Jake Meyers needs to address these key flaws or the Astros need to move on

It's great to see Jake Meyers getting some much-needed work in the Houston Astros' spring training camp in West Palm Beach. While he's tuning things up, Meyers has to make his time in Grapefruit League play count a whole lot.

Sure, Meyers will be sharing time roaming the outfield with Chas McCormick. Enough has been written about McCormick's pluses and minuses. However, Meyers has plenty of them to address as well. Let's do a little deep dive into some of Meyers' numbers.

Jake Meyers really needs to show improvement at the plate for the Astros to justify his playing time

In 2024, he batted .219 with 13 home runs in 461 at-bats. Meyers can make solid contact when he sees a fastball but throw him a curveball or off-speed pitch and he's an automatic out. He had 65 hits in 2024 off his fastballs (four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter, sinker); just 24 off a breaking ball (slider, curveball, knuckleball, sweeper, slurve, other) and 12 off an off-speed pitch (splitter, changeup, forkball, screwball). Meyers had a .471 slugging percentage on those fastballs. That dropped down to .182 when looking at a sweeper.

Overall, Meyers' numbers simply must get better. He's going to need to show more discipline at the plate. It's been apparent that he chases pitches that either are borderline or off the plate. Sure, Meyers is pretty trustworthy when playing in the outfield. But those numbers at the plate? Woof.

This year's Astros, though, need better outfield play out of Meyers especially. Kyle Tucker is gone. Yordan Alvarez is going to focus more on his designated hitter role. Jason Heyward, who joined the Astros in the latter part of 2024, is also gone.

Put aside the Jose Altuve-to-the-outfield dreams for a minute. Meyers knows the outfield territory pretty well. His defensive prowess is going to be much needed. Yet, for sure, Meyers has to take his at-bats more seriously. There is a definite need for him, along with McCormick, to really dial it in on the offensive side.

Astros fans like Meyers and he appears to be willing to work on his game. He also needs to provide a punch when getting sent up in a pinch-hitting role by manager Joe Espada. Meyers can ill-afford to not be selective in clutch moments.

Meyers simply must improve. Imagine if he had been able to provide some offense during the team's 2024 march to postseason play. Sure, Heyward's bat and veteran presence added a welcome bump to the outfield. This season, though, a lot of eyes are going to be on Meyers.

Those fans hope "Rake Meyers" and "Jake from Rake Farm" become trending cheers at Daikin Park.

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