Major League Baseball kicked off its 2020 draft on Wednesday night. For the second time in three years, the Detroit Tigers held the first overall pick. In 2018, they used it on Auburn right-hander Casey Mize; this year, they used it on Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson, who has been widely regarded as the class' best hitter.
With the No. 3 pick, the Marlins selected University of Minnesota right-hander Max Meyer, who CBS Sports ranked as the fifth-best prospect in the class, and the top pitcher. Here's what we wrote at the time:
Call Meyer the Murder Hornet because he's small but fierce. He's about Sonny Gray-sized, yet he has well-above-average arm strength that lets him touch the upper-90s, and a wipeout slider that is one of the best secondary pitches in the draft. If asked, he could probably pitch out of a big-league bullpen this season. Obviously the long-term hope for Meyer is that he's a frontline starter. He can't do anything about his height, so he'll need to improve his changeup and perhaps tweak his delivery so he doesn't land quite as open. Given his athleticism and pair of top-end pitches, he has a better chance than most at defying the stigma against short righties.
CBS Sports interviewed one of Meyer's coaches at Georgia, Ty McDevitt, earlier this month. You can read the full Q&A by clicking here, but he explained how Meyer gained velocity.
"He's put a lot of weight on his lower half, and he's able to stay more grounded. He doesn't jump off his back side so much, and get across his body or fly open like he would have a tendency to," McDevitt said. "So, just the consistency in his lower half and being able to complete that stride length in a similar fashion. I think a lot of that has had an impact on his release, especially when it's trying to get to that glove side. Rather than having to fly open and tug it there, he can really stay on plane and on line and be able to rotate through his target instead of having to pull off and cut the baseball over there."
Meyer is the highest-picked Gopher since Mike Kvasnicka was selected 33rd by the Houston Astros in 2010. He's the first Minnesota pitcher to go in the first round since Glen Perkins was drafted 22nd overall in 2004.
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June 11, 2020 at 08:25AM
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MLB Draft 2020: Marlins make Max Meyer first pitcher selected with No. 3 pick - CBS Sports
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