Is Jake Meyers’ hot start to the season the real deal or a mirage?

While the Houston Astros have gotten out to their typical slow start to the season, one of the players catching the fans’ attention has been starting centerfielder Jake Meyers. The outfield was one of the biggest questions of the offseason as to how it would look. As for right now, it looks like the Astros are sticking with Jose Altuve in left field, and primarily using Cam Smith in right. 

However, Meyers has been a standout so far in the early year. His glove was never the concern, as many believe that his defense is gold glove level worthy. The Nebraska product has consistently made brilliant catches in the outfield, saving runs and extra base hits. Meyers also has a five star catch this season already. 

The offense has been the issue with the 28-year-old, and had a couple stints in the minor leagues with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys a couple years ago to fix his swing and mechanics. Meyers burst onto the scene in 2021, where in 49 games he hit six home runs and knocked in 28 RBI, with a .260 AVG and a .761 OPS, still the best of his career so far. However, Meyers suffered a severe shoulder injury and tore his labrum during the 2021 ALDS versus Chicago and just has not looked the same since. 

The next two years, the 6-foot CF batted just .227, including a below .600 OPS in 2022. During his time in the minor leagues, Meyers worked on just getting back to being comfortable at the highest level. 

“Just working on getting my swing back to where it was and back to the big league level,” Meyers said. 

While in 2023, he played in 112 games, the bat still was not firing how it used to. Last season, the Astros trusted in Meyers and used him as the primary center fielder, with him starting 148 games and having 461 at-bats. 

The batting average went down a little bit, but occasionally showed an offensive pop as Meyers hit 13 home runs and had 61 RBIs. According to the Astros, he showed enough to warrant full support as the starting center fielder for 2025. 

Could 2025 be the turnaround year for Jake Meyers?

As of right now, it looks like Meyers has taken that leap and has shown a more confident version of himself at the plate. While his defense is elite, it looks like the offense may be turning a corner. The .291 batting average is an encouraging sign along with the .344 on-base percentage. The slugging and OPS look similar to years past, but only 17 games in for Meyers, he has yet to a hit a home run, which is why it looks that way right now. 

However, the hits and total bases during this time have shown great improvement over what we are used to seeing out of him. Meyers has also gotten more aggressive across the bases, with seven stolen bases already after 11 the entire 2024 season. 

Is this truly the beginning of a new Jake Meyers for Houston? While it’s too early to say at the moment, there certainly are signs that this year is already quite different. Getting production from someone like Meyers in the seven-hole would be much needed for the Astros offense in 2025. 

It’s not just a hot start, but it seems like a potential turning point in his career if Meyers can keep up this level of production. While the defense and helmet still not fitting is the same, we shall see if the offense changes stick. 

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