TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike Scioscia called it "electric" and said it was a "complete 180" from the previous outing.
Alex Meyer, the 6-foot-9, hard-throwing right-hander who is competing with Jesse Chavez and Bud Norris for the No. 5 spot in the Angels' starting rotation, looked fantastic Sunday against the Mariners, throwing two scoreless innings, striking out two without a walk and giving up one hit.
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His fastball, which hits the mid-to-high 90s, was crisp and Meyer was full of confidence. It was, indeed, a stark departure from his prior stint against the Cubs on March 6, when Meyer gave up three runs on two hits in 2/3 of an inning and couldn't find the strike zone, walking four batters.
Meyer, a 27-year-old who was selected by the Nationals with the 23rd overall pick of the 2011 Draft and then dealt to the Twins in 2012, has been in the Angels organization since Aug. 1, when he was acquired along with righty Ricky Nolasco in the trade that sent left-hander Hector Santiago and Minor League righty Alan Busenitz to Minnesota. He is the organization's No. 8 overall prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com

Meyer has had shoulder problems that stifled his Major League development, but he's healthy now. The physical and mental are two very different aspects of being a big league starter, however, and Meyer found that out against the Cubs.
"It's just a mindset thing, I think," Meyer said in the Angels clubhouse on Tuesday. "The other day I was out there and walked a couple of guys, and started beating myself up. And that turned into a snowball effect. I had a good talk with [the coaching staff] between outings and it was all about staying positive and not worrying about stuff like that.
"I think it's one of those things where I've put a lot of stress on walking guys in the past, and it's just a bad habit that I need to keep in mind. You're probably going to walk a guy every now and then, just don't let it become two or three."
The fact that Meyer is knocking on the door of the rotation means he'll likely pitch for the team at some point in the 2017 season even if he doesn't make the club out of Spring Training. That's why it was encouraging for the team to see him right himself Sunday and flash the potential of that right arm.

"Alex is a unique talent, and I think he understands his talent and he's trying to harness it both from the physical side and also the mental side of just getting his process where it needs to be," Scioscia said.
"I think he's very, very confident in the fact that he's a Major League pitcher, and I think he's trying through experience to find the keys that he needs to be able to make adjustments out there.
"That stuff he was throwing out there yesterday was nasty."