Alex Meyer -- RHP – Minnesota Twins

Height: 6'9" Weight: 220 lbs. -- Hits: Right Throws: Right

2014 Stats (AAA) – 7-7, 3.52 ERA, 130 Innings, 153 K's, 1.38 WHIP

 

Scouting Report 

Meyer was original drafted by the Red Sox out of high school in 2008 but decided to attend the University of Kentucky instead. One year after the Nationals took him in the first round of the 2011 draft he was traded straight up for OF Denard Span.  Alex Meyer is an intimidating presence out on the mound standing 6’9” with a wingspan that would make Shaquille O’Neal blush. This body allows Meyer to bring some serious heat with his four seam fastball clocking at in the high 90’s regularly. His fastball and a slightly slower sinker features natural inside run to RH hitters. He also throws a knuckle curve that can be a deadly offering when right but that has been rare since coming to the Twins organization. The Twins minor league coaches helped Meyer change the grip on his changeup which made a huge difference in generating ground balls.

The issue with Meyer as it always is with immensely tall pitchers is mechanics. Meyer has issues repeating his delivery and while this makes his stuff nearly unhittable at times, it also means he cannot locate to save his life. While all of the movement on his fastball/curve/sinker/changeup repertoire is good enough to rack up a 10.4 K/9 rate in the lower minors, it will not play in the American League. Big league hitters are too patient and disciplined to swing at a young pitchers off-speed pitches. Meyer’s BB/9 rate has climbed each of the past four years which is obviously not a good sign for his future in the big leagues.

As bad as his mechanics can get at times, the most troubling aspect to Alex Meyer is his right shoulder. He’s been shut down each of the past two seasons for trouble in the same shoulder. In 2013, Meyer was shelved for 10 weeks due to a mild strain and then was shut down this past August after experiencing “shoulder fatigue.” I strongly believe that the shoulder issues and mechanics are directly related and that once Meyer can solve his motion issues the shoulder problems will fade away as well.

 

2015 Analysis

The Twins are absolutely desperate for help in their starting rotation. Meyer’s shoulder fatigue at the end of 2014 was a big hit to the organization as they had really wanted to see him against major league hitters last September. There is no doubt that Meyer has the biggest upside of any arm in the Twins organization and quite possibly in all of baseball. But it is unknown at this point whether Paul Molitor and the new regime in Minnesota will want to use the major league squad as a developing stage for their younger talent.

In Meyer’s situation it is going to come down to what he shows us in spring training. He absolutely has to keep his walks down. To do that he is going to have to stop overthrowing (he loves to monitor the radar gun) and maintain a constant motion both in the stretch and out of the windup. He has the natural stuff to be nearly unhittable against right handed hitters. Also, his repertoire will generate a lot of ground balls as well. Each of his individual traits add up to a very high ceiling performer if and when he puts them all together.

 

Compare To

Randy Johnson – Yeah that Randy Johnson. People don’t realize but the future Hall Of Famer was nothing but a giant, hard throwing lefty with absolutely no control whatsoever. Johnson’s career minor league WHIP was 1.49 and he led the AL in walks in his first three seasons in Seattle.

Jon Rauch – Another giant pitcher who just could not repeat his delivery. Rauch eventually found his way in the bullpen and carved out some decent years for himself. But he was never able to live up to the expectations of being selected in the third round of the 1999 draft.

 

Current ADP

Currently Ranked as the 142nd Starting Pitcher In The Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide

ADP of 508.19 Overall in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC)

Drafted in the 23rd round (297th overall) in the  2015 F.S.T.A. Experts Draft

 

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