FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Alex Meyer is fighting for a roster spot, so he's trying not to appear too cocky. But the Kentucky Wildcats don't make it easy.
"I don't think anybody can beat them. They've played down to their competition a couple of times, but there's such a huge gap between them and everyone else," the Twins' righthander said. "But I'm obviously super biased."
He is, because he's a Kentucky alum, like fellow Twins minor-leaguers Logan Darnell and Taylor Rogers. Meyers was a sophomore when John Calipari was hired, was starring on the UK baseball team when the Cats made a run to the Final Four in 2011, and showed up to watch Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at a Kentucky-Louisville game during their championship season of 2012.
Meyer is an Indiana native, but made Kentucky his favorite team while attending an Indiana-Kentucky football game during his childhood. "It was right when I started to understand winning and losing. It was a terrible game, but I told my dad, 'That's going to be my favorite team,' " Meyer said. "From a basketball standpoint, it's been fun."
Even if it means being trash-talked by his teammates. Kansan Mike Pelfrey, for instance, "keeps trying to knock them down," Meyer said. "I hear it all the time — a lot of people want them to lose." But that just makes it more fun, he said. "It's a special group, to go 34-0. It makes you pretty confident."
Meyer is confident about his own chances, too. He's pitched only 3 2/3 innings this spring, entering Thursday's scheduled relief appearance, but has yet to give up a run. "I'm feeling pretty good," the 25-year-old said. "But I just try to do my job and let them make the decisions. That's all I'm thinking about." Well, that and another national title run for the Wildcats.
