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Twins trade Denard Span for Nationals' 2011 first round pick
Attachment 2769According to Ben Goessling, the Twins have traded Denard Span for pitcher Alex Meyer.
The big bodied Meyer, 6'9" and 220, spent last year split between A and High-A, striking out 26.6% of batters faced and walking just 8.6%.
Fangraphs.com had an excellent write-up on Meyer, noting that his 97-98 MPH fastball is very impressive in addition to his slider - which Baseball America consider the system's best after the 2011 season. Here's Mike Newman's (Scouting the Sally) scouting report on Meyer's secondary stuff:
Meyer mixed in an upper-80′s slider with tight, late break. At its best, his arm action was identical to that of his fastball and it profiled as at least an above-average pitch. However, Meyer’s inconsistent mechanics caused him to intermittently drop his elbow or collapse his back leg leading to at least a handful of “hangers” up in the zone. Repetition and experience may help to iron these issues out, but once again, Meyer’s size and previous track record leaves questions as to how seamless those adjustments will be.
The most surprising aspect of Meyer’s outing was a changeup which was significantly better than expected. At 87-88 MPH, it was a harder change, but his arm action and late drop leaves the projection of an average third pitch — a key for projecting a starting pitcher. Once again, his command was inconsistent causing him to leave the pitch up and out to right-handed hitters too often, but it’s a strong starting point to build from.
Newman went on to say that the name that popped into his head the most was "Matt Clement" - a promising pitcher who never lived up to the hype.
Article: Twins trade Denard Span for Nationals' 2011 first round pick