Meet Tobias Myers, the prospect acquired in the Tim Beckham trade

In a surprise deadline deal, the Rays shipped off former number-one pick Tim Beckham to division rival Baltimore in exchange for RHP Tobias Myers.

Myers was a sixth round draft pick by the Orioles in 2016, going 181st overall. The Winter Haven, Florida native did not appear on MLB pipeline’s top 200 draft options in 2016, nor was he on the midseason list for their top 30 Orioles’ prospects for this season, and overall has an obscure prospect background.

With how little has been written on Myers, there’s limited knowledge on what the youngster brings to the table, but baseballdraftreport.com did provide some pitching information on the right hander after he was drafted by the Orioles:

There are a lot of similarities between fourth round pick Brenan Hanifee and Tobias Myers. The two share similar present fastballs (88-92, 93 peak), similar athleticism, and similar two-way multi-sport backgrounds. Hanifee has the edge in physical projection, but Myers has the more advanced offspeed stuff, especially his good upper-70s changeup. Information for the “do with it what you may” department: I’ve seen and heard his height listed at 5-11, 6-0 (the “official” measurement for now), and 6-2 depending on the source. Anyway, I ranked Myers ahead of Hanifee before the draft, but, knowing what I do now, I’d definitely flip the two without much second thought.

More recent reports clock the FB at 96.

A somewhat undersized pitcher, Myers was drafted at the age of 17, giving him a lot of physical projection left.

With the change up being his prized secondary pitch, Myers fits what the Rays often develop in the minors. Along with this written report, here’s a video of Myers during his junior year at New Haven high school.

In the video, you can see he played on both sides as a high schooler (as many top athletes and draft prospects do) but has only pitched as a professional. He also alluded to going to the University of Southern Florida, but clearly he forgone his commitment there and signed with the Orioles.

So far in 2017, Myers has started seven games, pitching to a 3.94 ERA in 29 ²⁄₃ innings, to go along with 35 strikeouts and just six walks.

While this trade came out of nowhere and weakens the major league team, there’s always a reason trades are made. One thing we can be sure of is that the Rays know more about Tobias Myers than we do, and after all, the Rays have demonstrated a great ability at identifying 18-year old talent.

For his part, Myers says he’s coming home:

Join me in welcoming the newest addition to the Rays’ family, Tobias Myers.