Max

Meyer

Meyer scattered two hits on the night and didn’t allow a base on balls. Both of the hits that he allowed in the contest were singles and the Mets never mounted a serious scoring threat against him. The 26-year-old right-hander generated five whiffs on 39 pitches on the night — three of those on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 33 percent. He has been terrific through his first two appearances this spring, posting a 0.50 WHIP and a 6/0 K/BB ratio over his first four innings of work. He’s locked into a spot in the Miami’s rotation and makes for an intriguing fantasy option in the endgame stages of drafts.

Meyer threw just 11 pitches in his first outing since undergoing hip surgery last year. His rotation status with the Marlins should be secure after the team traded Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, and there’s chance he could finally breakthrough if he stays healthy in his age-27 season.

Meyer was a popular late-round fantasy sleeper last spring and showed some flashes of big-time upside — most notably a 14-strikeout gem against the Reds last April — before struggling in his final few outings and undergoing season-ending hip surgery in mid-June. The mercurial 26-year-old former top prospect is tentatively penciled into Miami’s rotation mix with Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers no longer in the picture and shouldn’t have any limitation during his ramp-up process this spring. He’s a name to monitor closely during Grapefruit League outings, especially in deeper mixed leagues, given his strikeout upside. However, omnipresent health and performance question marks limit his appeal to a late-round dart throw at this stage of his career.

The procedural move frees up a spot on Miami’s 40-man roster. Meyer underwent season-ending left hip surgery last week, but is expected to be a full-go in time for spring training.

Meyer will undergo the labral repair procedure on Friday, which carries a 6-8 month recovery timetable. It’s a significant hit to Miami’s rotation depth. The 26-year-old righty can obviously be dropped in all fantasy formats. He should be ready for spring training based on the timing of the surgery. He showed some real flashes of potential early this season, including a 14-strikeout gem on April 21, before getting hit hard over his final handful of starts.

Meyer was placed on the injured list at the start of June with a left hip impingement. The right-hander’s timeline will likely be determined by that meeting, but for now, the 26-year-old remains out indefinitely, and it seems unlikely he returns before the All-Star break at this point.

George Soriano will fill the roster spot and join the pen. The Marlins were facing a bit of a tough call on who to replace in the rotation with Eury Pérez returning, but this settles the matter for now. It probably won’t be too lengthy of an absence for Meyer, who had seen his ERA rise from 4.15 to 4.73 while getting roughed up by the Padres and Rockies his last two times out.

A little break might be good for Meyer, who has given up 11 runs — eight earned — in 8 1/3 innings over his last two starts. Eury Pérez is making his final rehab start tonight anyway, so he’ll be Meyer’s replacement in the rotation.

Meyer’s ongoing struggles continued in this outing as he coughed up 10 hits, including a pair of homers to Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, and allowed five runs for the fifth time in his last seven starts dating back to April 27. He struck out five and issued two walks. Simply put, he hasn’t been the same since a brilliant 14-strikeout performance against the Reds in late April. The most alarming aspect from a fantasy standpoint is that the whiffs have basically evaporated. He generated only nine swinging strikes on 77 pitches against a Colorado lineup that typically struggles away from Coors Field. At this point, there are superior alternatives on the waiver wire, especially in shallow mixed leagues. He’ll carry a lackluster 4.73 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 68/20 K/BB ratio across 64 2/3 innings (12 starts) into a challenging road tilt on Sunday against the Rays.

Meyer gave up a solo homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. to lead off the bottom of the first inning. A walk, hit, and an error brought two more runs in to score for San Diego in the second. Two hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly plated two more runs for the Padres in the third. Two errors in the fourth would knock Meyer from the game at 74 pitches. He did not record a strikeout. The 26-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 4.53 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 63/19 K/BB ratio across 59 2/3 innings. He’ll take on the Rockies in Miami on Monday.