Meyer gets a shot....

[Blarg]

@Inside Pitch he is not going to progress with a memory longer than the sign he is given for the next pitch.

[Inside Pitch]

Yeah -- I think it's less about his control than what's between his ears....

[Jobu]

39 minutes ago, Blarg said:

@Jeff Fletcher What I saw in Meyer was an inability to understand he doesn't choose the strike zone and because of that is unable to control his mental game. He was constantly disagreeing with the umpires calls, even voicing it to Graeterol when he went to the mound to calm him down. 

This is one of the problems Richards, Weaver and Lackey all had when they started out. Immaturity on display, interrupting their concentration and leaving them wide open for a big inning by making small mistakes in a cascading manner.

Someone needs to beat that out of him. 

Mariners sure tried.

[Blarg]

It is a brutal game if you can't block out the emotions of thinking what you just did deserves better treatment. Pitchers really need to be machine like or be able to focus any anger into being ever more focused and determined. At 27 he is behind his peers in that talent.

Graeterol called some pretty good pitch sequences that when Meyer produced the pitch called for he got a couple of strikeouts and pop ups. His curve is nothing special, very little break so it's more of an off speed pitch to reset the hitter timing. Since Meyer really doesn't have a third pitch he needs to establish that curve and stick with it even if once in a while a player can cue it off the end of the bat to beat a shift like last night.

If the Angels had a healthy staff Meyer would be learning this in the minors but I think at this point he has to be in the majors for the lessons to really stick. In AAA it's just a wash rinse and repeat thinking your stuff is good enough by being successful against a bunch of journeyman waiting for an injury in the majors for their cup of coffee. We are going to have to see if he can actually progress as a starter through failure or if he is really just a two pitch bullpen arm.

I don't see him as a reliable arm for a while but at this point the Angels don't have any other choice without going the Lincecum route again and they and recycle a cheap unsigned pitcher with "major league experience."

[Stradling]

"Fuck it lets pitch?"

[nando714]

Has Meyer made it past the 4th inning this season?

[Jeff Fletcher]

4 hours ago, Jason said:

Isn't he 27 years old? How many more years does he need to to develop and turn that corner?

Isn't there a whole other thread of people wanting to give Kaleb Cowart an everyday job to see what he can do?

[Ohtaniland]

[DMVol]

23 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Isn't there a whole other thread of people wanting to give Kaleb Cowart an everyday job to see what he can do?

Cowart is 24....about the time (or maybe a little older) when most prospects get an every day chance....Meyer is 27...that's a little long in the tooth for a prospect....that said, I'm all for giving Meyer enough of a chance as a starter to prove whether he can get it done....I don't have illusions that Cowart is likely to be a solid ML regular...but if Espinosa hangs around .150 for another month and Cowart is still hitting at SLC, not sure what the downside would be with a change....not now but maybe in June...

[Jason]

33 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Isn't there a whole other thread of people wanting to give Kaleb Cowart an everyday job to see what he can do?

Probably. I'm not opposed to the Angels giving Meyer innings (they don't have a choice anymore). I just think 27 isn't young for a prospect in the baseball world.

[Blarg]

I really don't think he is being labeled as a prospect.

[Jason]

1 minute ago, Blarg said:

I really don't think he is being labeled as a prospect.

Since he's only thrown 35 innings at the MLB level what do we label him?

[Blarg]

3 hours ago, Stradling said:

"Fuck it lets pitch?"

Probably the best advice he should be using right now.

[Blarg]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

Since he's only thrown 35 innings at the MLB level what do we label him?

Rookie.

[Jason]

Just now, Blarg said:

Rookie.

I guess so, unless he's riding the AAA shuttle this season.

[Ohtaniland]

7 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Rookie.

Some rookies can turn into superstars with hard work and dedication. 

 

[IEAngelsfan]

7 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Some rookies can turn into superstars with hard work and dedication and a few questionable supplements.

 

FIFY

[AngelsLakersFan]

11 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Is it my imagination or do you guys have less patience for young pitchers than young hitters?

There is always a crowd saying a struggling hitter "just needs to get 500 ABs! How is he supposed to hit if Scioscia doesn't give him a chance?"

While I think you are right, generally speaking I have higher expectations for young pitchers than for young hitters. Young pitchers have the advantage of the league having not seen them before. They also are probably never going to throw harder or have more movement on their pitches than they do at the start of their career. 

[mulwin444]

Due to injury, Meyer threw only 54 innings last season, so, if he's indeed healthy, his "stuff" makes  him intriguing despite being 27.  Its not like there are a ton of options banging down the down in AA/AAA.  

[eligrba]

This discussion would be much easier if the Angels had a player at every position that was at least average.

[Angel Oracle]

2 hours ago, CALZONE said:

Based on how the FAs-to-be are doing for the Halos, Eppler might get as much as $65-$70 million AAV to work with this off-season.

And Pujols' and Trout's increases for 2018 do not factor into that, as they already factor in.

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

Probably the best advice he should be using right now.

Yep..  Say what you will about our old HR pitcher, the dude wasn't afraid to go out and fling it.

[Ohtaniland]

1 minute ago, Angel Oracle said:

Based on how the FAs-to-be are doing for the Halos, Eppler might get as much as $65-$70 million AAV to work with this off-season.

I will say this. Stop the madness about people thinking that we can contend this season. We need to clear out all of these stop gap players and maybe Cron and Calhoun before the deadline for whatever prospects we can get. We need to seriously think about 2019 and beyond to allow our frontline pitchers to recoup and prove that they still belong. That tied in with a couple of decent drafts and we could solidify a foundation for years to come. Yes it's painful but we're not getting anywhere with this current plan. Maybe even Pujols would also accept a buyout after 2018. 

[Angelsjunky]

1 hour ago, CALZONE said:

Some rookies can turn into superstars with hard work and dedication. 

 

OMG, dark humor at its finest.

(in before someone says "racist")

[Angelsjunky]

Yeah, it was an awful start but I sure hope they give him more. He needs a chance. He was frustrated and pressing, probably really feeling the pressure of his audition, and blew it. He deserves a chance to learn from his mistakes.

I'd like to see him get four or five starts. If he is showing no significant signs of improvement, maybe a stint in the bullpen will do him better than back to the minors.