Max Meyer’s next start should be with the Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins need a jolt, and there might not be a better way to do it than to make sure Max Meyer’s next start is his MLB debut.

Five games into the 2022 MLB season, and the Miami Marlins are in need of a jolt.

Fortunately for them, that’s something Max Meyer provides with every single pitch.

It’s been a rough start to the season for Miami, with three one-run losses in their first five games, and a 1-4 record overall. The MLB lockout did them no favors by making sure their season started just about as far from home as they could get, with five games against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels. In other words, all they had to do was kick things off against the team with the best record in baseball in 2021, and then play against a team led by two of the five best players in baseball. Only two teams in MLB had to traverse the country for Opening Day, and only the Marlins had to go from east to west.

But, at the end of the day, they are still 1-4. They are still underperforming, and still have done very little to convince fans the 2022 Miami Marlins will be any different than the 2021 model. As stated, this team is clearly in need of some kind of jolt, some kind of shock to shake them out of this early season slump.

Which is where Max Meyer comes in.

The prospect was excellent this spring in big league camp, and has been dominant so far at Triple-A. How dominant? The only thing that stopped him in his last start was a lack of Gatorade, as he was five innings through a perfect game before exiting with a cramp. That’s two A-plus outings in a row at the highest level of the minors from Meyer, who quite simply has nothing left to prove there. Well, maybe the ability to hydrate and stretch. But pitching wise? This kid is ready.

Now, starting pitching hasn’t exactly been the problem for Miami during their 1-4 start. Only one of those five starts was legitimately bad. In a perfect world, the “jolt” being called for here would be supplied by trading for Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds or just signing Michael Conforto. But that kind of big, bold move doesn’t really seem to the Marlins style. It is much too costly in terms of either dollars or prospects for the tastes of this front office.

Promoting a top three prospect though? Starting the service time clock early on a highly valued asset because that front office still believes that this roster was correctly built to contend, and will figure this thing out? That kind of move makes all kinds of sense, and is extremely affordable to boot.

This decision is made all the easier by last the starts made by that aforementioned starting rotation. Jesus Luzardo just lit the league on fire with a 12-strikeout performance, one night after the certainly useful but much more average Elieser Hernandez got lit up himself the night before. Understandably, overreacting to one start is a dangerous game in baseball. Nothing about Luzardo’s career track record suggests there won’t be some bumps, and nothing about Hernandez’s suggests he won’t find a way to rally.

However, based on those same track records, it is fair to say that Hernandez’s ceiling is not remotely close to what Luzardo and Meyer offer. Rallying for him would be five innings of two- to three-run ball. He’s not ever striking out 12 in five innings though. Hernandez is a very solid option in a starting rotation, as your fourth or fifth option. Luzardo and Meyer boast top of the rotation potential. They can be aces.

Making this move right now wouldn’t even mess much with the order of the rotation, thanks to Wednesday’s off day. Meyer could start for Miami this Sunday on regular rest, as could Luzardo. Whoever doesn’t pitch Sunday could pick up some extra rest, and kick things off against the Cardinals next Tuesday. Alternatively, Meyer could debut in the pen, and enter the rotation next weekend. Not ideal as it would be on the road, but doable.

Bottom line, Max Meyer is ready for the majors, and promoting him would give the Miami Marlins a legitimate claim to having the best starting rotation in MLB. It is hard to think of a better jump start than that.