23rd Overall: Nationals Select RHP Alex Meyer

The Washington Nationals selected Alex Meyer with the 23rd pick in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The 21 year-old, right-handed pitcher attended the University of Kentucky last season. Meyer stands 6’9″ tall and weighs 220 pounds. Meyer was slotted as the 19th overall pick by Wally Fish in the S2S Mock Draft.

Meyer was originally selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The Indiana prep stars strong commitment  to the University of Kentucky forced him to turn down an alleged $2 Million signing bonus though.

THE NUMBERS:

The highly touted prep start kinda fell flat on his face his first two seasons at the University of Kentucky. Last season Meyer pulled a complete 180 improving in nearly every statistical category though.

His 2011 ERA was 2.94, right in line with his FIP of of 3.10 which is encouraging. Meyers also struck out more than a batter per inning, while improving his walk ratio to a more acceptable (but still pretty damn high) level of 4.1 per 9.

THE MECHANICS:

At 6’9″ tall it isn’t a big surprise to hear that Meyer struggles with consistency in his delivery. Several tall players have used the minors to work out and perfect the consistency of their delivery though. A good pitching coach and effort on Meyers part could easily perfect this.

THE REPERTOIRE:

Meyer features a plus mid to high 90’s fastball that has hit as high as 100 miles per hour. His power “fall off the table” slider comes in at 86-88 mph, and is also noted as a plus-pitch. Meyer also features a recently added change-up that will likely be the key to his success in the show. His erratic control and command have several scouts concerned though. Those same scouts also negatively note his below-average pitchabilty and poor-quality strikes. Regardless, Meyer is just 21-years-old and already features two plus-pitches.

WHAT THEY SAY:

Baseball Prospect Report

"Alex Meyer is a tall right-hander who throws hard. Overall, he has a great arm, but his secondary stuff and ability to command the strike zone and change speeds with consistently good mechanics significantly trails other starting pitchers in this draft."

ESPNs Keith Law

"Meyer’s lack of track record hurts him, and even with the improved control he was walking a guy every other inning until his last few outings, but it’s top-10 or top-5 stuff with No. 1 starter upside."

Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus

"One scout summed him up best by saying, “He’s either a number one, a shutdown closer, or doesn’t get out of Double-A.”"

FUTURE:

His ceiling of frontline starter seem like a bit of a reach to me. However, his easily obtainable floor of quality late inning reliever makes him an attractive pick, especially late in the first round. I’m a fan of the pick and surprised that Meyer dropped as far as he did in the draft. However, as I previously stated, his success and role in the show will likely depend upon his change-up and improvement in his control and command.

For more on the Washington Nationals, check out District on Deck

Like what you see here and want to stay informed on the happenings at S2S? Make sure to follow me on twitter @JAYRC_MCB!