Alex Meyer

[markos]

I haven't heard any updates on Meyer's injury. However, he was ranked in Baseball America's Midseason top-50.

 

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32

Alex Meyer

rhp

Twins

[TD=bgcolor: #F9F9F9, colspan: 4]His acquisition helped fill Twins’ most desperate need–nearly big league ready power pitching.[/TD]

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Hopefully he can get back on the mound soon and continue his development.

[Craig Arko]

Tweet from LEN:

 

 

Expects him back in NB soon. Hope so.

[markos]

Alex Meyer is still shut down, so there haven't been any performance updates in the past few weeks. However, there was an blurb from Scott Boras (Meyer's agent) saying that he has no concerns about the injury or the Twins treatment program. Link here. He also expects Meyer to pitch again before the end of the year.

 

All of the major mid-season Prospect rankings have now been released, and here is the roundup for Meyer:

 

Baseball America: #32

Keith Law: #38

John Sickels: #51

Baseball Prospectus: #44

Fangraphs: #36

 

None of them expressed any major concern about his injury.

[Shane Wahl]

That's an average of 40.2. Pretty good!

[markos]

Meyer finally took the mound again this season, this time for the Ft. Myers Twins in the Gulf Coast League. He faced 9 batters and recorded 5 strikeouts, but gave up a walk and 3 hits before reaching his pitch count limit.

[Nick Nelson]

Meyer finally took the mound again this season, this time for the Ft. Myers Twins in the Gulf Coast League. He faced 9 batters and recorded 5 strikeouts, but gave up a walk and 3 hits before reaching his pitch count limit.

I'll take it. Gotta love a 27.0 K/9 rate.

 

I wonder how the Twins are going to view Alex Meyer heading into next season. Will he be considered a legitimate contender for an MLB rotation spot? He will be 24, and almost certainly the most talented pitcher in camp. Then again, he's probably going to finish this season with under 100 innings pitched, and it seems unlikely he'll get any experience in Triple-A.

[Twins Fan From Afar]

I'll take it. Gotta love a 27.0 K/9 rate.

 

I wonder how the Twins are going to view Alex Meyer heading into next season. Will he be considered a legitimate contender for an MLB rotation spot? He will be 24, and almost certainly the most talented pitcher in camp. Then again, he's probably going to finish this season with under 100 innings pitched, and it seems unlikely he'll get any experience in Triple-A.

 

That's a great question. He may not even make it back to AA for any meaningful time. Tough to imagine that half a season at AA in 2013 is sufficient for the Twins to think he's ready to compete in March of 2014 for the starting rotation.

 

But you never know.

[Butterfingers8]

It's possible he could pitch in AAA when the wings make the playoffs, they'll need some pitching.

[CGNikolic]

It appears most likely that Meyer and May both start next year in the AAA rotation, with both getting a legitimate chance at cracking the majors as early as opening day. I think this is the best option for both of them, with the best scenario being they both prove they are ready and make it to the Twins ASAP. I don't think Meyer pitches past AA this year.

[Shane Wahl]

AFL for Meyer in order to build up some more innings. I bet they just start him at AAA and wait and see next year.

[beckmt]

Thing he may make it back to AA this year. Next year start at AAA and see how he does. May will probably also start next year at AAA.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I'd like to see him pitch in Bowie at the end of the month.

 

Great to see him back on the mound, I was starting to worry this would be a longer thing.

[TRex]

In yesterday's 'Twins minor league radio report', the Twins official said Meyer was back to hitting 98 mph in his GCL start, so that is promising! No mention of whether he was allowed to throw the knuckle-curve, though.

[markos]

Meyer pitched again today down in the Gulf Coast League. He pitched three scoreless innings, striking out two. From the game log it appears that he struggled a bit in the first inning, as he walked two of the first three batters. However, he got out of the inning, and proceeded to go two more innings, scattering two hits. I'm not sure what his pitch count was for the game, but he ended up facing 12 batters. I'm guessing he threw roughly 50 pitches.

[markos]

Meyer had another rehab outing for the Gulf Coast League. In this game he appeared to be in top form. He through 3 2/3 innings, gave up 2 hits, but had NINE strikeouts. So of the 11 outs he recorded, 9 came via strikeout. Not too shabby.

