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Posted at 10:30 AM EST.

10:05 PM EST. Adalberto Mejia went 0-0 with a 7.71 ERA in 2 innings for the Twins last year. This prospect with a decent repertoire and pitchability was shut down shortly after that late-August MLB debut due to innings limit. He had an impressive 3.00 ERA with a 126/30 K/BB split in 132 IP at AA/AAA levels but this could be a case of pushing a prospect too hard too fast because the Twins pitching staff is one of desperation. This season, Mejia has one pure quality start in five tries. Over 21 innings, has 19 K’s but he’s walked 12 batters. He also has a fly-ball lean profile, which is another sign he’s overthrowing or trying to do more than he’s capable of. Mejia has upside but he’s too green with just under 90 innings of work at the Triple-A level. He’s worth watching but he’s not MLB ready just yet. Furthermore, the Twins bullpen is in serious trouble after the team lost its last four games by scores of 8-6, 16-8, 7-2 and 17-6. That bodes well for the Halos because Mejia is not likely to go past five and that’s if everything goes better than expected.

Alex Meyer is a sufficiently large human (6’9”, 225 pounds) now in his third organization, who has been battling both his control and ability to stay on the mound. A former first-round pick by the Nationals in 2011, Meyer ended up in the Angels organization via the Twins, where Los Angeles had Meyer raise his arm slot and work on developing a consistent off-speed offering. His fastball is still plus, maybe plus-plus when he’s really on it, coming in around 95-96 and touching 99 with good life. He can also take something off the pitch to give it natural sinking action in the low 90s. His slider can also be a plus pitch but much of his control problems stem from losing the release point on the pitch. The Angels are hoping that getting back to his higher slot helps the shoulder and control, as he’s been going backwards in terms of IP, logging 50.1 IP between the majors and minors last season after going for 94.2 in 2015 and 130.1 in 2014. Consistency and staying on the field, both in a general health-wise sense and working deeper into games will be the name of the game for Meyer in 2017.

His last work was on May 20 against the Mets in which he went just four innings and surrendered three earned runs. Meyer only allowed three hits and struck out seven batters in that start 11 days ago but he walked four batters. He’s been working on his control since and if he ever gets it under control, he’s going to be a beast out there. Alex Meyer has filthy stuff. He has struck out 28 batters in 23 innings. His age (27) and his live arm keeps this flame very alive for us, as he’s a minor tweak away from being dominating and he’s paid his dues too.

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