Matt Meyer (minors02)

Matthew Paul Meyer

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 4", Weight 210 lb.
• School Boston College
• High School Mayo High School

• Born January 17, 1985 in Rochester, MN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Matt Meyer began pitching in the minor leagues in 2006.

Family

Meyer is the son of Robert and Vanessa Meyer. Meyer has three younger siblings.

High School Career

Meyer attended Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota where he also played football in his freshman and sophomore years.

In 2001, Matt was a member of the team that was a runner-up for the Minnesota state championship.

During his junior year in 2002, Meyer had a 7-0 record and struck out 94 batters. He earned all-state honorable mention honors.

In 2003, Meyer set a new school record with 102 strikeouts. He went 7-4 with a 0.60 ERA and was named the team captain and the best pitcher earning the school's "Golden Arm Award". He repeated as an all-state honorable mention and also earned all-region and all-conference honors. During his senior year, Meyer was on the Team Minnesota squad. In August, his Legion team, the Rochester Red Hawks, took part in the state Division I tournament.

College Career

Meyer appeared in six games as a freshman for Boston College in 2004. He had a 1-1 record with a 3.12 ERA. He struck out 11 in 8 and two-thirds innings. Matt's debut collegiate game was against LaSalle University on March 2, and he struck out all three batters that he faced. Meyer's first win came against the University of Rhode Island on May 19. During the summer, he played for his hometown Rochester Honkers in the Northwoods League. Meyer both started and relieved for the Honkers and ended the season with a 2-3 record with 55 strikeouts in 44 IP and a 3.68 ERA. One of his Honker teammates was Toby Gardenhire, son of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

In 2005, Meyer was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 6 games. He had 22 strikeouts in 22 IP. Hitters had a .225 batting average against him for the season. One of the highlights of the 2005 season for Meyer and his teammates was the opportunity to face the world champion Boston Red Sox during Boston's spring training in Florida. During the summer, he pitched for the Peninsula Oilers in the Alaska Baseball League. He posted a 2.17 ERA over 16 relief appearances.

For 2006, Meyer posted a 2-2 record with a save and a 4.57 ERA in 28 games including 4 starts. He notched 50 strikeouts in 45 and a third innings pitched. Meyer had plans to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League prior to being drafted and signed by Cleveland.

Meyer majored in Sociology.

Minor League Career

In June of 2006, following his junior year at Boston College, Meyer was drafted in the 15th round of the 2006 Amateur Draft (461st overall) by the Cleveland Indians. At the time, Matt was disappointed about being drafted that low, but he was eventually signed by Brent Urcheck.

Meyer reported to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the New York-Penn League for the remainder of the summer. He held hitters to a .230 batting average while posting a record of 2-2 with 2 saves and a 1.98 ERA in 19 games. He struck out 31 in 27 innings.

In 2007, Meyer started the season with the Lake County Captains of the South Atlantic League. In 11 games with the Captains, Meyer had a 0.50 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. On May 18, Matt was promoted to the Kinston Indians of the Carolina League. Meyer's record with the K-Tribe was 3-4 with 3 saves. His combined ERA with the two clubs was 3.31 for the season.

Meyer was again assigned to Kinston for the 2008 season. He finished the season with a 4.23 ERA, a 4-2 record, a save, and 61 strikeouts in 55 and a third innings pitched. His 42 appearances led the team. Meyer is currently playing winter ball with the North Shore Honu. Through November 2, he is 2-1 with a save, a 5.40 ERA, and 17 strikeouts in 13 and a third innings pitched.

Cleveland has used Meyer exclusively as a reliever so far, and there is every indication that he is being groomed as a lefty-on-lefty specialist. His relatively low angle of delivery and deceptive motion are especially tough on left-handed hitters.

Sources and Further Reading

• Christian, Paul: "Meyer Signs With Indians", in The Post-Bulletin (Rochester, MN), June 23, 2006. [1]
• Lastoria, Tony: "Meyer A Special(ist) Reliever", on theclevelandfan.com, April 15, 2008. [2]
• Rubin, Alex: "Indians Draftee Q&A: Matt Meyer", in The Mistake By The Lake Sporting Times (blog site), June 25, 2006. [3]

Related Sites

• video - pitching against Potomac
• video - throwing in spring training
• Matt's MySpace