Prep Baseball Report

Then & Now: Max Meyer


David Seifert & Rob Allison
Prep Baseball Report

THEN 2015: Five-foot-11, 160-pound sophomore with a thin, wiry frame and average height. On the mound he has a pause in his delivery and hides the ball well from the hitter creating deception. Fastball is 80-83 mph and repeats to glove side extremely well; from a lower ¾ slot creating significant late run and sink to bottom of zone. Breaking ball has 11/5 shape with sweeping action at 70-73 mph. Maintains arm speed and throws above an average changeup at 73-74 mph with good fade. Throws unusually high volume of strikes with three pitches for a pitcher his age which points to his significant level of athleticism, feel for pitching in general and competitiveness on the mound.

 

NOW 2020: Runs his fastball up 100 mph with a nasty 89-92 mph  spiked slider; it's a swing/miss, out pitch at any level and grades out as a  70+ on the 20-80 ML scale. It has both depth and power with consistent control.  Last season he threw this pitch 54% of the time. His other offspeed pitch is an above-average 85-87 mph live-action changeup. These three pitches give him the top stuff of any pitcher in this year’s draft class and the likely ability to make a  quick impact on a Major League roster. Despite his size (6-foot), but a solid 190 pounds, Meyer is  super athletic and shows the ability to repeat his delivery and make adjustments. He also has very good extension at 6.69 to the plate, similar to fellow 6-footer, Tim Lincecum. Overall, he has big weapons with his electric three-pitch mix and continues to gain steam up draft boards, now sitting comfortably in the top  five-to-ten overall picks. The only question mark on Meyer is his long term  durability as a starting pitcher, and some compare his size and stuff to fellow  6-footer and former New York Met righty David Cone.

 

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