EAST GREENSBORO – The Miami Marlins selected right-handed pitcher Xavier Meachem in the 10th round with the 293rd overall pick Monday in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. Meachem becomes the 21st Aggie selected in the MLB Draft and the first since the Texas Rangers selected RHP Leon Hunter in the 35th round with the 1,045th overall pick.
Meachem is the first Aggie selected as high as the 10th round since Duron Legrande went in the 10th round with the 294th overall pick to the Montreal Expos in 2004. Tuesday marked the highest an Aggie has been selected since the San Diego Padres drafted Al Holland in the fourth round with the 81st overall pick in 1975.
"I'm super excited for Meach," said North Carolina A&T head coach Ben Hall, who saw his third player (all RHP) get drafted as Meachem joined Hunter and Cutter Dyals. "He is a first-class person, and I know his best baseball is still ahead of him. It is always a fun time to see one of your guys accomplish a dream, especially one who has stepped up and really made it happen for himself. Xavier had a great year, and I couldn't be happier for him."
Meachem became one of the most versatile pitchers in the nation in 2023. To help Meachem recover from an early-season injury, the Aggies brought Meachem out of the bullpen, where he excelled. Meachem secured five saves and 12 strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched. Meachem eventually became a starter and finished the season 2-1 with a 5.59 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched. He also posted 47 strikeouts, became an MLB Draft prospect, pitched in the first annual HBCU Swingman All-Star Game, and made the USA National Collegiate Team. He pitched a scoreless ninth against Chinese Taipei on July 2 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
He first got on the MLB radar playing in the first annual Minority Baseball Prospect HBCU All-Star Game in 2021 held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. He talks about the importance of having those events for HBCU players. Meachem will graduate from A&T with a degree in business management in December.
"Meach had all the metrics for the draft this year with a 97miles per hour fastball with a big-time spin rate and a slider that has been up to 87 with a 3150 spin rate which would put him in the mix with MLB all-stars today," said A&T pitching coach Jamie Serber. "He has always had the stuff, but Meach has the mental toughness to go with it. Great to see him wear a USA jersey and represent Aggie Nation in the MLB Draft."
