Hunter Meyer is Taking Things Slow as a Drifter

Hunter Meyer batting versus the Marion Berries on July 12th. (Photo by Isaac Abrego)

By Henry Light

Upon joining the Drifters on June 17, Hunter Meyer made an excellent first impression through his intense work ethic off the field. On the field, though, it was a different story, with Meyer primarily focusing on slowing things down.

“When I was back at school, I was just sped up a lot, and I didn’t have a lot of focus coming toward things,” Meyer said. “I feel like I’m just trying to take things as slow as possible here, and that’ll help me in the long run.”

Despite identifying room for growth in his mental game, Meyer excelled as a true freshman at Cal State Fullerton, earning 39 starts and hitting .252 with 13 RBIs. Meyer has since become a fixture in the Drifters’ lineup and has shown at every turn that he is at his best when he can relax and play the game with freedom.

“He comes in early, and he works his butt off every single day in the cage, and he carries what he does in the cage and the free work over to games,” Drifters head coach Jeff Lyle said after Meyer went 2-for-4 and scored a run on July 7. “It's nice, and some guys will see the way he carries himself and follow it.”

Lyle’s prediction instantly came true, with the Drifters snapping a four-game losing streak the next day and going 10-4 since. Meyer’s metronomic consistency near the top of the order and dedicated work ethic off the field have played a crucial role in the team’s turnaround.

As of July 29, Meyer holds a .287 batting average with 21 RBIs, 24 runs scored and two home runs. As the Drifters have gotten hotter in July, so has he, hitting .308 with a .473 slugging percentage, 17 RBIs and both of his home runs in the month.

“He kind of just does a little bit of everything, and it's paying off right now — I mean, he's getting taken care of in every way possible for everything that he does,” Lyle said. 

Springfield came into the season with reliable leadership in the lineup with fourth-year Drifter Cooper Mullens and third-year veteran Nolan Miller leading the squad. Meyer’s leadership by example has been a welcome addition to that dynamic, especially coming from an incoming sophomore who joined the team 15 games into the season.

The Drifters have needed that stability on and off the field to mitigate their second-half roster turnover as players begin or end their Summer work.

“I just try to be myself as much as possible, meet everybody and be cool and collected with everybody,” Meyer said.

Meyer worked his way to the top of the Drifters’ lineup during a nine-game hitting streak between July 4 and July 17. His streak justified the move, but the intricacies of leading off complicated Meyer’s goal of taking things slow at the plate.

“I felt like batting leadoff was kind of a job; I’m more used to hitting toward the middle or bottom of the lineup and having runners in scoring position,” Meyer said.

The addition of Bushnell senior and leadoff hitter Chase Nye allowed Meyer to drop back to second in the order on July 21 in Portland, setting up his most impactful series of the season. 

In his second at-bat of the opening game, Meyer put an aggressive swing on a first-pitch fastball well above the zone for his first home run of the season, bringing in two runs thanks to a leadoff walk by Nye.

Meyer went on to single and score a run in the fifth inning and drive in an unearned run with a hard ground ball to third base in the eighth to finish 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs and a walk.

“Moving him down a little bit gave him more freedom to be aggressive in the strike zone and not feel like he’s a leadoff hitter, and it showed,” Lyle said after the game.

In game three, Meyer continued his power surge with a 94 mph, 350-foot home run off a middle-in slider, bringing in three runs and clinching a series win in Portland.

“He’s seeing the ball really well, he’s got a lot of confidence, and I think this will be Meyer Park when he leaves here,” Lyle said. 

In five games since stamping his name on the series win at Walker Stadium, Meyer has continued to fuel the Drifters’ pursuit of a playoff spot, extending his hitting streak to six games.

After seeing out the playoff race with the Drifters, Meyer will return to Fullerton with a new plate approach built around the freedom and slowness he has played with in Springfield.