EVAN MEEK

5/12/83; '02 11th (Minnesota); Bellevue (WA) CC
R/R; 6-1, 190

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9 K/9 WHIP OAVG
ERA
2003 R+ (Minn)
7-1-1
14
8
51.0
33
 2
24
47
 4.24 8.29 1.12 .178
2.47
2004 A (Minn)
0-0-0
3
3
5.2
7
 0
15
3
 23.85 4.77 3.89 .333
11.12
2004 R+ (Minn)
1-2-0
12
3
22.1
18
 1
25
23
 10.08 9.27 1.93 .228
8.06
2005 A (Minn)
0-1-0
13
0
18.0
15
 0
36
11
 18.00
5.50
2.83
.231
10.00
2006 A+ (SD)
6-6-0
26
25
119.1
136
 5
62
113
 4.68
8.52
1.66
.288
5.05
2006 A+ (TB)
0-1-0
2
0
5.0
6
 0
4
7
 7.20
12.60
2.00
.300
9.00
2007 AA (TB)
2-1-1
44
0
67.0
74
 2
34
69
 4.57
9.27
1.61
.287
4.30
2008 NL
0-1-0
9
0
13.0
11
3
12
7
8.31
4.85
1.77
.239
6.92
2008 AAA
0-0-2
23
0
41.1
30
2
14
34
3.05
7.40
1.06
.196
2.40
2008 AA
1-1-2
9
0
16.0
14
0
3
17
1.69
9.56
1.06
.237
2.81
2009 NL
1-1-0
41
0
47.0
34
2
29
42
5.6
8.0
1.34
.209
3.45
2009 AAA
0-0-0
6
0
8.2
3
0
7
7
7.3
7.3
1.15
.107
1.04

The Pirates selected Meek from Tampa Bay in the 2007 Rule 5 draft. Meek's big pitch is a sinking fastball that's often in the mid-90s. At the time of the draft he also threw a splitter or cutter, and a slider, but neither was as well regarded. He obviously had severe control problems. He was completely unable to throw strikes in three years with the Twins, but started improving after moving on in 2006. He probably got the Pirates' attention with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League. Pirates' GM Neal Huntington pointed out after the draft that Meek has combined some good K rates with a strong groundball tendency, with a 2.26 ground out to air out ratio in 2007 and 1.85 in 2006. Under Dave Littlefield the Pirates preferred groundball pitchers with very low K rates, so the different philosophy at least is a step in the right direction.

Meek pitched reasonably well in spring training, although his control still was a weakness. He made the team and figured to be the primary reliever in mopup situations, something the Pirates normally have in abundance. As it turned out, however, the starting pitching was so bad early in the season that the bullpen was overworked and Meek got called into several close games. He struggled mightily with his control in most of his appearances and, in May, the Pirates sent him through waivers. After he cleared, they reached a deal with the Rays to retain him in exchange for cash. He went to AA and made significant strides with his control, earning a promotion to AAA. He did well there also, although he had a few games in which his control wasn't good. At all levels his groundout to air out ratio was above 2.00. The Pirates put Meek back on the 40-man roster in the fall.

Meek pitched well in Mexico over the winter and also early in spring training. He probably would have made the team over Jesse Chavez, but he missed the latter half of spring training with, in order, shoulder soreness, stomach flu and bronchitis. He was optioned to AAA, but was called up in late April when Craig Hansen went on the DL. For about three months he showed significant improvement from the previous year, but still had a ways to go, as shown by the fact that he walked 20 and fanned 16 in 27.2 innings in April through June. In July, however, Meek really started turning things around, as he fanned 26 and walked nine in his next 19.1 IP. He remained hard to hit throughout the year and allowed opposing batters to post an OPS of only .670 overall, despite the walks. Part of the improvement came because his fastball velocity got better in the second half of the season, going from the low- to mid-90s. He also began throwing a cutter much more often and ditched the slider for a curve. According to fangraphs.com, the cutter and curve were very effective pitches. He continued to be a groundball pitcher, with an GO/AO ratio of 1.81. Unfortunately, Meek went out for the year with an oblique strain in mid-August. He should go into 2010 as one of the team's primary late-inning relievers.

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