The Miami Marlins used their top two picks in the 2023 draft on high school pitchers Thomas White and Noble Meyer. They immediately became two of the team’s top prospects, as Meyer is a top 100 prospect overall, and White was the top left-handed prep pitcher available in the draft. They both began the season in Single-A Jupiter, and after a strong start to the year, White and Meyer were promoted to the High-A Beloit Sky Carp in the Marlins system.
Marlins Pitching Prospects White and Meyer Promoted to High-A
Noble Meyer
Meyer was the 10th overall selection in the draft and was, by far, the best prep pitcher available, mainly due to his slider and a fastball that could already reach the mid-90s.
In eight starts with the Jupiter Hammerheads, Meyer posted a 2.65 ERA (4.37 xFIP) in 34 innings pitched, striking out 30.5% of the batters he faced and holding opponents to a .148 average. Walks have been an issue (16.3%) but that didn’t keep the Marlins from moving him up.
Marlins top prospect Noble Meyer punched out a career-high 11 over five innings yesterday.
5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K (85 P, 52 Strikes)
Fastball averaged 95 mph and absolutely dominated at the top. Slider was a tunnel nightmare off of it, mixed in a couple good changeups. pic.twitter.com/0HYgSZ8quW
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) May 26, 2024
The fastball has been good, generating a 30.6% whiff rate, and while it’s averaging roughly 93 mph, his nearly seven feet of extension makes it seem like it’s coming in faster.
His slider got rave reviews, considered among the best in his draft class, and we’ve seen that early on in his career. Hitters whiff at it 41% of the time and are currently batting .068 against it. It’s a pitch with a high spin rate (2,785 rpm) and over 10 inches of horizontal break to it. Even the change-up has been strong, with a better whiff rate than the slider (42.9%), with hitters batting just .085 against it.
Thomas White
White doesn’t throw the ball as hard (91 mph), but thanks to his 7.1-foot extension, it comes in quicker than it appears. He pairs that with a high induced vertical break (IVB) of 18.4 inches, and it has the potential to become much more of a weapon for him than it has been so far.
Like Meyer, White has shown an advanced feel for his secondary pitches while showing more control (10.5 BB%). Opponents are hitting .143 against his curveball and have whiffed 35.9% of the time. A good left-handed change-up can be a neutralizing weapon facing righties, and White has shown signs of that.
His off-speed is getting whiffs on over half of the swings it generates (52%) and has a 45.5% strikeout rate, with hitters batting just .091 against it.
Overall, he has a 3.18 ERA over 34 innings pitched, striking out 28% of the batters he has faced.
The Marlins invested heavily in these two ($8.6 million in combined signing bonuses), and they have proven worth the price tag. The advanced stuff helped them quickly get through Single-A and should continue throughout the lower levels.
Photo Credit: © Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
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