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Meyer gets a new life with Astros
Former USC shortstop moves from the Rangers organization to earn a new shot at the majors
*File* Drew Meyer
Erik Campos/ecampos@thestate.com
CommentsAfter seven seasons in the Texas Rangers organization, Drew Meyer needed a fresh start.
After being relegated to spot duty his final two seasons with Triple-A Oklahoma City, Meyer wanted to find a team that would allow him to play every day. The Houston Astros provided that opportunity by telling him he would get the chance to be a starting middle infielder at either Triple-A Round Rock or Double-A Corpus Christi.
He landed in Corpus Christi as the second baseman, and he couldn’t more pleased.
“I have a pep in my step,” the former USC All-America shortstop said.
He should. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Meyer is batting .295 with 22 doubles, three homers and 32 RBIs.
“It’s going really good,” he said. “I’ve been consistent all year.”
Defensively, too. In two of the first three months, he was named the team’s top defensive player. He credits this season’s consistency to playing every day.
Meyer, 27, probably didn’t expect to be where he is after being drafted 10th in the first round of the 2002 draft following a standout college career. Although he worked his way to the majors in 2006, he collected only 14 at-bats and never made it back. He found himself in a utility role the past two seasons.
“The Rangers had kind of given up on me,” Meyer said.
But he wasn’t ready to do the same. Now he hopes he has breathed life into his quest to return to the big leagues. Still, he refuses to think too far ahead.
“The more you worry about it, the more you get in trouble,” Meyer said. “I’m going to go out there and grind it out.”
Meyer has become a mentor for a number of younger players in the Corpus Christi clubhouse. He also was able to offer wisdom to another former USC star, Justin Smoak, the first baseman who was picked by the Rangers with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2008 draft. The two became acquainted when their Texas League teams played this season.
“He’s real humble,” Meyer said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but he’s real down to earth.”
Meyer gave Smoak an idea of what life would be like as a high draft pick in the Rangers system. Smoak, who was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City a week ago, appears to be on the fast track to the majors.
Meyer, a Charleston native who is getting married in the offseason in Nashville, Tenn., realizes how hard it is to get there — and to stay there.
“I told him just to keep plugging,” he said
Those are words he’s living by as well.
Another Jackson update. Former Furman pitcher Jay Jackson made the North Division roster of Monday’s Double-A Southern League All-Star Game in Birmingham.
The right-hander from Taylors, who plays for the Tennessee Smokies, a Chicago Cubs affiliate, is a top prospect in the system after being selected in the ninth round of the 2008 draft.
Jackson, 21, is 4-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 14 starts. He has 68 strikeouts in 75 innings. The former All-Southern Conference performer went 4-2 with a 2.88 earned run average for three Cubs minor league teams in 2008.
One of Jackson’s Tennessee teammates is former Clemson third baseman Marquez Smith, who began the season with Single-A Daytona before being promoted to Double-A. Smith, an eighth-round pick of the Cubs in 2007, is hitting .289 with 12 homers and 47 RBIs.
Going to California. James Darnell, a former USC third baseman, had strong numbers this season at Single-A Fort Wayne in the Midwest League, batting .329 with seven homers and 38 RBIs in 66 games. His pace slowed after a call-up to high Single-A Lake Elsinore of the California League, where he is hitting .186 with two homers and seven RBIs in nine games. Darnell was a second-round pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2008 draft.
Around the horn. Former Newberry shortstop Casio Grider, a 14th-round pick last month by the Dodgers, has flashed his speed in the rookie Arizona League with eight steals in his first 11 games. ... Former Francis Marion right-hander Dylan Owen was named the Double-A Eastern League player of the week last week. In two starts for the Binghamton Mets, Owen posted a 1-0 mark with eight strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA in 13ð innings. ... Richard Jones, a former catcher for The Citadel, is off to a hot start in his pro career with the rookie Arizona League Cubs. A ninth-round pick last month, Jones is hitting .344 with four homers and 11 RBIs in eight games.
Reach White at (803) 771-8643.
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