Article: Will Alex Meyer Bolster The Twins Bullpen?

[Parker Hageman]

The Minnesota Twins bullpen maintains the worst strikeout rate in baseball but on Thursday afternoon, they made a move to improve that area.

 

After sending Michael Tonkin down to Rochester after Wednesday’s game, they recalled hard-throwing Alex Meyer to replace him. Meyer, who the team received in the Denard Span trade with Washington as a starting pitching prospect, has rediscovered himself as a reliever in the Red Wings bullpen. Since the move Meyer has worked 17 innings in relief and has limited opponents to a .188 batting average while posting a solid 20-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.The numbers all look convincing enough to believe that Meyer will play an effective role as a reliever going forward. When the Twins opted to send Meyer to the bullpen, he owned a 1.91 WHIP. While he was striking out plenty of batters, the others were either getting hits or walking. Velocity was never an issue for Meyer, who routinely reached 98 on the gun, but commanding pitches in the zone became the focus in 2015. Too often, Meyer’s fastball would fly down the middle or his breaking ball would hang. By the definition of the zone, they were strikes but they were also very hittable.

 

According to the Durham Bulls broadcasters, their players said that compared to 2014, Meyer’s fastball was flat and that it lacked movement that it had the previous year. His command also was an issue since once he was behind in the count, they did not have to anticipate the knuckle-curve. This was reminiscent of Francisco Liriano’s plight from 2012 in which he was unable to locate his fastball and hitters simply laid off his nasty slider. In his final start, Meyer faced Durham and in just over four innings, the Bulls’ lineup knocked out seven hits of him. They waited patiently as he progressed deeper into counts by missing his spots and made him throw 109 pitches on his way to another early exit.

 

Six days later, Rochester was in Durham, North Carolina and Meyer had moved to the bullpen.

 

The move was made in order for Meyer to find consistency with his fastball and to attempt to regain his biting curve ball which had lost the break it had had a year ago. It also was a move to alleviate the pressure he applied to the relief corps each time his start was truncated. Meyer acknowledged that his arm slot had dropped since the end of 2014. Now in the pen, he told the Rochester broadcasting team that he would be concentrating on getting that release point back up to improve his movement.

 

While some pitching prospects might find the switch troublesome on the ego, Meyer seemed to transition smoothly. In his first outing in relief, Meyer worked a clean 1-2-3 eighth inning against the Bulls -- the team which had less than a week earlier knocked him out of the starting rotation. Meyer worked quickly, getting strikes within the first two pitches of each at-bat. His fastball was humming at 96 and touching 97. He deployed a short break slider at significantly slower speed to register his first two outs and blasted a 97 mile per hour fastball above the zone for a swinging strike for the final out.

 

READ: TD MIDSEASON TOP PROSPECT #10 - ALEX MEYER

 

It was something that every bullpen needs -- someone to be able to throw late innings, bat-missing heat. When Rochester hosted a wrestling night at the beginning of June, all the relievers were given WWE wrestling persona’s that matched their demeanor on the mound. Meyer -- who is also called White Missile by his teammates -- was given The Undertaker, a wrestler who dominated in the ring and stole the souls of his opponents. The character fit well for Meyer’s new role.

 

"While I'm in the bullpen, it's go get 'em,” Meyer told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. “Do whatever you have to do to get them out. I'm just trying to go out there and attack every batter. Get one batter out at a time and try not to over-analyze things any more than that."

 

By the eye test, he looked comfortable going through the motions of a short outing. He leaned on his fastball but was sure to work his knuckle-curve in several times. In fact, he leaned on his curve too much in his first few relief outings. In his first outing, Meyer found himself up 0-1 in the count and shook off his catcher, Josmil Pinto, in order to throw back-to-back curves (both for balls and well off-target). He returned to his fastball and got two swinging strikes: one on the inner-half of the plate and another above the strike zone to finish the hitter off. In another outing, Meyer turned to his curve too frequently in two-strike situations. In four of the nine matchups against Lehigh Valley on June 2, he threw the bender three pitches in a row -- one of which, on a 3-2 count, facilitated a bases-loaded rally that Meyer somehow eventually wiggled out of.

 

Although he appeared to overuse and misfire with the curve early, Meyer also tightened it up in his subsequent outings. The break appeared sharper and able to generate swinging strikes again. Upon his promotion, Red Wings beat writer Kevin Oklobzija highlighted Meyer’s improvement with the curve as a function why he was successful in the pen.

 

During several broadcasts, announcers remarked how “confident” Meyer looked in his new role. His second appearance out of the bullpen on May 25 was all business. The Red Wings needed one out in the sixth inning and they called on a pitcher who could get a strikeout. Meyer threw four pitches -- all fastballs, all on the outer-half of the zone. While the umpire did not agree that the first one was a strike, the next three were placed in the same spot and were all deemed strikes. At that speed, in that location, the hitter stood little chance of doing anything.

