Meyer and Confidence

[Loosey]

Is it just me or does Alex Meyer look either extremely nervous when he is on the mound / completely lacking confidence?  To be completely honest he looked scared sh!tless against the Reds.  I know it's a lot of assumptions just by looking at facial expressions and body language, but somebody needs to calm that kid down.  These past outings were the first times I have seen him in HD on a Television screen and I think he clearly has the ability to be nasty. 

 

Do the Twins have a sports psychologist on staff or someone who can get him to relax?  Because I think if he relaxes he will hit that arm slot he tries so hard to consistently hit pitch like we hope.  It has to be hard to pitch well when your entire body is as tense as his seems to be.

[bluechipper]

I'd agree with that, but I remember him saying before the season that one of the things he needed to do this year was be more aggressive in the zone and trust his stuff, so I don't know what happened there.

 

The positive side is that you could say the same things about Kyle Gibson and Trevor May in their rookie season too, and they've shown some promise since then.

[Seth Stohs]

I wouldn't over-think facial expressions, but there is no doubt that confidence is a huge factor for all athletes. Confidence is a big thing with Meyer. Hopefully they stick with him because it's clear when he's pitching how good his stuff can be, but he needs to throw strikes. That's the same issue he had in AAA. It's the game he's shown in spring training and even last year. He's had a lot of short outings because of the control.

 

But the upside of him as a late-inning guy is evident.

[Kwak]

Well, if you were about to get your butt kicked, would you be nervous?

[bluechipper]

 

Well, if you were about to get your butt kicked, would you be nervous?

I think I'd be pretty confident in myself if I could throw 97.

[markos]

I try not to read too much into a pitchers mannerisms. Some pitchers look a wreck out there (ex. Joe Nathan) but still manage to get the job done.

[pitchfork]

fwiw ive seen him live & on tv a few times over the past 2 years......to me the nervousness wasnt apparent until the wildness got out of hand

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I wouldn't over-think facial expressions

Yeah, this. Let us take a moment to remember Scott Baker; a pitcher who was pretty good when healthy but looked absolutely terrified every moment of his career.

[ckrolak]

No problem.  I'm sure there are plenty of other careers where stress isn't an issue.  The way he is pitching, I'm sure he will land in one of those types of jobs very soon.

[stringer bell]

I've hardly seen him pitch live, but Meyer isn't getting his butt kicked as much as he is kicking his own posterior. If you walk that many guys and fall behind so many hitters, you don't have much of a chance. Get in the zone and stay in the zone Alex and you will be successful.

[tobi0040]

I agree that the control and confidence go hand in hand. His fastball tends to go all over the place and he has almost no control of where his slider will end up.

 

I think you have a guy that has very little idea of where the ball is going after it leaves his hand. 

[DaveW]

He will be fine, it's not like his outings have cost us either game as both were already well out of hand. His inability to throw strikes has been concerning, but I have faith he will settle down a bit. Hopefully Molly shows him some faith and puts him in a non blow out game (Maybe a game where they are up 3-4 runs in the 7th or down by a run or two in the 6th/7th/8th)

[drjim]

I would just like Meyer to have the chance to appear in a game at the start of an inning and no one on base to see how he responds. A couple of those and then maybe you move him into higher leverage situations.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Meyer had problems with walks last year and this year.  It's not surprising that he's having issues right now.  I hope he can figure things out, but wouldn't be surprised in the least if he ends up back in Rochester at some point.  There's no question about his stuff, but his control is lacking.

[HitInAPinch]

Meyer is still a mess.  When your fall-back position is throwing more fastballs, you're in big trouble. 

I'd like to see a mean and vicious Meyer.  A little sweet chin music here, a plunk on the butt there and an occasional "Juuust a bit outside" to keep batters loose.  Right now, he's a bone in a dog pound.

[spinowner]

 

No problem.  I'm sure there are plenty of other careers where stress isn't an issue.  The way he is pitching, I'm sure he will land in one of those types of jobs very soon.

