Anthony Meo has first-round stuff
By Keith Law
ESPN Insider
Coastal Carolina's Anthony Meo pitched at Pepperdine on Friday -- in a setting so stunning I'm surprised I remember anything that happened during the game (and am now questioning my choice of alma mater) -- with a number of scouting directors and cross-checkers in attendance, and he didn't disappoint. Based on what he showed over the first few innings, he looks extremely likely to go in the first round, probably in the top 20-25, as long as he maintains this type of stuff.
Meo sat 93-96 in his outing, and there was more 96 than 93 to it. The pitch doesn't have great life but he showed some ability to get on top of the ball and drive it down to the lower half of the zone. He struggled to command it in the first inning, throwing about three that were either insanely high or to the backstop, but he settled down after that. He paired it with a hard, intermittently plus slider at 86-90 that, when it was on, had very sharp, late bite, although most of the swings and misses on the pitch were on sliders out of the zone. He tried to flash a curveball but had no feel for it.
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Meo's delivery works surprisingly well -- since he had some arm soreness last summer, I had expected to see a mechanical train wreck. Meo starts with a high leg kick and rotates his hips to create a lot of torque, so when he uncoils as he drifts off the rubber (with some drop and drive to it) he generates a lot of arm speed with his lower half. He takes a long stride and lands consistently on the imaginary line from the rubber to the plate.
The half-full glass of Meo is that he's got a chance for two plus pitches and the body and delivery of a starter. The half-empty glass is that his results haven't been great so far and he needs a viable third pitch. There are better college starters in this deep draft, guys with full repertoires and more track record, but once those half-dozen or so guys are off the board Meo will look very appealing.
• Oregon State catcher Andrew Susac is the top collegiate catcher in this draft, ahead of Arkansas' James McCann and North Carolina State's Pratt Maynard for me. Susac hit the first pitch he saw -- a 91-mph fastball -- out of Blair Field to deep left-center, an impressive feat at one of the least Home Run-friendly parks in Division 1.
Susac is a good catch-and-throw guy who has cleaned up his swing significantly since high school, losing the hitch he showed as a teenager, replacing it with an innocuous stir instead. He's very strong and gets power more from his upper half, with slightly late hip rotation, and has good hand acceleration to turn on an above-average fastball. I've thought of him in the past as having power but with questions on the hit tool; this cleaned-up swing looks like it'll produce more contact than I expected. Like Meo, there's a good chance Susac could land in the first round.
• Long Beach State right-hander Andrew Gagnon was 89-92 with a decent slider, but the fastball has zero life and OSU hitters had no trouble squaring it up. Gagnon's a strike-thrower, but he's got a little bit of an arm wrap in the back as well, so between that and the fringy fastball I'd probably keep him below the top few rounds.
Oregon State starter Sam Gaviglio dominated Long Beach State, punching out 14 of 28 batters in a complete game one-hitter; Gaviglio has good tailing life on his fastball but I didn't get anything over 87 mph, and he's not projectable.
By Keith Law
ESPN Insider
Coastal Carolina's Anthony Meo pitched at Pepperdine on Friday -- in a setting so stunning I'm surprised I remember anything that happened during the game (and am now questioning my choice of alma mater) -- with a number of scouting directors and cross-checkers in attendance, and he didn't disappoint. Based on what he showed over the first few innings, he looks extremely likely to go in the first round, probably in the top 20-25, as long as he maintains this type of stuff.
Meo sat 93-96 in his outing, and there was more 96 than 93 to it. The pitch doesn't have great life but he showed some ability to get on top of the ball and drive it down to the lower half of the zone. He struggled to command it in the first inning, throwing about three that were either insanely high or to the backstop, but he settled down after that. He paired it with a hard, intermittently plus slider at 86-90 that, when it was on, had very sharp, late bite, although most of the swings and misses on the pitch were on sliders out of the zone. He tried to flash a curveball but had no feel for it.
<OFFER>
Meo's delivery works surprisingly well -- since he had some arm soreness last summer, I had expected to see a mechanical train wreck. Meo starts with a high leg kick and rotates his hips to create a lot of torque, so when he uncoils as he drifts off the rubber (with some drop and drive to it) he generates a lot of arm speed with his lower half. He takes a long stride and lands consistently on the imaginary line from the rubber to the plate.
The half-full glass of Meo is that he's got a chance for two plus pitches and the body and delivery of a starter. The half-empty glass is that his results haven't been great so far and he needs a viable third pitch. There are better college starters in this deep draft, guys with full repertoires and more track record, but once those half-dozen or so guys are off the board Meo will look very appealing.
• Oregon State catcher Andrew Susac is the top collegiate catcher in this draft, ahead of Arkansas' James McCann and North Carolina State's Pratt Maynard for me. Susac hit the first pitch he saw -- a 91-mph fastball -- out of Blair Field to deep left-center, an impressive feat at one of the least Home Run-friendly parks in Division 1.
Susac is a good catch-and-throw guy who has cleaned up his swing significantly since high school, losing the hitch he showed as a teenager, replacing it with an innocuous stir instead. He's very strong and gets power more from his upper half, with slightly late hip rotation, and has good hand acceleration to turn on an above-average fastball. I've thought of him in the past as having power but with questions on the hit tool; this cleaned-up swing looks like it'll produce more contact than I expected. Like Meo, there's a good chance Susac could land in the first round.
• Long Beach State right-hander Andrew Gagnon was 89-92 with a decent slider, but the fastball has zero life and OSU hitters had no trouble squaring it up. Gagnon's a strike-thrower, but he's got a little bit of an arm wrap in the back as well, so between that and the fringy fastball I'd probably keep him below the top few rounds.
Oregon State starter Sam Gaviglio dominated Long Beach State, punching out 14 of 28 batters in a complete game one-hitter; Gaviglio has good tailing life on his fastball but I didn't get anything over 87 mph, and he's not projectable.
