Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Greensburg's Alex Meyer is Live-Wire Pitching Prospect

August 29, 2014



By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent 

Around Victory Field in Indianapolis, it’s axiomatic.  When it comes to baseball, Indians director of broadcasting Howard Kellman is infallible. 

The normally inerrant Voice of the Tribe booted one, however, when Rochester came to town for a four-game series in August. 

Kellman was chatting with Dave Meyer, the Greensburg, Ind., auto magnate whose son Alex plays for the Red Wings.  When Kellman said he was looking forward to seeing Alex pitch for the first time at Victory Field, the elder Meyer corrected him.  

“Dave told me, ‘No, Howard, you’re wrong!  Alex has thrown here before,’” said Kellman.  Dave reminded Howard that Alex had tossed out the first ball prior to an Indians home game in 2008, the year Alex was named Indiana’s top high school player. 

“I recommended it,” said Kellman, “and the Indians said, ‘Hey, he’s Mr. Baseball!  Okay!’  So he has thrown a pitch at Victory Field before.  But this time, he’ll be facing a hitter.”  

Meyer’s August 9 start against the Indians lasted two innings.  He took the loss, allowing seven hits and four runs over two innings while striking out four.  

Nevertheless, Kellman is high on the 6-foot-9, 24-year-old right-hander.  “I've talked to the Rochester people about him, and I've heard great things,” said Howard.  “He's come into his own.  He has a chance to become a terrific major league pitcher.”    

As usual, Kellman knows what he’s talking about.  Meyer began the 2014 season as the top pitching prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization.  MLB.com ranked him the 28th-best overall prospect in the minors.  Baseball America rated him No. 1 in the International League this year in two categories (fastball, breaking pitch).  Meyer’s hummer sits in the 95-96 mph range while his slider is clocked at 92-96 mph.  An effective changeup rounds out Meyer’s repertoire. 

“I’m still trying to harness all those a little bit,” he said.  “There are times where they’re really good.  There are times where I get out of sync a little bit, and I’ve got to try to bring them back together.”    

Minnesota is taking no chances with the talented Meyer, who is in his third professional season.  Languishing in the basement of the American League’s Central Division, the Twins have resisted the urge to bring Meyer to Target Field.  Instead, they’ve let him hone his skills with a full season at the Triple-A level.  “I believe very strongly in not rushing kids,” said Kellman, who called his first Indians game in 1974.  “I’ve seen it affect players.” 

Kellman has known Meyer since Alex was 10, even before he entered Greensburg High School, where he competed in three sports.  “I played football for one year, but it wasn’t really for me,” said Meyer.  “They needed kids to come out, so I did.  I was a tight end and defensive back.  I took a beating, but I had fun with it.”    

Meyer had better success in basketball, winning four letters and twice earning all-conference honors.  As a senior, he averaged 15 points per game.  “Basketball was something I enjoyed,” he said. 

His greatest achievements came on the diamond.  As a gangly 6-foot, 6-inch, 17-year-old junior in 2007, Meyer struck out 15 in a 2-1 sectional loss to Franklin Central.  Not long afterward, he was in Cincinnati for a tournament with his summer travel team, the Indiana Bulls.  

After an impressive performance on a Thursday, Bulls coach Quinn Moore convinced Alex to pitch again on Sunday in the Perfect Game Showcase at the University of Cincinnati’s Marge Schott Stadium.  “Quinn was the kind of guy I trusted for everything,” said Meyer.  “If he said I needed to do something, I usually did it.”       

On Father’s Day, accompanied by his dad and grandfather, Meyer was the starting pitcher in the showcase game.  “There were more scouts than I thought even existed,” said Alex, who raised eyebrows with a fastball in the mid-90s.  “It was kind of a life-changing experience for me.”  

Before that summer ended, Meyer pitched in three more showcase events:  the World Wood Bat Tournament in Marietta, Ga., the East Coast Prep Showcase in Lakeland, Fla., and the AFLAC All-American Game in San Diego.  “That’s when it really took off,” said Meyer, who began to hear from colleges across the country.  “It was good for me to have options, but I wanted to stay close to home.”  

By now, Meyer was thinking about baseball as a career.  “Before that, I didn’t know,” he said.  “I never thought the draft was a possibility.”  Before his senior year began he committed to the University of Kentucky.  “They were coming off a really good season,” he said.  “(Assistant) coach (Brad) Bohannon did a really good job of recruiting me.”  

That winter, Meyer commuted to Lafayette, Ind., each Sunday to work with former Diamondbacks and Tigers pitcher Erik Sabel.  “Quinn Moore suggested going to him, so I did,” Meyer said.  “Sabel opened up a whole different side of mechanics for me.  I know I was all over the place at that point.  For him to be able to come in and sync everything together the way he did, it simplified my delivery.” 

Heading into 2008, Baseball America rated Meyer fifth among the nation’s preps while Greensburg ranked No. 2 in preseason polls.  “We were good,” he recalled.  “We went undefeated in conference.”  

Greensburg beat Franklin Central in sectional play to avenge the previous year’s loss and headed to Jasper for the Class 3A semistates.  “We won the first game,” said Meyer.  “Then for the second game, Crawfordsville had their ace [left-hander Cameron Hobson, currently in the Seattle Mariners organization] ready to go.  We ended up having to throw a bullpen game together.”  Crawfordsville won 10-0 as Hobson tossed a two-hitter. 

