Miami Marlins sign first-round pick. Here’s how he fits into their 2020 plans

Jordan McPherson
·2 min read

The contract is signed and the ink has dried. Max Meyer is officially a member of the Miami Marlins.

Meyer, the flamethrowing right-handed pitcher who Miami selected third overall out of the University of Minnesota, formally signed his rookie deal and is part of the organization, sources confirmed Wednesday night. The Marlins formally announced his signing Thursday.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported that Meyer is receiving a $6.7 million bonus, a little more than $500,000 below the $7,221,200 value assigned to the No. 3 pick in the draft.

Local radio host Craig Mish was first to report Meyer had signed.

Miami added him to their 60-man roster pool so that he can participate in the team’s training camp, which starts Friday. He will report to the team’s spring training complex at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter.

Meyer, who both pitched and played in the outfield for the Golden Gophers during the past three seasons, had a career 2.07 ERA with 187 strikeouts against 41 walks through 148 career innings. In four starts during the shortened 2020 season, Meyer went 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA, held opponents to a .155 batting average and struck out 46 batters in 27 1/3 innings. He tied the school record as a freshman with 16 saves before being moved into the rotation.

He solidified himself as the Marlins’ top choice with his complete-game effort against North Carolina on Feb. 28. He struck out 14 against one walk while holding the Tar Heels to one run on five hits.

“When you watch a player do something like that,” Marlins director of amateur scouting DJ Svihlik said, “you find yourself thinking, ‘Is this the best performance I’ve ever seen?’ It was that dominant. The track record started a long time ago, but he just absolutely stamped it with this year.”

The Marlins have until Aug. 1 to sign their remaining five picks: Oklahoma prep lefty Dax Fulton, Ball State righty Kyle Nicolas, Coastal Carolina righty Zach McCambley, Vanderbilt lefty Jake Eder and USC righty Kyle Hurt.

Svihlik said after the draft that deals for all six draft picks were “essentially done” and pending physicals. The Marlins’ bonus pool for those six picks was $12,016,900.

“Money is agreed upon,” Svihlik said. “We just have to work through minor details.”