Noble Meyer learning quickly early in minor league camp

[Alex Carver]

The Marlins' 2023 first-round draft pick has been working diligently on his fastball and overall stamina as the regular season approaches.

JUPITER, FL—Though he is less than a year into his pro career, things have moved quickly for Marlins top prospect Noble Meyer. After starting 2023 in the FCL, he was quickly promoted to the Jupiter Hammerheads where he contributed to a Florida State League title. A few months later, the 19-year-old is one of the youngest players participating in an early development camp for Marlins minor leaguers where he's throwing against upper-minors competition in matchups that mimic in-game situations. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s absolutely great,” Meyer said on Friday in relation to his experience so far. “I get to go out there and throw then I get to talk with the guys I faced. These are pro guys, pro minds. They’re where they’re at for a reason so to dig into their minds I think really helps my game.”

Some of the competition Meyer faced his second time out on Friday afternoon included invitees to big league camp Jonah Bride, Victor Mesa Jr., Troy Johnston, and Paul McIntosh, all of whom have played at the AA level or above.

“It’s awesome,” Meyer said about facing upper level competition. “It gives me a chance to see what I need to be at, what the next level is like, and how to climb.”

After his start, the constructive feedback was aplenty for Meyer from both his organizational mates and from his coaches.

“Fastball was great on the outside corner to lefties and then working inside with the changeup to righties was really good, it caught them off their balance,” Meyer said. “I could throw a fastball back inside and that seemed to be a really good plan of attack for most guys.”

The four-seam fastball Meyer speaks about was a point of focus for him in the offseason. He put work in on improving spin rates and where he’s able to command the pitch including in the upper half of the strike zone. On Friday, he showed off exactly that in a stand-out moment where he got the aforementioned Mesa to strike out on the fastball up in the zone.

Mesa spoke about what he saw from Meyer after the outing, pinpointing the fastball Meyer has been working to improve in relation to how it carries.

“He’s got pretty good stuff at a young age,” Mesa said. “I told him to use more of his fastball—it has pretty good rise.”

After his last start, Meyer stated that if he is able to improve carry and rise on his fastball, his breaking stuff will play better. After this outing, he was satisfied with how his fastball played overall, pointing to and showing an understanding of exactly what the pitch was formerly and currently is doing. Meyer specifically focused on staying true to his natural arm slot and reaching all four quadrants.

“If you look at the numbers, the vertical break isn’t too high, but just the approach angle, where I’m throwing and how I’m spinning it, it’s going to play really well at the top of the zone,” Meyer said. “I can also throw it at the bottom of the zone with sink. So it’s kind of a dual threat fastball right now.”

In addition to the improving fastball, Meyer has three other pitches. His newest and maybe best breaking pitch already is a curveball with two-plane break that he can spin with ease. He also owns a slider and changeup, which place him all over the velo mix map, from the mid-70s to the high 90s. A key for Meyer this coming season will be stamina through his starts and a full MiLB schedule.

“I just want to get better. Getting stronger and being able to sustain velocity and command throughout the entire season,” Meyer said. “It’s a long season, so that’s priority number one right now.”

Meyer has also stated that, while staying within what he can control, in a perfect world, he would like to make it up to Double-A this coming season and would like to participate in the upcoming Spring Breakout game on March 15. Full Marlins minor league camp begins on March 3 with the MiLB regular season schedule to follow on April 5.

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