2025 Projection: Jake Meyers

A promising rookie season fades further into the past

Jake Meyers burst onto the Astros scene on August 1, 2021 and immediately provided an impact, slashing .260/.323/.438 with 6 home runs, 28 RBI and a 109 wRC+ across 163 plate appearances.

After starting the offseason hot, Meyers was injured crashing into the wall trying to catch on Gavin Sheets’s home run in the second inning of Game 4.

Since then Meyers has slashed .223/.287/.360 with an 83 wRC+, 17% below average, in 1,014 plate appearances.

Meyers’ offensive struggles have not affected his defense. Meyers has recorded Outs Above Averages in the 96 and 97th percentile respectively over the last two seasons and is a defensive weapon.

There was a time when a below-average offensive centerfielder, while not optimal, would have been tolerable in the Astros lineup given the production at other positions.

Those days are gone. You cannot continue to get a .220ish average out of your centerfielder, defensive wizard or not.

Unfortunately, we may never see Meyers reach his potential because of that fateful day in Chicago, but the reality is that decision time is fast approaching for the Astros' leadership.

Steamer projects Meyers for a 1.4 fWAR, significantly below last season’s 2.0 and my numbers hint that an even lower number is possible.

As always, thanks for reading!

Projected fWAR: 1.4

Projected Win Shares: 3.0