Austin Meadows Future with the Pirates
Austin Meadows is a name that many baseball fanatics will recognize as Meadows is one of the top 10 prospects in the MLB based on new rankings by MLB.com and someone that is viewed as a legitimate impact player.
The 21-year old, Meadows, was drafted with the 9th pick in the 1st round of the 2013 Amateur Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and has done nothing but matured ever since being drafted. Not only has he moved up quickly through the Pirates system, he also is well ahead of a normal prospect in terms of development playing at Triple-A at his ripe young age.
Last season, Meadows started the year at Low A Ball before getting promoted to Double A and finished the year at Triple-A Indianapolis. In 308 at bats at all three of those levels, he hit: .266/.333/.536 with 82 hits, 25 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs, 47 RBI, 33 walks, and 67 strikeouts. In addition, he had 17 stolen bases in that span and a .869 OPS.
While those numbers are impressive, they don't nearly match up to the success that he had at High A and Double A in 2015. During the 2015 season in 533 at bats, he hit: .310/.360/.420 with 165 hits, 24 doubles, 7 triples, 7 home runs, 55 RBI, 21 stolen bases, 43 walks, and 84 strikeouts.
One of the biggest reasons why Meadows struggled a bit more in 2016 compared to 2015 is because he dealt with two significant injuries during the span of the season. In the middle of last season, Meadows was put on the 7-day DL with a strained right hamstring and later faced an oblique injury which prevented him from playing in the Arizona Fall League this past Fall.
In regards to what scouts think about Meadows, many of them note that if he has the ability to stay healthy, he can be the next best thing in baseball. Scouts note that Meadows possesses the five tools needed to be a successful major league player and has a very smooth swing at the plate which gives him an advantage especially since he is a left-handed hitter. Furthermore, scouts believe that Meadows has the ability to be a very good defensive centerfielder and one that has an accurate, but a little below average, throwing arm.
As for the future, it really depends on what the Pirates end up doing with their outfield situation and how they decide to make room for Austin Meadows. He is ready to take the next step and will be able to provide force to the Pirates lineup on an everyday basis.
This past winter there were numerous rumors that the Pirates were close to trading Andrew McCutchen to a couple of different teams including the Detroit Tigers and a few others, but nothing ever came to fruition. Pittsburgh will likely wait until at least the trade deadline or next off season before they trade McCutchen.
Regardless, Austin Meadows, is a legitimate, everyday outfielder, who will make a huge impact at the big league level at a ripe young age, based on his minor league track record and his ranking according to MLB.com. Now the only question is when that is going to happen and that all lies in the hands of the decision makers in Pittsburgh.
