When Woodbury High School pitcher Max Meyer was drafted by the Twins in the 34th round of the 2017 MLB draft, his father, Kent, shed tears of joy.
After the news, Max walked into the family’s home and quickly received a hug from his dad. “He is really emotional, and it’s more fun for him,” Max said in February. “I feel like if I get drafted this year, it’s going to be more fun for him again.”
The first time he was drafted, Meyer knew he was going to join the Gophers baseball program. Now after his junior season was cut short by coronavirus, the right-handed starter is expected to be selected early in Wednesday’s first round.
Kent acknowledged he doesn’t hold back his feelings when it comes to his kids, but he might try this time around. “I’m going to probably try to yell a little bit so I don’t get teared up, but I’m sure I will shed some,” he said. “Just being so proud of what he’s accomplishing.”
Meyer is pegged as a top-10 prospect, according to multiple outlets, and has a chance to be the highest-drafted Gopher since Glen Perkins went 22nd to the Twins in 2004.
The big moment will be celebrated with Max’s extended family coming to their home in Woodbury. The fixings will resemble a Super Bowl smorgasbord — meatballs, shrimp, cheese and crackers, and fruit. Max declined Kent’s offer to go bigger with a barbecue, opting to keep it low key.
It was a surprise when Meyer was drafted three years ago, so it came without festivities.
“I never really thought I would get drafted out of high school,” Meyer said. “I was 5-11, 150 (pounds); I was really small.”
Now 6-feet and 200 pounds, Meyer will likely be off the board when the Twins use the 27th overall pick. Twins scouting director Sean Johnson said they view Meyer’s slider as “the best breaking ball in the draft” to go with a fastball that touches 100 mph and a newer changeup developing into a reliable third pitch.
Kent and Max have been Twins fans, with Max’s once-favorite player being Carlos Gomez, but they are open to whatever team picks him.
“Maybe a long time ago, it was, ‘It would be great if he was with the Twins,’ ” Kent said. “But I really haven’t thought about it for years. He just wants to go to someone that appreciates him, and I totally understand that. It doesn’t matter what number he goes; we just want a team that wants him.”
Gophers pitching coach Ty McDevitt said Meyer’s ascent from high-round high school draftee to a freshman reliever to junior ace is just the beginning of his career. Since before high school, Meyer has made incremental velocity gains every year.
“Very rarely do you have somebody that is as quality a pitcher as he is who has had such a steep ascent (and) there is so much more to work on,” McDevitt said. “You go back and study and he has not plateaued in any facet in his game. Looking at where he is now and understanding who he is as a person and the type of work that he puts in in the offseason, I’m just excited to see where he goes from here.”
The Gophers added a slew of new-age toys when the Glen Perkins Family Baseball Performance Center opened in 2018. Pitchers now have weighted baseballs and a Rapsodo Pitching unit that tracks velocity, spin rate and strike-zone analysis, including breaks points.
But Meyer is more old-school.
“I’m not a big tools guy,” he said. “I don’t get into any of the technology. I’ve never thrown a weighted ball or anything. That is just not part of my game. We’ve been looking at the Rapsodo a little bit and where my ball spins, what pitches and fastball grips will have the best speed and all that stuff. It’s fun to look at that, but I’m definitely not a guy that is focused on that.”
Because of Meyer’s relatively small stature, the primary concern over his draft status is whether he can be a starting pitcher in the major leagues, but, McDevitt said, “I think that over the course of the past two seasons, he should have expelled every one of those concerns, plus some.”
Meyer made only four starts this season, going 3-1 with a 1.95 earned-run average — he walked eight and struck out 46 in 27⅔ innings — but McDevitt said what matters is his the development of his changeup, ability to produce contact early in counts, control baserunners, and knowing when to really challenge key hitters.
“He has shown the ability to make all of those adjustments and understand all the things that are necessary there,” McDevitt said. “At this point, I really don’t see any question of why he wouldn’t be able to start. Talking to a lot of the pro teams, there are a lot of guys that feel that way as well.”
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