The Houston Astros appeared to know what that they had in Jake Meyers.
The previous Thirteenth-round choose at all times confirmed himself to be defender however had points with the bat in his hand, posting three straights seasons with an OPS+ determine nicely underneath the league common of 100 whereas additionally having defensive bWAR numbers above zero.
The whole lot was extra pronounced final yr.
Meyers had the worst slash line of his profession since changing into a full-time massive league participant with a mark of .219/.286/.360, however his career-high bWAR of 1.7 was largely as a consequence of his defensive bWAR being 1.0.
Whereas these sorts of gamers are priceless for groups across the league that want dependable defensive substitutes who can play a number of positions throughout the outfield, Meyers’ lack of influence on offense for the Astros made him an actual non-tender candidate this previous winter.
Houston determined to offer him one other probability to show himself, and that has paid off in spades.
Meyers seems to be like a totally totally different participant with the bat in his hand, slashing .300/.358/.413 getting into Monday with three homers, 16 RBI and an OPS+ of 119.
What has brought about the turnaround?
Understanding that one thing wanted to alter when it got here to the offensive aspect of his recreation, he went to work and altered his swing.
In accordance with Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Meyers added a leg kick and tweaked his mechanics, hoping it will turn into a bit extra pure feeling.
It looks as if that has labored.
Meyers made membership historical past initially of the month along with his two-homer recreation towards the Chicago White Sox the place he additionally hit a triple and a double, the primary Astros participant to ever have that stat line in a singular contest whereas additionally changing into the primary to file 13 complete bases from the ninth spot within the lineup.
“That is type of how I hit rising up. And I feel it is extra snug for me, and it is one much less factor to consider and attempt to analyze, and simply let me go on the market and compete,” he stated, per MLB.com.
The following step for Meyers is maintaining this degree of manufacturing all year long.
If he can turn into at the very least a league common hitter, that will probably be a gamechanger for Houston in terms of the offensive manufacturing they are going to get from their outfield unit.