 

Unless there are specific concerns that the front office has identified (ex. velocity not all the way back, pitch count limits, not throwing breaking ball well, etc), Meyer's results seem to indicate that he is all the way back and should be promoted back up to AA.

[markos]

Really nice outing by Meyer last night for New Britain. I was at the game and have a short writeup here: Meyer, Sano and Rosario - Twinkie Town

 

Also, here is some crappy video that I took:

[markos]

Alex Meyer update. He is pitching down at the Florida Instructional League. Here is a really fantastic article over at Twinkietown about his recent start. Lots of really good nuggets in there.

 

Florida Instructional League Game 9/21 and Interview with Alex Meyer - Twinkie Town

[markos]

This post has a bunch of good video of Meyer (and others) doing bullpen work:

 

Inside Look at Florida Instructional League 9/19 Camp Day - Twinkie Town

[markos]

Arizona Fall League update for Alex Meyer.

 

He pitched on Tuesday for the Glendale Desert Dogs, throwing 3 innings. His final line was 5 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. Not his best outing, but he did impress some of the scouts in the stands with his stuff. Here are some scouts' takes on his outing that I found:

 

Tweets from Bernie Pleskoff (scout/writer for mlb.com):

#Twins Meyer confirmed at 97-99 mph with one pitch at 100. Didn't command it that well, but velocity is there. Lots of swings and misses.

 

What I Didn't Like: Surprised at the lack of command on #Twins Alex Meyer's fastball. Flat from the stretch. He threw 100 mph. once today.

 

And then from Keith Law's AFL update posted this afternoon:

Minnesota right-hander Alex Meyer, acquired in the Denard Span trade, started the first game on Tuesday, hitting 100 mph in his first inning and sitting 96-99 for three innings with great sink on the pitch.

 

Much of what Meyer needs to accomplish comes down to his size -- tall pitchers often have trouble repeating their deliveries and maintaining their coordination, which hurts command. If Meyer can get that consistency with his delivery, he's a potential top 30 starter because he can miss bats and get ground balls, but he will have to throw more and better strikes first.

[nicksaviking]

"What I Didn't Like: Surprised at the lack of command on #Twins Alex Meyer's fastball. Flat from the stretch. He threw 100 mph. once today."

 

Well hell, just strike everyone out and stop having to pitch from the stretch. Problem solved.

[markos]

Arizona Fall League update for Alex Meyer.

 

Short story: He's doing very well.

 

Longer story:

 

He has made 6 starts in the AFL (not counting the AFL All-Star game), in which he has the following line.

 

2.74 ERA, 23.0 Innings, 25 Ks, 6 BBs

 

In particular, his last start Friday night was a gem. He pitched 5.2 innings, giving up 0 runs and only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 7 batters. He had a no-hitter through 5 innings.

 

Finally, he did a nice interview after his start with the MLB Network announcers.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=31211775&topic_id=26271672

 

Sounds like everything is going well for Meyer down in Arizona. Hopefully he keeps it up.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Thank you for your work tracking this guy - this was a smart trade that's looking smarter and smarter.

 

And not that it needs to be pointed out any more, but… a television interview with a minor leaguer, from the dugout, in the middle of a game? Is this recent? We are living in different times indeed.

[Chance]

http://wapc.mlb.com/min/play/?content_id=31211711&topic_id=7617858

 

This is the highlights (bat by bat) of his 5 2/3 one hit outing.

[markos]

A recent article about Alex Meyer from MLB.com writer (and former scout) Bernie Pleskoff:

 

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131122&content_id=64101764&vkey=news_min&c_id=min&tcid=tw_article_64101764

 

Here are a few snippets from the article:

 

Meyer has moments on the mound when he can't be hit. He induces swings and misses with a 95-98 mph fastball, a slider and a knee-buckling, sinking 83-mph changeup.

There are times, however, when he has trouble making his lanky arms and legs work in sync with his three-quarters arm slot. In those instances, he fails to repeat his clean delivery, he lands awkwardly, flies open and loses command. It can happen to him quickly.

And just as quickly, his smoother delivery returns.

Awkward. That's how Meyer looks when he's out of sync.

