The Mets head into spring this year with three catchers on their 40-man roster and four catchers in camp with invitations to major league camp. The Mets traded away James McCann in the off-season and signed Omar Narváez to split the starting role with Tomás Nido while top prospect Francisco Álvarez gets more time in minors. Meanwhile Kevin Parada has just shot up the Mets prospects rankings. Further the Mets signed veteran catcher Michael Perez to a minor league deal as a possible depth option.
This is all to say that things have gotten even more complicated for Nick Meyer since last year when he was invited to major league camp. It was difficult to see then where fit overall then and now the Mets have even more depth at catcher.
Meyer was drafted in the 6th round back in 2018 out of California Polytechnic State University where he also played on the USA collegiate National team. He rose up quickly in the Mets system, going from Brooklyn in 2018 to Syracuse in 2021. He even went the extra mile to play in the City of Champions cup in 2020 when minor league baseball was shut down due to Covid19.
Last season he was the Mets 27th prospect according to MLB.com where they were high on his defense over his hitting. He has been getting better at the plate though. In 2021 between Binghamton and Syracuse he slashed .251/.337/.324 over 257 PAs. Last year between the same two leagues he slashed .233/.355/.353 over 302 PAs.
Here’s the advantage Nick Meyer brings to the table: he’s been in the Mets system for a while. He has experience catching pitchers who have been around him in the minors and in Mets camp the last two springs. Meyer will be competing with Hayden Senger who is in similar situation and veteran Michael Perez for depth chart positioning. As of right now it feels like Meyer and Senger are just below Perez who is behind the three catchers on the Mets 40-man roster.