During the semistates, the Boston Red Sox took Meyer in the 20th round of the draft and offered him a $2 million signing bonus.  “It was something to think about,” he said, “but I wasn’t ready to go.  My mom made it pretty clear that I needed to go to school.” 

Meyer collected the Gatorade and Louisville Slugger awards as Indiana’s player of the year.  That fall he headed to Lexington, Ky., where fellow students frequently mistook him for one of John Calipari’s recruits.  “Everyone (on campus) knows the Kentucky basketball team, who the players are,” he said.  “And they were still asking me, ‘Do you play basketball?’”  

During his first three years as a Wildcat, Meyer continued to grow.  “My freshman year, I was 6-7,” he said.  “Sophomore year I was 6-8.  Then I was 6-9 my junior year.  I haven’t grown any more since then.”  

Going from high school baseball to college ball was “a learning process,” Meyer said.  “My first year, I had games where I was really good and games where I was really bad.  My sophomore year, I was throwing okay and I ended up getting mono and missing three weeks of the season. Then my shoulder flared up and started hurting.  My junior year, luckily, I was able to throw the ball a little bit better.”   

In 2011 Meyer went 7-5 with a 2.94 earned run average, striking out 110 in 101 innings.  The Washington Nationals made him their No. 1 pick (23rd overall) in the June draft.  In late August, he signed that August for the same $2 million bonus and reported for instructional league play in Viera, Fla.  “That was my first taste of pro ball,” he said.  

Meyer returned to Greensburg afterwards, looking for a way to occupy his time during the offseason.  His mother Sandy, the secretary for the Decatur County school superintendent, offered a solution.  “She suggested substitute teaching, so I did,” Alex said, who has continued to sub between seasons.  “I’ve taught everywhere in Greensburg at the elementary and junior high and high school.  It’s something that I enjoy a lot.  I think it’s something that I’ll do for a long while to come.  I like being with the kids.  All my high school coaches are still there, which makes it fun to go back.” 

In 2012 Meyer made his professional debut with Hagerstown, Md., of the low-A South Atlantic League.  “Hagerstown was probably the most fun I’ve had in baseball,” he said.  “We had a great group of guys, a great coaching staff.  It was a great experience.” 

Meyer had a 7-4 record and 3.10 ERA in 18 starts for Hagerstown, fanning 107 in 90 innings.  The Nationals promoted him to Potomac of the high-A Carolina League, where he went 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA in seven starts with 32 strikeouts in 39 frames.  “I learned quite a bit my first year,” he said.  

That July, Meyer was named to the USA team for the Futures Game in Kansas City.  “That was a huge honor, being able to go and play in that game in my first professional season,” he said.  “I was the lone representative for the Nationals.”  

Managing the USA squad was former Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  “Brett was awesome,” said Meyer.  “He came out there and said, ‘Go get ‘em, air it out, and I’ll come and get you when it’s time.’” 

After the 2012 season Meyer returned to Greensburg and his $63-a-day job as a substitute teacher.  He was heading home from a gym on November 29 when Washington’s player of development called.  The Nationals had dealt him to Minnesota for Denard Span, the Twins’ center fielder.  

“It was a weird feeling, something I didn’t know how to react to,” Meyer said of the one-for-one swap.  “It showed the Twins thought pretty highly of me, trading a guy like Denard Span to get me.  When I found out that I was the only one going, it made me want to work even harder to make sure that I fulfilled the trade on my end of it.” 

Meyer opened the 2013 season in New Britain, Conn., Minnesota’s farm club in the Class AA Eastern League.  In 13 starts, he compiled a 4-3 record with a 3.21 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 70 innings.  He lost two months due to shoulder tendinitis.  “It came up after one of my starts,” he explained.  “I was able to get back at the end of the year.” 

Pitching for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, Alex proved he was healthy again.  “Meyer showed top-of-the rotation stuff and command in his seven starts,” noted USA Today Sports Weekly.  He struck out 28 over 26 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .213 average.  “That was a good experience,” said Meyer.  “I made up for lost time.” 

Assigned to Rochester this year after Spring Training, he earned his first Triple-A win on April 28 when he fanned 11 Charlotte batters in six innings.  Meyer went to the Futures Game once more, this time in Minneapolis.  “It was awesome to be able to go again,” he said.  “And this year it was a little different, because it was in Minnesota.  I got to play in front of the – hopefully – soon-to-be hometown fans.” 

While it’s likely he’ll join the Twins once the International League season ends, Meyer insists he has no thoughts on when he’ll reach the Major Leagues.  “I can’t even comment on that,” he said.  “Wherever they send me to pitch, I’m trying to get guys out and trying not to think much more about it.” 

When he debuts with Minnesota, Meyer will be the first native of Greensburg to reach the Majors.  Right-hander Bob Wright, who pitched in four games with the Chicago Cubs in 1915, is often identified as a Greensburg native.  Wright was actually born in a log house on a farm near the Decatur County town of Westport. 

Meyer isn’t the only member of his family with big-league potential.  His cousin, Bryan Hoeing, is a 6-foot-6, 195-pound senior right-hander at Batesville High School.  A University of Louisville commit, Hoeing was a member of the American Team at the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on August 16.

Related News