As he prepares for long-awaited first pro start, Meyer eager to feel the ‘little butterflies’ again
Max Meyer’s moment is finally here. It has been nearly 11 months since the Marlins selected Meyer with the third overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft last June. He spent nearly a year biding time through a pandemic, playing intrasquad games on back fields and staying sharp through bullpen sessions.
Now, his 100 mph fastball and top-end slider are about to be unleashed on the minor-league circuit.
Meyer, a unanimous top-50 prospect in baseball — ranked as high as No. 23 by MLB Pipeline — begins his professional baseball career Tuesday when he steps on the mound as the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos’ Opening Day starter against the Mississippi Braves.
“I can’t really describe it,” Meyer said, “but I can’t wait for it. I know every time I went out for
college, I feel like I had a little nerves in me, little butterflies before every start. I feel like you need that, too, and I can’t wait to feel that again.”
The Marlins, meanwhile, can’t wait to see him pitch in a live setting and in games that count.
To this point, all of Meyer’s development came at either the Marlins’ alternate training site during the shortened
2020 season, a monthlong instructional league camp in October, six weeks of back-field work during spring training (the Marlins did not have him play in Grapefruit League games) and another month of workouts and scrimmages at the alternate training site in Jacksonville this year while they waited for the minor-league season to begin.
And while the Marlins don’t plan to rein Meyer in during his first season of professional baseball, precautions will be taken early.
For example, Blue Wahoos pitching coach Tim Norton said Meyer will most likely be on a fiveinning or 75-pitch limit during his first start Tuesday. The plan is also for Meyer to get just one start a week before deciding whether to have him go on a five-day cycle later in the season.
“He’s a pretty special one,” Norton said, “and he’s been pitching against some guys at a high level at the ATS last year and big-league spring training and the ATS again . ... I know he’s excited. I don’t want to take the reins from him. He should be fired up. He’s probably gonna get after it like he always does. Might need to settle him down, but I think he’s in a pretty good spot and he’s ready to compete. I’m gonna let him go out there and get after it.”
MLB Pipeline, which ranks Meyer as the No. 23 overall prospect in baseball, projects Meyer to move through the minor leagues quickly and anticipates his MLB debut coming as early as 2022.
“Though Meyer is listed as just 6 feet tall, he has erased any concerns about whether his size would prevent him from becoming an impact starter,” his scouting report reads.
“He’s strong and athletic, showing the ability to repeat a fluid delivery and fill the strike zone with premium stuff.”
While Meyer’s professional debut certainly headlines the Marlins’ Double A affiliate, it’s not the only story line.
JJ Bleday, the club’s first-round pick in 2019 and No. 2 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is also starting the season in Pensacola. Bleday has quickly impressed the Marlins’ coaching staff and front office during the past two years with his high baseball IQ and maturity.
“Bleday joins an outfield that also includes top prospects Peyton Burdick (No. 12), Jerar Encarnacion (No. 21) and Victor Victor Mesa. Jake Eder, their fourth-round pick in 2020 and a former Vanderbilt standout like Bleday, is also making his pro debut in Double A.
Marlins’ top-30 prospects are represented on all four full-season teams in the system.