Gophers Baseball Could Have Its First MLB All-Star Alum in a Decade

The University of Minnesota baseball program produced a couple Hall of Famers in the 20th century in Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor, but the Gophers haven't had as much success with players becoming stars in Major League Baseball in recent years.

Only one former Gopher has been an MLB All-Star since 2000: Glen Perkins, who made three All-Star teams as the Twins' closer from 2013-15 and recorded the save in the 2014 Midsummer Classic at Target Field.

There's a real chance that changes this year. Former Gophers ace Max Meyer (2018-20) is finally having a breakout season with the Miami Marlins after years of injuries and poor results. He's having the kind of year that deserves serious consideration for a spot on the National League All-Star pitching staff.

Meyer, 27, has made 15 starts for Miami this season and thrown 85 innings. He's gone 7-0 in those appearances with 95 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA. Only twice has he allowed more than three earned runs in an outing, and he's held his opponent under three ER in five of his last six starts.

Meyer's 95 strikeouts are tied for sixth-most in the NL. His 2.6 WAR (per Baseball Reference) is sixth among NL starters, behind only Jacob Misiorowski, Cristopher Sanchez, Chase Burns, Zack Wheeler, and Shohei Ohtani. The Marlins, who are hovering around .500, have gone 11-4 when Meyer starts and 26-34 when they send anyone else to the mound. That's an All-Star resume.

This is what the Marlins envisioned when they drafted Meyer with the third overall pick in 2020. It just took a bit longer than expected to get to this point. The Woodbury native rose quickly through the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2022, but unfortunately, Meyer needed Tommy John surgery after just his second career start, which knocked him out through the entire 2023 season.

Meyer returned to action two years ago and had a 5.68 ERA for the Marlins in 11 starts in 2024, spending a chunk of the year with Triple-A Jacksonville. He was slightly better last season but still struggled to limit hard contact, posting a 4.73 ERA in 12 starts before a hip injury cost him the entire second half of the season.

This year, it has all started to come together for Meyer, who is the last qualified MLB starter without a loss on his record. He's always been capable of missing bats at a high level with his excellent sweeper/slider, but he's now executing better with his fastball and changeup and keeping the ball in the park. Prior to this season, Meyer had allowed 28 home runs in 127.2 innings. This year, he's given up just seven long balls in his 85 frames.

Before his professional career began, Meyer was outstanding across three seasons in a Minnesota uniform. He had a 2.27 ERA and 16 saves in 43.2 innings out of the bullpen as a true freshman in 2018. He struck out six over three scoreless innings in an NCAA Regional win over UCLA for the Gophers, who fell to Oregon State in the Super Regional to end one of the best seasons in program history.

As a sophomore in 2019, Meyer moved to the rotation and had a 2.11 ERA in 76.2 innings. He had a 1.95 ERA in his first four starts of 2020 before the season was cut short by the pandemic. In total, Meyer had a career 2.13 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 148 innings with the Gophers. That led him to tie Molitor (the No. 3 pick in 1977) as the highest-drafted player in Minnesota baseball history.

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