Dominating. That's how Meyer is when everything works in harmony. And it works in harmony most of the time.

When everything is working well, Meyer can be overpowering and control the game.

[Paul Pleiss]

When do you guys expect to see Meyer up with the Twins in 2014? Do you think he comes up before September? Before the All-Star break? My money is on a post August first call up.

[Seth Stohs]

When do you guys expect to see Meyer up with the Twins in 2014? Do you think he comes up before September? Before the All-Star break? My money is on a post August first call up.

 

If he's healthy, it'll be earlier than that. I'd guess early June. Or sooner.

[jorgenswest]

I hope May 1 at the latest. He needs to adjust to he majors with a fresh arm and his best stuff. As long as he doesn't show significant control issues in spring, it really should be opening day.

 

I wouldn't be concerned about service time for a 24 year old pitcher. If it is a concern, get the extra year of service by waiting a few weeks. They should absolutely not worry about super 2. If he pitches lights out and earns big dollars in arbitration a year early, pay him and be thankful.

[markos]

When do you guys expect to see Meyer up with the Twins in 2014? Do you think he comes up before September? Before the All-Star break? My money is on a post August first call up.

 

I can see a lot of different situations that could play out. Overall, I think there are three factors in this: 1) any innings limit the Twins place on Meyer, 2) how the major league rotation is doing, and 3) Meyer's remaining development.

 

1) Meyer only pitched 104 inning this past season, and the Twins have traditionally been fairly conservative about bumping up workloads between seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if the Twins capped Meyer at 150 innings for 2014, which basically means he will be shut down at the end of August. (Gibson's last start was August 30th, and he ended up with 154 innings.) If they decide they want Meyer in the Twins rotation for a significant part of 2014 and he's on a innings limit, then he needs to be called up earlier in the year - probably June.

 

2) Assuming the Twins sign one more free agent starter, there is a possibility that Meyer won't have a spot in the rotation. I know that sounds crazy; however, Nolasco, Correia and Free Agent X are basically guaranteed spots, and it isn't completely inconceivable that two out of Deduno, Gibson, Diamond, Worley or Albers could have decent-to-good seasons. Now I don't think any of those 5 should be blocking Meyer, I just know that the Twins have hesitated when promoting prospects to take the place of veterans, even mediocre ones. It isn't too hard to imagine a scenario where, say, Deduno and Gibson have both pitched okay through April and May, and there is no obvious place in the rotation for Meyer come June 1st. Now injuries and performance will most likely open a spot in the rotation at some point during the season, but I have a hard time seeing the Twins working hard to force an opening for Meyer.

 

3) I don't have a good sense of how ready the Twins think Meyer currently is. If they feel he needs to work on his consistency, improve a specific pitch or build up arm strength, then I could see them keeping him in the minors longer than his performance may dictate. Without knowing what those milestones are, it is hard to guess when they will think he is ready.

 

From reports and articles I've read from scouts, there are two things Meyer needs to work on yet: his change-up and better consistency from the stretch. My personal plan for Meyer would be for him to over-emphasis on those two areas in spring training and then in Rochester to start the season. Assuming good progress, in May I would open up his full arsenal. Provided he dominates AAA in May, then I would look to call him up around June 1st and then pitch through August at the majors, hopefully getting about 150 total innings for the season before being shut down.

[markos]

Does the signing of Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey change the opinion of anyone about when Meyer will debut with the Twins? Now I'm thinking he may be a September call up.

 

Now there is a lot of time before opening day, and the roster can be adjusted quite a bit. However, given its current state I think that the Twins's "best case" scenario for the starting rotation is for one of Deduno/Diamond/Worley will be healthy and effective, and lock down the 5th starter spot out of spring training. That means that both Gibson and Meyer will be in AAA. Assuming that Correia will be traded sometime in July, Gibson will take his place, and there won't be a spot for Meyer until the rosters expand in September. Injuries or terrible pitching may create earlier opportunities, but now I think Meyer's ETA is September.

 

Is everyone else sticking with their original guesses, or have the recent signings also changed your minds?

[beckmt]

Depends on whether he is so good in AAA, he forces his way up here. That is what TR is hoping.