BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Stephan Meyer made his professional post-season debut on Friday night, working four shutout innings of relief to give his West Virginia Black Bears a chance to rally. Meyer struck out four and allowed just one base hit in the outing. Although the Black Bears would go on to lose the game his impact cannot be overstated. Meyer saved the rest of the West Virginia bullpen for Sunday's decisive game three against the Williamsport Crosscutters.
From NAIA All-American to Minor League relief standout, former Bellevue University baseball standout Stephan Meyer has had a busy, yet out-standing season at both the collegiate and professional levels.
Meyer, originally from Tucson, Ariz., came to the Bruins following a lengthy recruitment by assistant coach Mitch Schmidt. He began his career at the University of Arizona but decided to transfer after his redshirt freshman season without having played a game for the then-defending National Champions.
Following two seasons with the Bruins Meyer was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft (Rule 4 Draft). Following the draft Meyer was assigned to the West Virginia Black Bears of the New York-Penn League. The Black Bears are located in Morgantown, W.V. and share their stadium, Monongalia County Ballpark, with the West Virginia University Mountaineers.
He credits his time spent with the Bruins developing the mindset and mental toughness as being what made his transition to the next level easier. Throwing praise on the program and coaching staff at BU, Meyer said, "The easiest thing was probably coming in and being mentally ready to compete at the highest level. The coaches at Bellevue really prepared me to be able to overcome any adversity that came my way and make the best of every opportunity I got."
Meyer saw mostly spot duty as a freshman in 2014 at Bellevue, making eight appearances, including one start. He struck out 14 batters in 17 innings of action. He showed promise as he struck out multiple batters in five appearances and in three separate appearances – at #16 Oklahoma Wesleyan, against Morningside, and at #1 Oklahoma Baptist in the Opening round – he held the opposition scoreless. Bellevue head coach Duane Monlux said of the promise he showed that, "The biggest thing for Stephan was the mental side of the game. His confidence level from his freshman year to his sophomore year was off the charts."
Blessed with an ideal pitcher's frame – he stands at 6'4 and is listed at 190 pounds – and a strong work ethic, Meyer entered the offseason after his freshman year determined to make a name for himself in the upcoming season. Monlux spoke highly of Meyer's work ethic, saying, "Stephan had a tremendous work ethic not only on the field, but in the classroom and weight room as well. He made himself a better player by taking instruction from the coaching staff and working hard off the field."
Under the tutelage of Bruin coach Shawn Malley, Meyer was able to improve his four-seam fastball velocity to 94 miles per hour to go along with a hard, biting slider, quality two-seam offering, and a changeup in time to have a breakout 2015 season.
He announced himself in a 7-0 shutout win over (RV) Science & Arts of Oklahoma on Opening Day. In five innings of work he struck out nine batters, walked just one, and didn't allow a run to pick up his first collegiate victory.
Meyer appeared to be at his best against the best competition that the NAIA offered up. In six starts against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes he posted a 5-1 record and 1.00 ERA spanning 45 innings. He owned a sharp 4.4 strikeout to walk ratio (44 strikeouts, 10 walks) and a WHIP of 0.93. In a pair of post-season appearances for the Bruins Meyer was 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings of work, striking out 13 and walking four against #6 Oklahoma Wesleyan and #5 Tabor.
In talking about the bulldog mentality that Stephan possessed, Monlux said, "His demeanor and the way he attacked hitters from the first year to the second was a huge difference. It took some time for him to realize how good he was and how good he could be."
That mental toughness paid off in the Opening Round as his stat line against Tabor didn't being to tell the whole story. Battling arm fatigue Meyer didn't have his usual mid-90's fastball but gutted through nine innings with a fastball that struggled to reach 90 most of the day, mostly relying on his secondary offerings to limit the eventual Opening Round champions to just one run on five hits in a 3-1, complete game victory. The heart and determination he showed in that outing solidified his status as a legitimate pro prospect with the Pirates selecting him less than a month later.
The accolades came pouring in for Meyer after the 2015 season in which he posted an 11-2 record and 1.47 ERA in 92 innings pitched over 13 starts. He struck out 101 batters for an average of 9.88 per nine innings and walked just 30 for a 3.37 strikeout to walk ratio. Following the season Meyer was named MCAC co-Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-MCAC, First Team NAIA All-Nebraska, and Honorable Mention All-American.
Meyer made his first professional appearance with the Black Bears on July 2, making his only start of the season to date. He worked 2.2 innings surrendering a lone run (on five hits and a walk) while striking out two on a pitch count. He suffered a setback in the form of a back injury that saw him miss a shade over a month but came back strong. In seven appearances – all out of the bullpen – with the Gulf Coast League Pirates, Meyer dominated GCL hitters. Meyer hurled 12.2 masterful innings holding opposing hitters to a miniscule .163 batting average, striking out 12 and allowing just one run, three walks, and seven hits for a 0.79 WHIP. He picked up a pair of wins against no losses before being recalled to West Virginia.
Since being recalled to the NY-Penn League, Meyer has worked out of the bullpen, terrorizing hitters at yet another level. In a playoff race down the stretch, Meyer made three scoreless appearances in the span of one week averaging a strikeout per inning (8 strikeouts, 8.0 innings). He only allowed four runners to reach base (3 hits, 1 walk) while lowering his ERA with the Black Bears from 3.38 to 0.84.
Despite making his transition from collegiate to professional baseball appear seamless there have been some inevitable growing pains which have accompanied that transition. Meyer claims the most difficult of his transition is probably his eagerness to improve but was complimentary of the Pirates organization and his coaches, saying, "the toughest part about the transition from college to pro ball is that the Pirates have a plan for how they want me to progress and I have to be patient and go through one step at a time. I came in wanting to improve everything at once but they told me I had to be patient."
His efforts were needed as the Black Bears, in their first season of existence, clinched the lone Wild Card spot in the NY-Penn League by finishing just a single game ahead of the State College Spikes. The reward for making the post-season was a first round match-up with Williamsport Crosscutters who posted the best record in the NY-Penn League, finishing the regular season four games ahead of the Black Bears. West Virginia beat Williamsport in three games to advance to the best-of-three Championship Series against the Staten Island Yankees. Game One is slated for Monday at 7:05 p.m. (ET).
Even more important than winning games is the opportunity to further develop himself as a pitcher and professional in the playoffs. The significance of having additional time to work with professional coaches can't be overstated for a first-year player with Meyer summing it up best, "It's very significant because I'll be able to learn from how they (the coaching staff) think and how they want to attack hitters that we've seen all summer on the biggest stage. Being in the playoffs gives us a chance to grow closer with the coaches and learn from them."
Coach Monlux echoed similar sentiments about Meyer's future development and chances for success, saying, "I think Stephan will do great as he progresses as a professional. He buys into what coaches tell him. He works at his craft. He is an outstanding person and a terrific teammate. I am super excited to see him develop into a really good professional pitcher."
Again complimentary of the Pirates organization Meyer talked about the opportunity to further develop, saying, "A nice thing about the Pirates is that all first year players go to the instructional league so I will be able to work with them even more before the off-season starts."
Epitomizing the definition of student-athlete, Meyer was twice named an MCAC Scholar-Athlete and, in his only season eligible, earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete recognition.
