-curve grip to deliver an 82-88 mph slider that's a wipeout pitch at times. He also has improving feel for his 84-86 mph changeup. As with most tall pitchers, repeating his delivery is key for Meyer. He tends to rotate his torso too early, and he must do a better job staying over the rubber and on line to the plate. His arm slot also varies from three-quarters to low three-quarters. He has a ways to go to master his mechanics and his command, but it's encouraging that he works around the strike zone. Meyer could be an ace starter or a flamethrowing reliever in the mold of Daniel Bard. He'll likely debut in low Class A.

Minor League Top Prospects

Meyer throws his fastball consistently in the mid-90s with the occasional reading of 98 mph. The combination of sink and downhill angle on the tall righty's heater allows him to generate a healthy share of groundballs. If not for a season-ending trip to the Rochester disabled list with shoulder inflammation, Meyer probably would have made his big league debut in September. Meyer couples his plus fastball with a quality mid-80s slider, at-times-average changeup and a deceptive knuckle-curveball. He tied for the IL lead with Durham's Nate Karns with 153 strikeouts, but he must improve his control--he walked 4.4 per nine innings this season--to avoid lengthy at-bats. Meyer's power arsenal could make him a mid-rotation starter (or better) if he repeats his delivery and improves his control.
Even after being limited to 78 innings, Meyer still managed to whiff more than 100 batters at two levels, most of which came in New Britain. His bread and butter is a heater that sits in the mid-90s and can touch as high as 98 mph. The fastball can lack life, though, and he has a tendency to leave it up in the zone. He complements it mainly with a curveball, but can mix in a slider or changeup if he needs to give hitters a different look. The concern with the 6-foot-9 Meyer, as with all exceedingly tall hurlers, is control. Trouble repeating his arm slot ?not a surprise with someone so tall?led to a walk rate of 3.7 per nine innings, a figure that will need to be refined. In his first year with the Twins after being acquired from the Nationals in the Denard Span trade, Meyer also missed significant time with a cranky right shoulder. MRI results showed no significant damage, but anything involving a pitcher?s shoulder bears watching.
Meyer battled inconsistency but also dominated at times in his pro debut. He lowered his ERA in each of his three months in the SAL, then worked in the Futures Game and performed even better following a promotion to high Class A. "He's a great kid who's fun to be around every day," Daubach said. 'He came here realizing there were some things he needed to work on and we started to see some results. He worked on his mechanics a lot and he really came a long way. With his size and ability, he's tough to hit." At 6-foot-9, Meyer has a lot of moving parts, which makes maintaining his mechanics a challenge. When he's in sync and maintains a consistent release point, he works downhill with a 93-97 mph fastball and a wipeout slider in the mid-80s. He also shows some feel for a changeup that could become an average third pitch.

Top 100 Rankings

Best Tools List

Rated Best Breaking Pitch in the International League in 2014
Rated Best Fastball in the International League in 2014
Rated Best Curveball in the Minnesota Twins in 2014
Rated Best Fastball in the Minnesota Twins in 2014
Rated Best Slider in the Washington Nationals in 2012

Scouting Reports

Background: The 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft, Meyer has battled injuries and control issues and been traded twice, first by the Nationals to the Twins for Denard Span, and then to the Angels the Ricky Nolasco-Hector Santiago swap in August 2016. He pitched a total of just 54 innings in 2016 due to recurring shoulder issues. Scouting Report: Meyer lowered his arm slot as a pro due to a biceps injury, so the Angels worked to get his release point back to the higher slot he used in college. They also helped the 6-foot-9 righty refine his mechanics to help his fastball control and keep him from pulling off on his front side. Meyer's best pitch is a sinking four-seam fastball with tail, averaging 95-96 mph and in the past touching triple digits. He complements it with a hard mid-80s knuckle curveball that gets swings and misses. Meyer's circle changeup with armside fade is a hard pitch around 90 mph, while a sinker with tail generates plenty of ground balls.

The Future: If Meyer can stay healthy and improve his mechanics, he will be in the Angels starting rotation in 2017 and beyond.
Background: Meyer turned down $2 million from the Red Sox as a 20th-round pick out of high school in 2008. He struggled in his first two seasons at Kentucky, going 6-7, 6.37 overall, before coming on strong as a junior in 2011. Scouts were encouraged that Meyer competed better in the spring, which helped improve his draft stock. The Nationals matched the $2 million he once declined to sign him as the 23rd overall pick. Scouting Report: Meyer sat at 94-97 mph and broke 100 on occasion with his four-seam fastball last spring, though he topped out at 93 in instructional league. He mixes in a 91-93 mph two-seamer with above-average life when it's down in the zone. He uses a knuckle-curve grip to deliver an 82-88 mph slider that's a wipeout pitch at times. He also has improving feel for his 84-86 mph changeup. As with most tall pitchers, repeating his delivery is key for Meyer. He tends to rotate his torso too early, and he must do a better job staying over the rubber and on line to the plate. His arm slot also varies from three-quarters to low three-quarters. He has a ways to go to master his mechanics and his command, but it's encouraging that he works around the strike zone. The Future: Meyer could be an ace starter or a flamethrowing reliever in the mold of Daniel Bard. He'll likely debut in low Class A.