 

In his final outing before being recalled to Minnesota, Meyer worked effectively against the Pawtucket Red Sox. Despite allowing an inherited run to score, he was locating his 95+ fastball with precision and deploying a large breaking ball that buckled several knees. Rather than just throwing the curve when up in the count, Meyer also used it to get ahead of hitters and in even-count situations, making him and his fastball even more difficult to hit. Between the two pitches Meyer looked every bit the part of a major league shutdown reliever.

 

In all Meyer has the raw stuff to be dominant at times. Most critical is working ahead of hitters. Even in relief, he showed signs of struggling to locate his fastball and was occasionally helped by opponents who would chase pitches.

 

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[puckstopper1]

Terrific analysis Parker!  Thanks you.  I hope Meyer can keep that "Undertaker" mentality in the Bigs.  Yes, like many I would have hoped that he would have succeeded as a starter, but there is nothing wrong with the Twins having a deep, dominant bullpen.  Look what that has done for the Royals.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Here's to hoping that confidence is a big step to getting him back in the starting rotation.  Until then, I hope he's lights out.

[Craig Arko]

I'd guess if the Twins drop out of contention he gets stretched out to start this year; otherwise they try again next Spring.

[HitInAPinch]

You're on a roll today Parker!

 

This all seems to be following along the plan Ryan and Molitor talked about.  Get Meyer in game situations where there is less stress, work on his mechanics and strategy and just generally let it fly.  Really liked that he shook off Pinto to throw back to back curveballs.  That says a lot. 

 

Some bullpen work in the Majors as a status check.  If it works out, Meyer works in the bullpen the rest of the year and get's stretched out for starting next year.

[JB_Iowa]

Or doesn't get stretched out for starting but becomes the Twins best 8th inning set-up man.

 

Meyer then Perk sounds good to me. 

 

I hate to waste an opportunity for an elite SP but that may not be Meyer's niche.

[twinsnorth49]

What's all this strikeout talk between the 6th and 9th innings? I'm confused.

[jimbo92107]

I can't wait for Alex Meyer to work with a smart tactical catcher like Kurt Suzuki. He'll show Meyer just the right combinations of pitches to shut down every hitter...one time. This is the right thing to do with Meyer. Give him exposure to the bigs, but with less information to process, a simpler plan.

 

Isn't this how the White Sox developed Chris Sale? I seem to recall that Sale started as a flame thrower out of the bull pen, then later worked on becoming a starter. Sale was younger than Meyer is, but it was the same idea.

[jorgenswest]

I can't wait for Alex Meyer to work with a smart tactical catcher like Kurt Suzuki. He'll show Meyer just the right combinations of pitches to shut down every hitter...one time. This is the right thing to do with Meyer. Give him exposure to the bigs, but with less information to process, a simpler plan.

 

Isn't this how the White Sox developed Chris Sale? I seem to recall that Sale started as a flame thrower out of the bull pen, then later worked on becoming a starter. Sale was younger than Meyer is, but it was the same idea.

This was not Suzuki's reputation coming to Minnesota unless his tactics were to call a very high rate of fastballs. Working with Allen will be a plus.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I thought I heard Molitor on the pregame saying he wanted to use Meyer in long relief. Graham has done just fine as long reliever though.

[Craig Arko]

I thought I heard Molitor on the pregame saying he wanted to use Meyer in long relief. Graham has done just fine as long reliever though.

Might get his chance tonight.

[Craig Arko]

Might get his chance tonight.

And there he is.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Chance to hit, too

[Blake]

Well, we have an answer: No.

[Kwak]

 

Well, we have an answer: No.

You beat me to it.  NO.

[twinsnorth49]

Send him back then boys?

[DocBauer]

Yes.

 

Didn't see or hear the game tonight. Don't care what happened when a rookie pitcher with amazing stuff comes up and, apparently from the previous comments, as an egg of indeterminable size.

 

Tonkin can't find consistency. Oliveros needs a ne deserved a shot, but is suddenly not available. (Probably from being used inexcusably incorrectly lately) Out AA bullpen is big on potential, way short on readiness. (And some were calling for various members a to skip AA, AAA, ST or logic and go straight to the Twins bullpen.)

 

The truth is, as long as he's not overworked, (and he has been each of the last two seasons but probably won't be this year), Fien is a real find and very solid. I don't know who this Boyer guy is, but he's surprised the heck out of me! Just don't overwork him! Graham has been almost as big of a surprise, and honestly, I'd like to see him more.

 

Meyer has mad stuff. Meyer will hopefully return to the rotation one of these days, finish finding himself, and be a top starter. If not, he can certainly thrive as a potentially excellent reliever. Right now, he's pitching well, building confidence, finding himself, and offers up a presence and pure power stuff our bullpen just doesn't have. But he probably needs an inning or two to get his feet wet, shake off nerves, and get in a groove of some sort.

 

Or should we just starting taking odds on the first "stick a fork in him" article?

[Danchat]

I think the key is to give our young bullpen arms a long-term shot. For example, Aaron Thompson has had nearly a half-season shot. We've learned a lot about him and he's had big upswing and now he's on a big downswing.

