Miami's Secret Ace, Atlanta's Relief Phenom, and the Post-Hype Fireballer
Max Meyer (mlb.com)
Section I: Max Meyer
As he distances himself from both a labrum surgery and a UCL repair, the former no. 3 pick is quietly taking over the NL East. Meyer would absolutely be in the Cy Young conversation if he wasn’t pitching in the same league as the Miz and Christopher Sánchez. If he were in the AL, he might slot right behind Cam Schlittler for finalist consideration if the season ended today.
Currently steamrolling opposing lineups with a 2.80 ERA and a 8-0 record, Meyer has carved himself a spot in the top of Miami's rotation.
Max Meyer’s pitch distribution
Meyer boasts an outlier short sweeper that, by eye test, honestly looks more like a curveball. Regardless of what Statcast calls it, it’s one of baseball’s best breakers, and he currently leads the league in swords largely due to the outlier shape. His bag is pretty deep mix-wise, as Meyer has leaned into using both multiple fastballs and multiple breakers. Even though his slider isn’t the star of every at bat, it’s proven to be successful for showing a shorter, faster shape to keep batters from spitting on the sweeper out of the zone. None of his other pitches are particularly amazing, but using both sinkers and 4-seams while taking advantage of the occasional changeup is the epitome of modern pitch design.
Max Meyer’s Statcast card
The quiet ace of the Fish is overperforming his inputs when compared to his 3.33 FIP, but bat tracking is more telling for the right-hander. Below is his sweeper (in blue) compared to a weaker one. Hitters are consistently waving over the pitch, which makes sense given that it sizzles in at roughly 88 mph. Meyer’s gap between his ERA and xERA might actually be sustainable given the extreme profile. When Meyer does get timed up, he can be hit around the park as shown by the EV and Hard-Hit numbers. However, that doesn’t happen much in the first place.
Custom graphic by Statcast
Spinning a breaker like Meyer’s sweeper can help pitchers get better results compared to their batted ball inputs over the long run. (A great example of this is Andrew Abbott and his seemingly average curveball.)
Section II: Didier Fuentes
Didier Fuentes (mlb.com)
After a saddening ‘25 debut where Fuentes pitched to a 13.85 ERA, he combined his Spring Training outings for 9 innings of zero earned. He ditched his sweeper (sorry Meyer) for a more traditional slider, and began running up the velocity on a great 4-seam out of the bullpen this season.
Didier Fuentes pitch distribution
Sporting a 114 Stuff+ mark, the heater is elite beyond the velocity due to an extreme ‘Vertical Approach Angle.’ The fastball plays up in a similar way to Jacob Misiorowski’s, as his low arm angle and Induced Vertical Break creates a more aggressive “rising” effect compared to what the brain expects. Gotta love the optical illusion. Using the heater at this frequency won’t stick if (and when) he stretches back out as a starter, so he’s been working on landing other pitch types in relief. With recent injuries to the Braves, Fuentes will be expected to take up more leverage innings to continue proving himself as more than a prospect. Oh right, he’s also 20 years old tossing a 2.45 ERA this season.
Section III: Carlos Lagrange
Carlos Lagrange (mlb.com)
Carlos Lagrange was extremely hyped during spring training where he routinely sat at 100 mph or above. Though the Bombers still believe in their #4 prospect as a starter, they’ve moved the righty into the bullpen at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so that he can contribute in the Show sooner. The 23 year old clocked 92 pitches at or over 100 so far this year at AAA. Even if he can’t get the walks completely in control (11.7 BB%) and make it as a starter, Lagrange might be the Aroldis Chapman the Yankees have been seeking for a couple seasons now.
Lagrange’s pitch distribution by Prospect Savant
About the author:
This article was produced by amateur stat nerd and pitching enthusiast SmallTimeScatterPlot. You can find him and more diamond-in-the-rough arms on Substack.