MIAMI -- This version of Max Meyer is the reason the Marlins took him third overall in the 2020 MLB Draft.
This version of Max Meyer is the reason the Marlins had yet to give up on him as a starter despite numerous injuries.
Meyer lowered his season ERA to 2.52 -- 10th lowest among National League starters -- by matching a career high with seven scoreless innings in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Mets at loanDepot park.
During the early part of Spring Training, when Meyer acknowledged to MLB.com that this was a make-or-break campaign for him, this is exactly what he envisioned.
Doubters have been around ever since Miami selected him out of the University of Minnesota. Could he remain a starter with a two-pitch mix and smaller stature?
Entering 2026, Meyer hadn’t done anything to quell those takes. His Major League career, which began in ‘22, has been hampered by injuries. His rookie campaign lasted just six innings before he required Tommy John surgery that kept him out until ‘24. Right shoulder bursitis sidelined Meyer for the final month of that season, and he underwent a season-ending left hip labral repair procedure on June 27, 2025.
“It's been good,” Meyer said of his 2026. “They make it easy on me, calling pitches, and defense has been really good behind me. Obviously, the hitters give me runs every game. It's been very nice. They make it a lot easier to go back and try to get a shutdown inning.”
On Saturday, Meyer allowed just one hit -- a leadoff single in the second -- with eight strikeouts, three walks and one hit batter. Over five May starts, he has a 1.76 ERA (30 2/3 IP, 6 ER). Meyer has not given up a run in three of those outings, including his first of the month (also seven innings of one-hit ball).
This time around, the 27-year-old worked around a baserunner in five of the seven frames, though the Mets never put a runner in scoring position.
“I think he's just able now to stay within himself a whole lot more, and trust that just making a good throw with whatever pitch it is is the ticket,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “I think you just see less of the bad misfires, the hard yanks on the breaking ball that we've seen in the past, and it speaks to what you said. I think he's just able to channel that competitiveness in a different way now.”
What differentiates this version of Meyer from previous ones is his expanded arsenal. He’s no longer just a four-seam/slider pitcher. Meyer tallied four strikeouts on his sweeper and threw his sinker 10 times during a 95-pitch outing.
“Two years ago, Max had two pitches: He had a great slider and a fastball that wasn't very good, and that was it,” president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said earlier this month. “The current version of Max has a better fastball, a two-seamer that's really good, still has that awesome slider, has a sweeper that's probably even better than the slider, and has one of the best changeups in baseball. He is a true five-pitch guy who can get anyone out -- a righty, a lefty, turn a lineup over. And I think what we're seeing is that he's really learning to harness that stuff. It's top-of-the-rotation stuff.”
This version of Meyer didn’t need much run support while dueling veteran righty Freddy Peralta.
With the Marlins already up because of Owen Caissie’s two-run double in the second, Liam Hicks extended the lead in the third with a solo shot off Peralta’s two-strike hanging curveball. His 10th homer of the season, and first since May 7, went just over the right-center-field wall.
In the fifth, Hicks pulled Peralta’s four-seamer for a leadoff shot to notch his first career multi-homer game. He is tied with Colorado’s Hunter Goodman for the third-most taters (11) among players with catcher as their primary position.
Hicks, who was mired in a month-long slump, had been slashing .167/.245/.188 with one extra-base hit, eight RBIs, three walks and six strikeouts over 14 games since May 8.
Thanks to Meyer’s latest gem and the lineup, he remains the only Major Leaguer with at least eight starts that hasn’t taken a loss this season.
“It's been the same all season,” Hicks said of Meyer. “It's awesome to see him still just go out there and compete and be unbelievable. He's just continuing to grow as a pitcher. It's really special. Definitely not someone I would ever want to be facing at the plate.”