Analyzing the Oakland Athletics’ Prospect Haul from Deadline Deals

Casey Meisner, Starting Pitcher, Part of Clippard Trade

Aug 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson speaks about starting pitcher Matt Harvey (not pictured) during a press conference before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. It was announced today that Harvey has a partially torn UCL. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Relief pitching has always been considered a bonus. Looking at teams trying to make deep playoff runs a strong bullpen is key, but for a team looking to rebuild, then having a strong bullpen piece isn’t necessarily as important. Beane pounced on the opportunity to move a bonus piece in Clippard who is going to be a free agent at the end of the year, for another extremely valuable young starting pitcher.

This time it was Casey Meisner, coming out of the Mets organization. Meisner has been a pro for three years and has been as high as high A. Unlike Mengden, Meisner has shown pretty fluid consistency in his first three years.

For his career, Meisner has pitched to a 16-10 record with a 2.97 ERA and 188 strikeouts over 42 games and 212.1 innings.

Meisner has found success over and over never posting an ERA over 3.75 in his career. For the 2015 season alone, Meisner has pitched for three different teams but yet he holds a collective 2.51 ERA.

He also has become something of a strikeout machine. His strikeouts per nine innings for his career is sitting at a very impressive 8.0. Being able to strikeout out eight batters per nine innings shows that Meisner could become a dominant strikeout pitcher upon his emergence to the league.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

This strikeout improvement is due to his improvement in velocity. Originally throwing in the high 80’s, Meisner has improved, throwing around 90-94 miles per hour. Standing at 6’7″, being able to throw your fastball in the mid 90’s can be quite imposing.

What he does need to work on are his secondary pitches. His curveball has been coming along nicely, but his changeup still needs work. If Meisner is able to improve his secondary pitches with a continued improvement in velocity, he could become a front of the line starter.

Meisner now sits at 11th in the organization’s prospect ranks, and is the second best right handed pitching prospect. Being in only high A, Meisner has potential to be a star upon his arrival to the bigs.

Next: Aaron Brooks