HOUSTON -- It was a year ago at this time that Astros center fielder Jake Meyers was putting together a terrific month at the plate and was providing growing optimism in his offensive abilities. He slashed .329/.406/.518 last May but couldn't sustain it. Over the final four months, in a span of 98 games played, he slashed .190/.256/.307 and finished with a .646 OPS. Meyers' elite defensive abilities -- he was a Gold Glove finalist in the American League last year -- were valued by the Astros enough that general manager Dana Brown said at last year's Winter Meetings in December that Meyers would be given every chance to win the center-field job. With a week remaining in May 2025, Meyers has rewarded the Astros' faith and is having a career season at the plate. Entering Friday, he was slashing .304/.366/.426, including a .368 average in May (25-for-68). That included a huge game May 3 in Chicago when he hit two homers with a triple and a double. Meyers became the first player in club history with 13 total bases while batting last in the order and has since moved up in manager Joe Espada's lineup to seventh. "I think we are seeing signs that we can keep him [productive at the plate]," Espada said. "It's all about us trusting the process and working. He's capable of doing this for long term. I'm really hopeful and we all expect him to do that. We're going to continue to help him through this process. It's a great sign." |
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Meyers didn't get here by accident. He went to work in the offseason to retool his swing, which included the addition of a leg kick and a small tweak in his mechanics. Working with hitting coach Troy Snitker and his father, Paul Meyers, who played five seasons in the Minor Leagues in the Giants' organization, he returned to the basics. "It's just more natural," Meyers said of his batting stance in an interview earlier this week with MLB.com's Brian Murphy. "That's kind of how I hit growing up. And I think it's more comfortable for me, and it's one less thing to think about and try to analyze, and just let me go out there and compete." |
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A closer look at the numbers reveals Meyers is striking out less and walking more. He's hitting the ball harder and is chasing pitches out of the zone less. He's also no longer just a fastball hitter, either. He's squaring up breaking pitches. Strikeout percentage 2024: 22.8 2025: 16.9 Walk percentage 2024: 6.8 2025: 9.0 Average exit velo 2024: 88.2 mph 2025: 89.7 mph Batting average on breaking pitches 2024: .162 2025: .302 Chase percentage 2024: 31.2 2025: 22.1 "It's always nice to get results, but I have a lot of great people in my corner," Meyers said. "Troy Snitker, I've been working with him for years, and my dad and working with people in my corner on some of this stuff. So, it's great to get results." |
While the game of baseball is chock full of things that players can't control, Meyers focused on the things he could, such as staying within the zone and being on time for pitches he can do damage with. It required being more disciplined. "I felt like, obviously, the pitchers in this league are very, very good and will extend outside the zone and get you to chase, but I felt like a lot of the chasing was more in my control, whether it was maybe not committed to what I really wanted to do or just getting sped up," he said. "If I was really disciplined to what I'm looking for, or what I'm trying to do, good things will happen." While the Astros are waiting for Christian Walker to get going at the plate and hope to get slugger Yordan Alvarez (hand injury) back in the lineup soon, Espada's offense is being led by shortstop Jeremy Peña, third baseman Isaac Paredes and Meyers. "He's staying in the middle of the field and he's not chasing, which is huge," Espada said. "We know that he can really handle the fastball. As long as he stays in the zone and stays in hitters' counts and uses the whole entire field and [does] not get homer-happy, he's going to be in good shape." |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Jeremy Peña collected his 500th career hit Thursday night with a two-run triple in the Astros' 9-2 win over the Mariners. Only four Astros shortstops have had more hits at the position. Who has the most hits among that group? A. Carlos Correa B. Adam Everett C. Roger Metzger D. Craig Reynolds |
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C. Metzger, who had 839 as a shortstop. Correa is second with 778, Reynolds third with 767 and Everett fourth with 530. |
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