On the Farm: Meyer, Nevarez & Ori
cchooks.com spotlights select farmhands in the Astros minor-league system. This week, we profile Drew Meyer, Matt Nevarez and Mark Ori.
Drew Meyer
Infielder
Height: 5-10
Weight: 200
Born: 8/29/81 in Charleston, SC
Bats/Throws: L/R
Resides: Charleston, SC
School: University of South Carolina. In his junior year (2002) batted .359-6-40 with 23 doubles, 5 triples and an SEC-leading 39 stolen bases. Was a First Team All-SEC selection and a Second Team All-American, leading the Gamecocks to an appearance against Texas in the 2002 College World Series Championship Game. A career .330 hitter in his three seasons at South Carolina.
Acquired: Signed by the Astros as a free agent in January, 2009. Originally selected by the Rangers in the first round (10th pick overall) of the 2002 draft. Career
Highlights: Earned an invite to Major League camp this spring after his 2009 batting average ranked ninth among Astros farmhands and tenth in the Texas League. Led the circuit's second basemen with a .978 fielding percentage. Turned in 323 assists and had his hand in 76 double plays, both top marks for the position. Tabbed Corpus Christi's defensive player of the month in April and June. Owned the club's longest hitting streak and longest consecutive-game on-base streak. Hit safely in 13 straight games July 17-30, batting .333 with 4 doubles, 1 HR and 5 RBIs. Reached base safely in 21 consecutive games May 28 through June 19 with an on-base percentage of .433. The streak equaled the ninth longest in team history. Led the Hooks in walks and finished second in doubles and tied for second in hits. One of only three Hooks to knock in five or more runs in a game when he went 2-for-4 with a homer and 5 RBIs in an 8-3 win at San Antonio August 4. "Stayed in" against lefties, batting .330 in 109 at-bats with 3 of his 5 home runs. In 2008, hit .365 (27x74) for Oklahoma in July with 15 runs, 4 doubles, 4 triples and 6 RBIs.
Made his Major League debut April 21, 2006 vs. Tampa Bay when he went 2-for-5 in the Rangers' 13-7 victory. Selected to the Texas League's West Division All-Star team in 2005. With Frisco and Oklahoma that year, combined to bat .295 with 25 doubles, 8 triples, 3 HRs, 64 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Recorded 31 multi-hit games, including two 4-hit performances. Played for the USA Baseball Junior National team that won the 1999 gold medal in Taiwan. Versatile in the field throughout his career, has logged significant time at shortstop (380 games) and second base (296), but has also played at third base (26), left field (23) and center field (17).
|
CLUB |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
2002 |
Savannah (A) |
.243 |
54 |
214 |
15 |
52 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
24 |
10 |
53 |
7 |
|
Tulsa (AA) |
.214 |
4 |
14 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
2003 |
Stockton (A) |
.281 |
94 |
398 |
59 |
112 |
16 |
9 |
5 |
53 |
32 |
92 |
24 |
|
Frisco (AA) |
.316 |
26 |
98 |
14 |
31 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
11 |
23 |
9 |
2004 |
Frisco (AA) |
.241 |
59 |
232 |
35 |
56 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
22 |
43 |
4 |
|
AZL Rangers (R) |
.387 |
15 |
62 |
15 |
24 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
4 |
2005 |
Frisco (AA) |
.321 |
83 |
321 |
49 |
103 |
14 |
4 |
3 |
45 |
26 |
55 |
12 |
|
Oklahoma (AAA) |
.247 |
42 |
178 |
25 |
44 |
11 |
4 |
0 |
19 |
14 |
43 |
5 |
2006 |
Oklahoma (AAA) |
.228 |
95 |
364 |
37 |
83 |
14 |
4 |
2 |
28 |
27 |
91 |
9 |
|
Texas (ML) |
.214 |
5 |
14 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
2007 |
Oklahoma (AAA) |
.213 |
72 |
225 |
28 |
48 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
27 |
44 |
2 |
2008 |
Oklahoma (AAA) |
.250 |
88 |
284 |
43 |
71 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
37 |
46 |
10 |
2009 |
Corpus Christi (AA) |
.291 |
120 |
443 |
70 |
129 |
29 |
1 |
5 |
51 |
50 |
74 |
2 |
|
Minor Lge. Totals |
.267 |
752 |
2833 |
390 |
756 |
119 |
34 |
21 |
278 |
260 |
577 |
88 |
Matt Nevarez
Pitcher
Height: 6-4
Weight: 220
Born: 2/26/87 in Mission Hills, CA
Bats/Throws: R/R
Resides: San Fernando, CA
Acquired: Obtained from Texas along with a player to be named (Jose Vallejo) in the deal that sent catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez to the Rangers in August, 2009. Originally selected by the Rangers in the 10th round of the 2005 draft.
