Indians Top 100 Prospects: #66 Matt Meyer

66. Matt Meyer - Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 01/17/1985 - Height: 6'4" - Weight: 220 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2006	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	2	2	1.98	19	0	2	27.1	23	6	0	15	31	4.9	10.2	1.39
2007	21	Lake County	A	0	0	0.50	11	0	0	18.0	12	1	1	5	20	2.5	10.0	0.94
		Kinston	A+	3	4	4.32	32	0	3	50.0	50	24	4	32	58	5.8	10.4	1.64
2008		Kinston	A+	4	2	4.23	42	0	1	55.1	48	26	2	29	61	4.7	9.9	1.39
		Career		9	8	3.40	104	0	6	150.2	133	57	7	81	170	4.9	10.2	1.42

History: Meyer was a 15th round pick in the 2006 Draft out of Boston College.

Strengths & Opportunities: Meyer throws from a sidearm three-quarters arm slot with a fastball that has good tailing action and consistently sits at 91-92 MPH topping out as high as 93 MPH. He complements it with a deceptive slider that he has tightened up to where it is more of a power slider sitting in the 81-84 MPH range. His slider is the pitch he has the most confidence in and will throw in any count, and when he needs to reach back for a big pitch or throw a quality strike, the slider more times than not is what he relies on. In his short minor league career he has shown the ability to pile up strikeouts (career 10.2 K/9), but he also piles up the walks (career 4.9 BB/9). He has had some trouble with right-handers, but is very tough on lefties and it is why many of the Indians top decision-makers project him as a lefty specialist down the road. He has always been especially tough on left-handed hitters because of his unique arm slot where he throws from the side and across his body. He also has a funky hitch in his delivery just before he lets go of the ball where he whips his hand through at what seems like the last second, so it is hard for opposing hitters to pick up the ball out of his hand.

The game at times can speed up on Meyer where he starts just being a thrower and not a pitcher. He worked with Kinston pitching coach Greg Hibbard on being more prepared mentally with his pre-pitch routine to slow his heart rate down and get back into the moment of making one pitch at a time and be more in control of his emotions. As a result, by the end of the season Meyer was a much more confident pitcher who looked like he was in control on the mound where earlier in the season it looked like he was making pitches wishing for outs.

He was not pinpointing or real dominating to either side last year, but did a better job of pounding the zone and letting batters get themselves out. He is also finishing pitches more out front and staying in the glove better instead of trying to spin out toward the third base side. Going forward he needs to continue working on his fastball command and tightening up his slider, and work on repeating his delivery. He still has a tendency to spin off to the right side a little bit, and sometimes his arm slot can be inconsistent.

Outlook: While Meyer still has a ways to go, the Indians are excited about his potential as a power-armed situational lefty in the bullpen. He should open the 2009 season in the Double-A Akron bullpen.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

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