Wild run lands NA graduate in Brewers’ minor leagues
It’s not quite Brendan McKay’s historic streak of 71⅔ consecutive scoreless innings at Blackhawk High School from 2013-14, but James Meeker put together his own streak to remember over the past two seasons for the Washington Wild Things.
Dating back to the 2019 season — the Wild Things did not play in 2020 — Meeker pitched a team-record 34 consecutive scoreless innings, including 31⅔ scoreless innings in a row to begin the 2021 campaign. All good things must come to an end, though, and Meeker’s streak is no different — although he still hasn’t given up a run yet.
Last week, the Wild Things announced that Meeker’s contract had been picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers, signaling the end of his four-year run with the club — not to mention his remarkable streak. Meeker said he doesn’t know exactly what his next move will be, but his first order of business is to report to the team’s spring training facility in Arizona.
“It’s a pretty surreal feeling,” Meeker said. “I’ve played my whole life trying to work for this, so it’s pretty cool to get an opportunity to do it.”
First-year Wild Things manager Tom Vaeth called Meeker into his office for a meeting last week and told him the news.
“It definitely made my job a lot easier knowing I had that big guy sitting there in the back of my bullpen,” Vaeth said. “I had a lot of confidence going to James whenever I needed him. Obviously the stats don’t lie. He was just lights out for us. ‘Nails,’ as the guys like to say.
“Whenever I called upon him and gave him the ball, I knew he was going to come in and do the job.”
Meeker, a 2013 graduate of North Allegheny who helped the Tigers win a WPIAL championship as a senior, wasn’t highly recruited out of high school. He walked on at Akron University, earning a starting role at third base as a freshman and receiving a scholarship going into his sophomore year. But the baseball program folded in 2015, and he wound up transferring to the University of Delaware, where he transitioned from the infield to becoming a pitcher for his final two years of college ball.
The switch paid off, as Meeker was quickly picked up by the Wild Things of the independent Frontier League after going undrafted out of college. After joining the Wild Things in 2018, he established himself as one of the top relievers in the Frontier League, with a 5-4 career record and 2.43 ERA across 90 relief appearances.
Meeker was solid from the start, but he has been on another level lately. He finished his 2021 season for the Wild Things with a 1-0 record to go with 43 strikeouts, an 0.85 WHIP and a sparkling 0.00 ERA in 30 appearances.
Not bad for a former third baseman.
“I don’t know how it happened,” Meeker said. “I owe a lot to the defense. They help me out a bunch.
They’ve bailed me out a couple times. Just kind of some luck and making the right pitches at the right time. It’s just crazy.”
For many players across the Frontier League, this is the final stop on their professional baseball journey — one last chance to live out their dreams of playing pro ball while acknowledging that the big leagues will likely never come calling. For others, though, it’s a proving ground to show big-league ballclubs that they have what it takes to work their way up the minor-league system, and maybe one day earn a spot on a major-league roster.
Meeker always considered himself in the latter category, and despite never receiving much interest from MLB teams coming out of high school or college, he never gave up hope of one day joining a major-league affiliate.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” Meeker said. “I’ve dreamed about that for my whole life. That’s what I’ve been working toward. ... It was pretty bittersweet, because I made a lot of good close friends here. It was tough saying goodbye to them, but obviously that’s what your goal is, to get picked up.”
It’s not hard to see why MLB clubs have taken notice of Meeker’s talents. When he joined the Wild Things coming out of college, his fastball was topping out between 87-89 mph. Since then, Meeker has raised his velocity to the 94-96 mph range while developing a nasty curveball-slider hybrid as his go-to secondary pitch.
“His fastball is definitely his best swing-and-miss pitch,” Vaeth said. “Any time you’re sitting at 94-96, any type of breaking ball — as long as you can get it coming out of the same plane as your fastball, you’re going to get some swings and misses on it. It’s all part of the development. He’ll go and get some good instruction and improve on his slider and changeup.”
While playing for the Wild Things, Meeker has worked at Herb Brittner’s Smokehouse in Zelienople in the offseason, as well as Kaelin’s Farm Market in Wexford. At the smokehouse, he helps grind up the meats, package them and price them for sale, while he spends most of his time at the farm market picking apples, pumpkins and the like.
Now, Meeker is ready to say goodbye to those side jobs as he becomes a full-time pro baseball player for the first time in the Brewers organization.
“The thing that’s going to help James move on and chase his dream is the quality of person he is,” Vaeth said. “He works hard, he’ll listen to what you have to say, and he takes criticism well. Just a really quality human being.”