Sometimes I wish we had "Dislike This" buttons to click.

[tobi0040]

 

Meyer had problems with walks last year and this year.  It's not surprising that he's having issues right now.  I hope he can figure things out, but wouldn't be surprised in the least if he ends up back in Rochester at some point.  There's no question about his stuff, but his control is lacking.

 

I agree about Rochester.   He doens't have command of his fastball, let alone his secondary stuff.

 

He is 25 and has been playing professional baseball for four years, after three years of college.He should have fastball command at this point.

[nicksaviking]

Well if the organization's best pitching mind is at the MLB level, that's probably the best place for Meyer to be anyway.

[USAFChief]

He's looked bad, but I'm going to wait for more than a couple innings before coming to any firm conclusions.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

He's looked bad, but I'm going to wait for more than a couple innings before coming to any firm conclusions.

Yep. He's wild. I'll let him pitch a few more innings before declaring that he's in serious trouble.

[tobi0040]

 

Yep. He's wild. I'll let him pitch a few more innings before declaring that he's in serious trouble.

 

I am not declaring much of anything.  But after watching him this spring and the last few games (as well as his numbers this year), my optimism has faded quite a bit.  Before the year I thought he was the top pitching prospect in our system. Clearly JO has jumped him and the likes of Jay and Gonsalves have at least joined the conversation for #2 and #3.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I am not declaring much of anything.  But after watching him this spring and the last few games (as well as his numbers this year), my optimism has faded quite a bit.  Before the year I thought he was the top pitching prospect in our system. Clearly JO has jumped him and the likes of Jay and Gonsalves have at least joined the conversation for #2 and #3.

I don't disagree but I hold cautious optimism for Meyer due to his height and the difficulty those players have in controlling their delivery. Meyer is the type of player who could figure it out overnight and become absolutely dominant.

 

Of course, he could also implode spectacularly. He's a risky player but one with an incredibly high ceiling if he manages to figure it out. Given that he's 25 years old, there's still time for the ship to right itself. The more I think about it, the more I agree with the decision to move him to the bullpen. If he can stabilize himself from the pen, he could return to starting at some point, even if it takes him a year or more to do it.

[tobi0040]

 

I don't disagree but I hold cautious optimism for Meyer due to his height and the difficulty those players have in controlling their delivery. Meyer is the type of player who could figure it out overnight and become absolutely dominant.

 

Of course, he could also implode spectacularly. He's a risky player but one with an incredibly high ceiling if he manages to figure it out. Given that he's 25 years old, there's still time for the ship to right itself. The more I think about it, the more I agree with the decision to move him to the bullpen. If he can stabilize himself from the pen, he could return to starting at some point, even if it takes him a year or more to do it.

 

I am cautiously optimistic, but my odds of him being at least a #2 were near 50% a year ago.  Probably closer to 20-25% now. 

 

I hope pitching more often and in non-pressure situations helps him regain his mechanics.

 

 

[jimmer]

 

I am cautiously optimistic, but my odds of him being at least a #2 were near 50% a year ago.  Probably closer to 20-25% now. 

 

I hope pitching more often and in non-pressure situations helps him regain his mechanics.

I've been saying reliever forever...still saying reliever.

[tobi0040]

 

I've been saying reliever forever...still saying reliever.

 

You very well may end up being right.

 

I am still dreaming of having Meyer, Gibson, and May under control roughly  from ages 25-31.  JO from about 23 to 29, and Ervin Santana under contract.  All of them panning out.  I will settle for 3 of the 4 young controlled guys.

 

One can dream.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I would also like to see him get a shot to pitch a clean 7th or 8th inning. Although I have to concede I wouldn't want to see him enter a close game.  

 

Coming into a game in the 1st and 3rd inning and runners on base can play with the mind too. Because unfortunately Meyer seems to be letting his mind pitch instead of his body right now.