Woodbury's Max Meyer Not Getting Called Up To Majors Yet: Marlins GM

JACKSONVILLE, FL —Woodbury native Max Meyer probably is not going to be joining MLB's Miami Marlins this week despite injuries on the team's pitching staff, Marlins General Manager Kim Ng told the Miami Herald on Monday.

Meyer, a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher, is ranked as the team's No. 3 prospect —No. 32 in baseball— by MLB.com and has been having a strong season on the mound for the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Meyer had a 1.72 ERA through six starts this season. However, some struggles during his last two starts has dropped Meyer's ERA to 4.54.

The early-season success led to some calls by the media for the Marlins to bring up Meyer, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Minnesota.

The rumors of a call-up grew after the Marlins put starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo on the 15-day injured list this past weekend.

Though full of praise for Meyer, Ng suggested she didn't want to rush the Woodbury High grad to the majors before he was ready.

"Max is a great talent. We think he's got a very bright future ahead of him," Ng told the Miami Herald.

NG continued: "We just want these guys when they come up to be as prepared as they can, given the circumstances, to get big-league hitters out. That's the goal that we have in mind for Max right now."

The Herald's Jordan McPherson explained why he believed the Marlins think Meyer — who had thrown just 147.3 professional innings entering this week —needs more time in Triple-A.

"First, (the Marlins want to) minimize the acclimation period when the player gets to the big leagues. Give him time to learn from his mistakes while still in the minors," McPherson wrote. "Meyer is still primarily a fastball-slider pitcher who is developing a changeup. Having a third quality pitch is key if he plans to stay as a starter when he makes it to MLB."

McPherson continued: "Second, (the Marlines want to) make sure that when he's called up, he's in a position to stay up. The club doesn't want Meyer to be bouncing back and forth between MLB and the minor leagues.

"Promoting him to temporarily fill in for an injured starter (which would be the current case) and then having to potentially send him back down when the rotation is at full strength would be counterintuitive in their eyes."

Ng said Meyer will get his chance, just not yet.

"This game is hard. The competition is very stiff, and it's somewhat infrequent that you see young players come up and just hit the ground running consistently," Ng said.

Ng added: "We want to make sure that Max and all of our prospects when they come up are as well equipped as they can be provided that we have that opportunity."