Meckler, 26 in April, is switching teams for the first time. The Giants drafted him in 2022 and he remains with that club to this day. In general, he takes a contact-oriented approach at the board with limited power. He struck out 1,157 times over the past three years in the minors with just 16 home runs, but his 13.1% walk rate and 16.7% strikeout rate in that span were both excellent numbers. Even with the lack of power, his combined line of .311/.403/.431 in those seasons translated to a 127 wRC+, with some help from a .371 batting average on balls in play.
Despite the solid numbers, the Giants never gave him much time in the majors. He got a brief look in 2023, hitting .232/.328/.250 in 64 plate appearances, but wasn’t called up in either of the past two campaigns.
Whether his offensive approach can work against major league pitching is not really known at this time. According to Baseball Americahe does well on fastballs, but smells like a lot of breaking pitches. However, thanks to his speed and defense, he does have a solid base. BA describes its speed as “double plus”. During his brief stint in the Majors in 2023, Statcast ranked his sprint speed in the 95th percentile among major leaguers. He has played all three outfield spots in his professional career.
The Angels don’t really have a clear solution in midfield at the moment. I Adel got most of the playing time there in 2025, but his defensive qualities were poor. The Halos opened an angle for him by trading Taylor district to the Orioles for Grayson Rodriguez. The club has some willingness to rent Mike Trout will play center field in the future after limiting him to right field and the designated hitter spot in 2025, but that likely wouldn’t be for more than an occasional appearance.
Bryce Theodosio Last year he played 50 games in center for the Angels and had good marks for his glovework, but he only hit .193/.236/.287. Matthew Lugo is in the mix, but he’s a converted infielder without the same defensive acumen. He also hasn’t hit in the Majors yet. Kyren Paris is in a somewhat similar position. Nelson Rada could take over the position in the long run, but he is only 20 years old and has not yet made his Major League debut.
Given this group, the Angels are understandably tied to the midfield market this season, but they haven’t really done anything about it. Maybe that will change before opening day, but it’s a good landing spot for Meckler now. He could compete for playing time as a regular center fielder or for a role as a fourth outfielder. He also has an option left and could be sent to Triple-A as a depth pick.
If all goes well, the Angels could keep him around for a while. He has just 24 days of big league service time, meaning he is years away from qualifying for arbitration and even further away from free agency.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images
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