 

A bad example is Michael Tonkin. The Twins keep sending him back and forth with AAA and he can't get a consistent amount of innings. He hasn't pitched well yet in the majors, but I think he just needs a sustained shot to crack the bullpen.

 

So here's what the Twins should do. Give Meyer and the younger bullpen arms a long-term shot - around 2-3 months - and see if they stick. So far, we've learned Thompson probably shouldn't be in the bullpen but we've also learned that Ryan Pressly deserves his spot in the 'pen.

Edited June 27, 2015 by Danchat

[curt1965]

Meyer is a good example of fans "getting what they wanted," and then immediately disappointing.

Maybe there was a reason why he wasn't brought up last year and earlier this year. Granted, tonight was all about nerves, first game in big leagues, etc. But the point was made in the telecast, if he can't change speeds, he's going to get killed at this level, no matter how fast his FB is!

Several posters have marveled that he is an amazing talent, and they probably know more about him than I do. But stud athletes, even in their early 20's, usually force their way onto a big league roster. Meyer hasn't, and just maybe, there is a reason for that.

[by jiminy]

"Or should we just starting taking odds on the first "stick a fork in him" article?"

 

It's one thing if a guy with a history of success in the minors gets battered around in his first appearance in the show, and peole want to instantly give up on him. 

 

That's not what's happening here.  It's the opposite.

 

In Meyer, you have a guy who for his entire career has failed to command his pitches, gotten behind in the count, grooved a fastball, and gotten hammered, even in the minor leagues.  And after brief stretch in the bullpen, we all wanted to wish that all away.  Look at what Parker said about how minor leaguers were shelling him up to a few weeks ago.  Did something REALLY change?  Or was the sample size of his brief bullpen career so small we were able to project our fantasies on it?

 

For him to succeed, he is going to need to be able to throw his breaking pitches for strikes, and command his fastball enough to avoid grooving it down the middle. Otherwise he will continue to get behind in the count, and become 95 mph batting practice. That's not my opinion.  That's just a description of what happens.  In the MINOR leagues, mind you.

 

It would be great if that stopped happening.  Tall pitchers often mature later.  It could happen.  It just hasn't happened yet.  Would I stick a fork in him and give up?  No!

 

But it doesn't make you some unreasonable curmudgeon to want to see some evidence first before concluding that he's radically changed, and the faults he's struggled with his entire career are magically gone. You can't just wish that stuff away. 

 

I'm still very hopeful that with hard work and good coaching his positives will strengthen and his negatives will recede.  A consensus of scouts nationwide consider him a top 100 prospect, so knowledgeable people think his chances are good.  He just still needs to improve a few things.  A few very important things.

 

You say if he fails as a starter, he can "certainly" thrive as a reliever. I don't think he's certain to fail. But it seems premature to say he's certain to succeed, either. The odds may have been above 50-50 when they got him. But based on the lack of progress he's made since then, it's hard to say they're better than 50-50 now.  Isn't it?

 

I'm not a good judge of talent, so if you're seeing something special in him, I'd believe you.  I'm just looking at his record and not seeing an upward arc. 

 

But hopefully that will only make it more satisfying when he turns into a dominant reliever! 

 

Yessss!  I can't help it! Hope is what baseball is all about. 

 

And hey, if it isn't Meyer, it will be someone else.  There's finally enough hard throwers in the minors that I feel good about the odds that some of them will come through.  We'll take a look at Meyer this year, give him his shot, and if it's not him, take a look at someone else.  There will never be a fork you can put in the whole team!!!

[jimbo92107]

Alex Meyer as a pitcher reminds me of Byron Buxton as a hitter. Clearly talented, but very raw. Seems odd that a guy that practices nothing but pitching would still look as awkward (not quite clumsy) as Meyer. I know he's very tall, but supposedly working every day with pitching coaches should refine that motion to something more precise and repeatable, including the finish.

 

I did not see that in Meyer. Seemed like each pitch was different in some way. Leg drive varied, timing varied, arm slot varied. Sometimes he'd fall off to the left, sometimes not. The result was zero consistency and zero command of the zone. Meanwhile, Brewers hitters simply smiled and waited for Meyer to groove a fastball down the middle, so he wouldn't walk another guy.

 

Compare that to Joe Nathan in his prime. Nathan would finish perfectly on balance, the same way every time. He was like a tightrope walker who's so good, the rope doesn't even wiggle. That gave him precision with that mid-90's fastball, which he could place within about one inch of all four corners. Meyer doesn't look like that at all. He's all over the place with his balance, and his mechanics. He may be many thousands of reps away from having mechanical consistency. On the other hand, his physical build reminds me of a taller Satchel Page.

 

A couple years from now, if Alex Meyer isn't completely ruined by the impatient, unrealistic nagging of us fans, he might develop into a pretty impressive pitcher.

Edited June 27, 2015 by jimbo92107