Career Highlights: A member of Houston's 40-man roster, went 2-4 with a 2.28 ERA and 13 saves last season between Hickory and Lexington. Yielded just 22 hits over 35 innings as a Crawdad, holding opponents to a .177 average. Made his Lexington debut August 20 at Kannapolis and did not allow a run in eight outings with the Legends. Tossed an inning of shutout relief twice against his old teammates a week after the trade, earning his first save as an Astros farmhand August 25 against Hickory. Averaged 13.08 strikeouts per nine innings in 2009, a number that would have ranked second best among relievers in the South Atlantic League had he reached the minimum qualifier for innings (56). Gave up just 1 home run all season, and has allowed just 6 HRs in his career (1 HR for every 19.28 innings).
Went 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA in nine relief appearances for Spokane in 2008. Was moved to the starting rotation in late July to increase his innings. Missed the entire 2007 season recovering from elbow surgery. Ranked among Baseball America's top 200 prospects entering the 2005 draft. Fanned 36 batters in 28 innings during his senior season at San Fernando High School. As a professional, has averaged 10.82 strikeouts per nine innings.
CLUB |
W-L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
CG |
SO |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
|
2005 |
AZL Rangers (R) |
2-1 |
1.61 |
10 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
28.0 |
18 |
7 |
5 |
13 |
24 |
2006 |
AZL Rangers (R) |
0-0 |
9.00 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2007 |
DNP Injured |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2008 |
Spokane (A) |
4-2 |
4.36 |
16 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
43.1 |
39 |
26 |
21 |
43 |
50 |
2009 |
Hickory (A) |
1-4 |
2.83 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
35.0 |
22 |
14 |
11 |
15 |
50 |
|
Lexington (A) |
1-0 |
0.00 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
8.1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
|
Totals |
8-7 |
2.96 |
69 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
115.2 |
84 |
48 |
38 |
71 |
139 |
Mark Ori
Infielder
Height: 6-4
Weight: 225
Born: 12/16/82 in Chicago, IL
Bats/Throws: L/R
Resides: Niles, IL
School: Northwestern University. Hit .325 with 26 doubles, 4 triples, 3 HRs and 71 RBIs in three seasons with the Wildcats.
Acquired: Selected in the 14th round of the 2005 draft.
Career Highlights: Ranked third in doubles for the Hooks last season and fifth in hits. Batted .312 over the first two months of the season with 10 doubles and 25 RBIs. Was one of only three Hooks to knock in five or more runs in a game when he went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and 5 RBIs in a 15-4 rout at Tulsa April 16. Had a 4-hit night May 22 at Midland. Notched 8 hits and 8 RBIs in the first three games of a series vs. Frisco July 24-26. Collected at least one hit in all seven games of that home stand (15x29) for his longest hitting streak of the season. Batted .311 in 61 games at Whataburger Field.
Named to the Carolina League Post-Season All-Star Team in 2008, leading the circuit in hits and games while ranking second in at-bats and third in average and RBIs. Also tied for third in the league in doubles. Led the Houston system in RBIs and tied for third among Astros farmhands in batting average. Named Salem's offensive player of the month in both April (.306-3-19) and June (.365-0-22). Batted .327 for the year with runners in scoring position. In 2007, ranked second with Salem in at-bats, games and RBIs. Hit .338 in April, plating and scoring nine. Blasted two of Salem's three grand slams and for the season batted .308 (4x13) with the bases loaded, knocking in 17 runs.
|
CLUB |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
2005 |
Tri-City (A) |
.279 |
62 |
226 |
35 |
63 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
26 |
21 |
40 |
7 |
2006 |
Lexington (A) |
.274 |
117 |
412 |
63 |
113 |
25 |
3 |
8 |
60 |
40 |
94 |
4 |
2007 |
Salem (A) |
.272 |
115 |
415 |
58 |
113 |
22 |
1 |
9 |
56 |
45 |
64 |
2 |
2008 |
Salem (A) |
.304 |
131 |
497 |
73 |
151 |
36 |
2 |
11 |
89 |
49 |
92 |
4 |
2009 |
Corpus Christi (AA) |
.262 |
125 |
423 |
52 |
111 |
28 |
0 |
1 |
45 |
41 |
88 |
0 |
|
Totals |
.279 |
550 |
1973 |
281 |
551 |
114 |
7 |
33 |
276 |
196 |
378 |
17 |