Scout.com Player Profile
2006 Ranking: N/A
Position: RHP
DOB:
7/31/1984
Height: 6-1
Weight:
185
Bats: R
Throws: R
School: Alabama Southern
Community College
Became a
Cardinal: Selected in the 35th round of the June, 2005 First-Year Player
Draft.
|
2006 |
G |
W-L |
IP |
H |
BB |
K |
ERA |
GO/AO |
AVG |
WHIP |
|
Quad Cities |
17 |
8-5 |
99.2 |
87 |
29 |
51 |
3.16 |
2.10 |
.238 |
1.16 |
|
Palm Beach |
8 |
5-3 |
47 |
45 |
13 |
30 |
3.45 |
1.44 |
.259 |
1.23 |
|
Totals |
25 |
13-8 |
146.2 |
132 |
42 |
81 |
3.25 |
1.87 |
.245 |
1.19 |
Staff Comments
Jason Scott (38): A low round draft pick in
2005, Meacham pitched his way into our top 40 prospect list with a very good
2006 season for Quad Cities and Palm Beach. He's not really a strikeout pitcher,
so he uses his sinker in hopes of inducing groundballs while also mixing in a
changeup and slider. All 25 of his appearances this season came as a starter,
but if he is going to make it to the major leagues it will most likely be in a
relief role. If all goes well, I could see Meacham with the big club in a couple years filling a
role similar to that of Brad Thompson in 2005. The key will be keeping
his sinker down in the strike zone.
Leonda Markee (34):
Meacham enters the Top 40 for the first time
and I am pleased to see it. Both his strikeout and walk numbers improved after
his promotion from class A Quad Cities to A-Advanced Palm Beach on July 18th.
Meacham also had the best Batting Average Against and WHIP of any of the 2005
draftees that pitched at this level which includes far more highly touted
prospects Jaime Garcia, Mitchell Boggs and Nick Webber. However, those numbers
do come in only forty-seven innings and that, plus his lack of strikeouts,
somewhat tempers my enthusiasm. Still, I ranked Meacham above Webber and think
a couple of my Birdhouse colleagues ‘missed the boat’ on ranking Webber above
Meacham. Meacham’s Palm Beach statistics, across the board, are much better
than Webber’s. Cory Meacham got it done on the field and Nick Webber did not.
More on Webber vs. Meacham when Mr. Webber’s ranking is revealed.
Ray Mileur (40):
Selected in the 37th round of the 2005 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals out of
Alabama Southern Community College, the 6-1, 185-pounder from Deatsville,
Alabama is a self described finesse pitcher.
His approach to
the game is to use his sinker a lot, trying to keep it down in the zone, with
location being the key to his success. According to Cory, “I have to keep my
sinker down to get ground balls, since I’m not really a strikeout pitcher.” In
addition to his sinker, he uses a change up and a slider to keep batters off
balanced.
Cory started last season with Swing of Quad Cities at Low-A
ball. He had made 18 appearances for the Swing, out of the bullpen in 2005,
allowing an earned run in only one of his first 10 games (1-0, 1.67). Meacham
finished his Swing debut with a 2-2 record and a 5.47 ERA in 24.2 innings.
Meacham split playing time in '06 between the Swing of Quad Cities
and the Palm Beach Cardinals, finishing with a combined 13-8 record and a very
respectable 3.25 ERA. Opposing batters at the High-A level hit .259 against the
right-hander and Cory had a better than 2-1 (30/13) strikeout to walk ratio and he is
sure to improve.
Meacham spent some time on the DL early in the season
(April 24 - May 8) with inflammation in his right shoulder, but came back and
put together a very impressive second professional season.
Just making the Top 40 Prospect list this year at #40, I
expect Cory to move up in the rankings this season.
Brian Walton
(36): The former 35th-round selection in 2005 has a good arm. The
right-hander sports a 90-plus MPH fastball and a sharp slider. Even after going
on the disabled list at Quad Cities early in 2006, Meacham pitched well there
and continued to do so upon his promotion to Palm Beach later in the season.
The starter struck out only 81 in 146-2/3 innings, but
after posting a 3.25 ERA in 25 starts, he may get a chance to move up to
Springfield next season and demonstrate if he is ready for Double-A. At this
point, one would have to think Meacham at least has a shot at becoming a
reliever in the big leagues.
STAFF
COMMENTS KEY: Staff Member (Individual Ranking), NR = Not Rated
To see our entire list of 40 prospects as they are unveiled daily, click here.
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