Honestly, if you were a Twins fan back in 2013, Alex Meyer felt like a cheat code. He was this towering, 6-foot-9 right-hander who looked more like an NBA power forward than a pitcher, and he threw a fastball that could legitimately touch triple digits. When the Minnesota Twins traded a fan-favorite like Denard Span to the Washington Nationals to get him, it felt like a massive win for the future.
Meyer wasn't just another prospect. He was the prospect.
But baseball is a cruel game. It’s a sport where a single millimeter of a torn labrum can turn a "future ace" into a "what if" story faster than a hanging slider gets cleared over the centerfield wall. The story of Alex Meyer and the Minnesota Twins is a wild ride of sky-high expectations, mechanical struggles, and a shoulder that eventually just couldn't take it anymore.
The Trade That Shook Target Field
Let's look back at November 2012. The Twins were in a rough spot, coming off a 96-loss season. Terry Ryan, the GM at the time, knew he needed high-upside arms. Trading Denard Span—a gold-glove caliber centerfielder who was the heartbeat of the lineup—was a painful move for the Twin Cities faithful.
In exchange, they got Meyer. He was the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft out of the University of Kentucky. At the time, he was sitting pretty as one of the top 100 prospects in all of baseball.
He had "stuff" for days.
We’re talking about a four-seam fastball that lived at 95–98 mph and a knuckle-curve that made minor league hitters look like they were swinging garden hoses in a windstorm. Baseball America had him ranked as high as the #45 prospect in the entire country heading into 2014. For a franchise that had historically relied on "pitch-to-contact" guys who topped out at 91 mph, Meyer was a revelation.
Why the Hype Was Real
- Intimidating Stature: You can't teach 6-foot-9. His release point was so close to the plate that 98 mph felt like 105.
- Elite Strikeout Potential: In 2014 alone, pitching for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, he fanned 153 batters in 130 innings.
- The "Nasty" Factor: He was voted as having the "Best Fastball" and "Best Curveball" in the Twins system.
The Struggles with Command and Mechanics
Here’s the thing about being that tall: it’s really hard to keep all those long levers moving in sync.
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Think about a pendulum. If it’s short, it’s easy to control. If it’s ten feet long, the slightest wiggle at the top results in a massive miss at the bottom. Meyer struggled with this constantly. Repeating his delivery was a nightmare.
Basically, he couldn't find the strike zone consistently. In 2014, while he was striking everyone out, he also walked 64 guys. That’s a walk rate of 4.4 per nine innings, which is "dangerous territory" for a starting pitcher.
The Twins tried everything. They messed with his arm slot. They worked on his "pitchfork" changeup grip to give him a third offering. They even tried converting him to a reliever in 2015 because they thought his stuff would play up in short bursts where he didn't have to worry about pacing himself.
The Minnesota Twins Debut (and the Reality Check)
On June 26, 2015, Meyer finally got the call. He made his MLB debut against the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was... rough.
He came out of the bullpen and allowed four runs in just 1.2 innings. He looked nervous, his command was shaky, and big-league hitters didn't care about his prospect pedigree. They sat on his heater and punished it.
He only pitched two games for the Twins in 2015, posting a staggering 16.87 ERA. It was a tiny sample size, sure, but the red flags were waving. The "can’t-miss" kid was missing the plate.
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By 2016, the shoulder issues started to surface in earnest. He was shut down with "shoulder fatigue," a term that usually makes baseball fans' stomachs turn. It wasn't just fatigue; it was the beginning of the end for his time in Minnesota.
The Exit: Traded to the Angels
On August 1, 2016, the Twins decided they had seen enough. They packaged Meyer with veteran Ricky Nolasco and sent them to the Los Angeles Angels for Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz.
It felt like a "change of scenery" trade.
And for a minute there, it actually worked. In 2017, Meyer looked like he was finally putting it together with the Angels. In 13 starts, he posted a 3.74 ERA and struck out 75 batters in 67 innings. He even threw seven innings of one-hit ball against the Nationals—the team that originally drafted him—in what would be his final MLB start on July 19, 2017.
Then, the news broke.
Torn labrum. Surgery.
He missed all of 2018. He tried to rehab. He spent countless hours in training rooms, trying to get that electric arm back to where it was. But after multiple surgeries and a body that wouldn't cooperate, Alex Meyer officially retired on June 25, 2019.
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He was only 29 years old.
A Career by the Numbers
| Metric | Statistic |
|---|---|
| MLB Debut | June 26, 2015 |
| Career Record | 5–8 |
| Career ERA | 4.63 |
| Strikeouts | 107 |
| Max Fastball | 100.1 mph |
What Alex Meyer is Doing Now
It’s easy to look at his career and see "failure," but that’s a narrow way to view it. Meyer was an elite athlete who reached the absolute pinnacle of his profession.
Today, he’s back in his hometown of Greensburg, Indiana. He spent some time substitute teaching (imagine having a 6-foot-9 MLB pitcher as your sub) and eventually took over as the varsity baseball coach for the Greensburg Pirates.
He’s giving back to the game that gave him a lot, even if it took his shoulder in return. Interestingly, the baseball genes still run in the family; his cousin, Bryan Hoeing, is currently pitching in the majors for the San Diego Padres.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Pitchers
Looking back at Meyer's journey provides some pretty clear lessons for anyone following the modern game or developing young arms:
- Beware the "Tall Pitcher" Tax: While height offers a great downhill plane, it also introduces massive mechanical volatility. If you're a coach, focus on core stability and repeatable mechanics over raw velocity early on.
- Shoulder Health is Everything: Meyer’s career ended not because of a lack of talent, but because of structural failure. Modern "weighted ball" programs can increase velocity, but they must be balanced with meticulous recovery protocols.
- Prospect Status is a Projection, Not a Promise: Never value a prospect over a proven commodity unless you are prepared for the "Alex Meyer scenario." The trade for Denard Span is a classic example of the high-risk, high-reward nature of MLB front offices.
- Life After the Mound: Meyer's transition to coaching is a great blueprint for former pros. His experience with the "failures" of the big leagues—the injuries and the command issues—likely makes him a much better coach than someone who found the game easy.
The saga of Alex Meyer and the Minnesota Twins serves as a reminder of how fragile a baseball career can be. He was a giant on the mound who, for a few brief moments, showed us exactly why everyone was so excited in the first place.