Never did he think the worst. The worst being, for a minor leaguer, that the game might be done with him.
But no one would have blamed prospect right-hander Mike Mayers if such scary thoughts had left him breathless.
After all, the Springfield Cardinals right-hander, who this time last summer couldn’t even feel the fingers in his pitching hand, underwent a surgery that removed an upper rib and two scaling muscles in his neck. After surgery, one of his lungs collapsed, and he lost 30 pounds while the season went on without him.
But …
“I never thought that it was the end,” Mayers said. “Now, there were times I believed it was a missed opportunity, having been invited to big-league camp and never getting going.”
Now look who’s been getting going, so to speak. If you’re looking for an arm who might help St. Louis pitching this season, the right-hander is one fans best begin following.
While all eyes are on top prospect Alex Reyes in Triple-A Memphis these days – Reyes made his season debut over the weekend – Mayers arguably is reclaiming Top 30 prospect status in his return to the Texas League.
This as the right-hander has delivered big-time in Double-A Springfield’s starting rotation, positioning the farm club atop the Texas League North Division as the Cardinals open a six-game homestand Tuesday night at Hammons Field.
Put it this way – Mayers is 4-2 overall and owns the circuit’s fifth-best earned run average (2.49).
This for a guy who is three years removed from the premier role of Friday night starter in the mighty Southeastern Conference, for Ole Miss, and earning third-round draft status by St. Louis. He was signed for a $510,000 bonus, according to Baseball America.
Overall, it’s a huge turnaround from a year ago when Mayers would deliver one good start, then labor through the next – unbeknownst he was battling a legitimate health issue. It’s called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
“You don’t see it very often,” Mayers said. “The nerves in my neck were being compressed and I’d have spasms. The more I threw, the worse it got.”
Mayers was disabled in June of last year, attempted a breather of sorts to recover but was shut down in late July. He made only 10 starts here – a disappointing outcome given Mayers had reached Double-A in late 2014, a year after being drafted. Not many can pull that trick.
More scary, one of his lungs collapsed after surgery. But apparently that was expected, Mayers said, relaying what doctors had projected.
“They put a tube in my side to get the air out,” Mayers said. “It happened so fast. I didn’t know. But when I realized what was going on, I was like, ‘Get me out of here.’”
That he did. Mayers eventually returned home to suburban Columbus, Ohio, where his improbable journey began from under-the-radar prospect to Ole Miss Friday starter.
The time off was a good thing, it turned out, even though his strict diet demanded avoiding foods with cholesterol.
“It made me go back to the square one,” Mayers said. “Sometimes (in the minor leagues) we’re trying to fine-tune small things and we forget about the basics a little bit.”
Plus, nothing was going to keep him from the game. Understand, his journey to Ole Miss happened by happenstance. A high school coach had urged Mayers to attend the Rebels’ summer camp, and that’s how he was spotted in the first place. Eventually, a guy from a cold-weather climate rose to become Ole Miss’ Friday night starter.
“I kind of faced (injury rehab) with that mentality that, ‘I’m going to come back stronger from this,” Mayers said. “I just had to let that soak in as much as I could even though I wasn’t on the field.”
“Too many people had invested in me,” Mayers continued. “And I’ve invested too much in this game. I didn’t think I was guaranteed I’d come back. But I was determined to come back.”
You watch Mayers now and can see the urgency – and the consistency. He opened the season by pitching seven scoreless innings in a nifty 69 pitches. He’s had other starts of six scoreless innings, another of seven scoreless and another that stopped two outs shy of another seven innings, this time with only one run allowed.
Overall, he has 33 strikeouts in 47 innings, allowed 17 walks and 43 hits and a .243 opponent’s average.
In essence, he is spotting his fastball well down around the knees and mixing in two effective secondary pitches, a change-up and slider. That’s the result of better fastball command, yes, but also consistency. Of his eight starts, four have been quality starts of at least six innings long and no more than three runs allowed.
So far, his manager has seen better control – throwing strikes – more than better command, which is throwing strokes where you want to.
“He’s pitching well obviously. He’s healthy, and I think that’s No. 2. That’s always something in the back of anybody’s mind after they aren’t 100 percent,” Springfield manager Dann Bilardello said.
“He’s been down in the zone better with his fastball. He’s been pitching better with his fastball.”
Bilardello put it another way:
“He’s not just throwing hard,” Bilardello said. “He’s pitching more. There have been times when he’s been overpowering. There have been times when it’s just been, ‘Wow.”
Mayers, now 24, realizes now is the time to seize the moment and raise his profile. He was among Baseball America’s Top 30 Cardinals prospects entering last season, partly because his 2014 season earned a late-season promotion to Triple-A Memphis.
Two weeks ago, he made a nice spot start for Memphis, yielding a run in 5 1/3 innings and got credit for the win.
Something to build on. Something to bury the forgetful summer of a year ago.
“Once you get to this point, it’s not where you came from,” Mayers said. “If you pitch at this level and well in Memphis, there is a good chance you could go to St. Louis. I know you don’t get too many opportunities in this game. So I better make the most of it.”
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CARDS BACK HOME: The Springfield Cardinals are atop the Texas League North as they open a six-game homestand tonight at Hammons Field. They’ll play the Midland RockHounds (Athletics) for three games tonight through Thursday, and then play the Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers) for a three-game set.
PROMOTIONS THIS WEEK: Tonight — $1 hot dogs, Thursday — $1 bratwursts and Matt Carpenter pennant giveaway; Friday – postgame fireworks; Saturday – St. Louis Cardinals 1946 World Series replica rings; Sunday – Kids run the bases.
WHO’S HOT: Springfield prospect outfielder Harrison Bader, a 2015 draft pick, is tied with Midland’s Ryan Healy for the Texas League batting race (.338 average). The club has two others in the top 10 as well – infielder Bruce Caldwell (.309) and prospect catcher Carson Kelly (.300). Bader also is second in fourth in slugging percentage (.544), fifth in on-base percentage (.385) and third in total bases (87). Caldwell is fourth in the league in both RBI (27) and on-base percentage (.394).
ATHLETICS PROSPECTS: Midland, an Athletics Double-A affiliate, features top prospect Franklin Barreto, a shortstop, as well as third baseman Matt Chapman (3), infielder Yairo Munoz (10), right-handers Dylan Covey (18), Raul Alcantara (19) and Bobby Wahl (30).
FRISCO PROPECTS: Frisco, a Rangers farm club, features right-hander Luis Ortiz (4), second baseman Evan Van Hoosier(23) left-hander Yohander Mendez (24) and right-hander Connor Sadzeck (26). Note: Rankings are from Baseball America Prospect Handbook.
