Pittsburgh Pirates minor league pitcher Stephan Meyer retired on Tuesday. The 23-year-old right-hander was the 18th round draft pick in 2015 out of Bellevue University.
Meyer had pitched for Morgantown during all three of his seasons in pro ball. He split his draft year between the GCL and the NYPL, posting an 0.77 ERA in 23.1 innings, with 22 strikeouts. In 2016, he moved to the starting rotation for the Black Bears and posted a 4.50 ERA in 82 innings. He had much better success in the second half of the season when he switched to a two-seam fastball.
This past season, Meyer was in Extended Spring Training until June 20th, when he joined Morgantown for their season opener. He had a 3.72 ERA in seven starts and a relief appearance before moving up to West Virginia to finish the season. Meyer had nice results there in six starts, with a 2.84 ERA, a .231 BAA and a 1.42 GO/AO ratio.
He was likely headed back to West Virginia, where he would have been a relief option. Meyer had that success with his change to a two-seam fastball, but he lacked decent velocity or a strikeout pitch, so his upside was limited. He had a projectable 6’4″ frame when he was drafted, but it didn’t translate to more velocity as he got older.