Noble Meyer, Thomas White showcase tools in Futures Game

[Alex Carver]

Though they weren’t at their best, Noble Meyer and Thomas White were effective on a big stage.

For a second straight prospect-centric event, the Marlins got a look at their top two pitching prospects on a national stage. On Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas, Noble Meyer and Thomas White toed the rubber for the National League Futures team. What the Marlins currently lack in overall prospect prowess, there’s a ton in both of these arms. Once again, they proved it. Both recently called up to High-A as 19-year-olds, Miami’s pair of high-prized arms turned in a combined 1 ⅔ innings of one run work on three strikeouts.

Noble was up first. Following Colorado’s Chase Dollander, Meyer tossed the second inning. It was just Meyer’s third time on the mound over the past month; he had missed two straight starts due to a minor injury scare. From the start, Noble had full command of his fastball. Since spring training, it’s been a focus of his to elevate and place his fastball up in the zone more consistently to allow his best pitch slider to advantageously change eye levels and garner even more off-balance hacks. After placing two fastballs up to his first hitter Xavier Isaac, Meyer attempted two pitches to the outer half before freezing him with another fastball over the middle of the plate. In a 2-2 count, Meyer showed great confidence in his heater which topped at 94.6 mph.

While the fastball was good, Meyer didn’t have full control of his slider. Many of his spinners wound up well off the plate and led to his walk of Harry Ford. Meyer did garner a whiff for a second strikeout with his slider, but it wound up middle/middle. He somehow got away with the mistake for a K.

All in all for Noble, it was very encouraging to see him continue to build confidence in his fastball and place it with paint in the upper quadrants. Though the slider wasn’t there in this inning, it’s a forgone conclusion that that pitch is already close to major league ready. Without his best stuff in a nerve-wracking environment, Noble rose to the occasion.

Thomas White, Fish on First’s consensus top prospect, was up next. White entered into a scoreless game in the bottom of the fourth inning. From the jump, White didn’t have his sharpest control. After getting behind his first hitter 3-0, White issued a walk on a fastball. To his second hitter, White tried incorporating his signature slurve a bit more. He did so effectively, gaining a a called strike. He then went back to the bender for a flyout to center field. White seemed to be settling in at that point, getting ahead to his third hitter 1-2, but he eventually lost him by missing outside with two breakers and a fastball.

Following a mound visit, White got ahead versus Jaison Chourio 0-2, but then issued a changeup that caught way too much plate. Chourio took the pitch to left for an RBI single, breaking the scoreless tie. After the single, White appeared a bit rattled by his control issues. He was much quicker to the plate between pitches and could be seen exhibiting some negative body language as he walked his next hitter on four pitches. Although he didn’t get out of his inning of work, White ended his night on a good note, striking out Max Clark on a frontdoor slider. He showed good confidence in the pitch to throw it inside in an even count.

Though neither Meyer or White had their best stuff, they were still able to limit damage against some of the brightest young bats in Minor League Baseball. The pair of friends will travel together back to Beloit, then meet their High-A teammates in Peoria, where they are expected to return to the Sky Carp starting rotation next week.

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