Get to know Marlins' No. 10 pick Noble Meyer

Noble Meyer was the top-ranked high school pitcher for the 2023 MLB Draft according to MLB Pipeline and the 11th overall prospect. The 6-foot-5 right-hander has some of the most explosive stuff of any pitcher in this Draft and looks the part of your prototypical high-upside, projectable high school arm.

But who is Noble Meyer? Here's a guide to let you know what the Marlins' No. 10 pick is all about.

FAST FACTS
Position: RHP
Ht/Wt: 6-foot-5, 185 lbs.
B/T: Right/right
DOB: Jan. 10, 2005
College: Committed to Oregon
High school: Jesuit High School (Ore.)
Born: West Linn, Ore.

He's following the Mick Abel blueprint

Meyer shares plenty of similarities with Mick Abel, the No. 36 MLB prospect currently pitching in the Phillies' system.

Both pitchers are from Jesuit High School, a powerhouse baseball school in Portland, Ore. Abel was the first high school prep pitcher selected in the 2020 Draft at 15th overall. Meyer was the first prep pitcher selected in the '23 Draft at No. 10 overall.

Abel and Meyer each had college commitments in the state of Oregon; Abel bypassed his Oregon State commitment to sign with the Phillies while Meyer is expected to bypass his Oregon commitment to sign professionally.

The two pitchers even shared similar sizes and arsenals that featured plus-plus stuff heading into their Drafts. Both pitchers were listed at 6-foot-5 and right around 190 lbs. While their pitch mixes differed a bit, both featured the elite stuff at a young age that made them enviable selections at the top of the Draft.

He dominated in his biggest high school showcase game

The National High School Invitational is arguably the biggest high school baseball tournament held every year. Hosted by USA Baseball, the tournament "brings together 16 of the top prep teams in the country to compete against each other."

Jesuit High School, one of the better baseball programs in the country, was one of those teams for the '23 Invitational. In his start against Calvary Christian (Fla.), Meyer pitched as well as you possibly can in that atmosphere. In a 7-inning complete game, Meyer allowed three unearned runs, allowed two hits, struck out 10 batters and walked just two. While Jesuit ultimately lost the game, you can hardly pin the blame on Meyer's dominant effort.

“I feel everything was working,” Meyer told MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo. “The fastball may have been a little low on command, but it had the life I really wanted it to have. It worked really well up in the zone and played well off of the curve and slider. I think the breaking balls were a huge factor in this game, lots of stolen strikes and lots of bad swings off of it.”

Meyer was already viewed as the top prep arm heading into the tournament but his strong start only reaffirmed his top prospect status.

Advanced stuff and command for a teenager

Meyer is not immune to the usual risk associated with high school pitching prospects but he has a lot of positives to counteract that risk.

For starters, the stuff is really good. MLB Pipeline has a 60/80 grade on his four-seam fastball, which sits in the mid-90s and consistently hits 97-98 mph. His slider, a mid-80s offering with "good hard bite and spin," has a 55 grade and looks like a weapon for generating whiffs. His changeup is solid if not unspectacular and has a solid 50 grade.

It's the new curveball that might be the most exciting pitch though. At the aforementioned high school invitational, Mayo noted that Meyer came into the season with a fastball/slider/changeup mix. The new curveball appears to be another plus pitch, one that Meyer threw 26 times at the invitational with an average RPM north of 3000.

“The curve is always something I wanted to throw,” Meyer said about the development of the new pitch. “I used to throw it when I was younger, and then I kind of lowered my arm slot and found the slider worked better. But recently, my arm slot raised a bit. I used [the curveball] early in counts to steal strikes -- sometimes with two strikes, get it low, look for a chase.”

The fact that Meyer is already throwing a lot of strikes only adds further excitement to his profile. With plus stuff, strike-throwing ability and success at an elite baseball program, he had the appropriate pedigree to rank as the top prep arm heading into the Draft.