Austin Meadows was NL Rookie of the Month, but why is it taking him so long to develop?
… injuries have slowed him
Heralded first-round pick from 2013 Austin Meadows has tantalized Pirates fans for years, and finally, he was called up in May with an opportunity to perform on the big stage.
The left-handed outfielder delivered, hitting four home runs, three doubles, a triple, and stealing three bases in his first 13 games. In addition, he was hitting over .400 in those first days, going an incredible 433/.433/.867 in his first 29 opportunities at the plate to be named Rookie of the Month in the National League.
Even Manager Clint Hurdle was impressed. Meadows’ “performance was eye-catching,” Hurdle told reporters after watching the rookie.
Performance
Meadows was called up when center fielder Starling Marte was place on the 10-day disabled list. The original plan was to send Meadows back to AAA Indianapolis after Marte returned. Hurdle had said as much, according to Elizabeth Bloom of the Post-Gazette. Even though Marte immediately re-claimed his position, the manager said that while his three outfielders, Marte in center, Gregory Polanco in right, and Corey Dickerson in left, still held, Meadows was going to be part of the picture.
“We need to continue to monitor [Corey] Dickerson’s on-field innings,” Hurdle told a gaggle of reporters. “Marte’s bouncing back, we’re going to be smart with, and Polanco. So I think between the four of them, and a true fourth outfielder, we’ll be able to have the opportunity to get everybody playing time.”
Meadows is now .356 in batting average with an OBP of .385. However, the question is what has taken the Georgia prospect, now 23-years-od-age but signed right out of high school, so long to develop.
Injuries have hurt progress
The road to Pittsburgh seemed to be clear for Meadows once he was signed in 2013. He worked his way to the number 2 prospect and then the number 1, but along the way, injuries have deterred his progress. Some cannot be avoided, like the orbital fractured during spring training in 2016. They are usually a matter of bad luck, but after his problems last season in Indianapolis, Meadows decided to change his number from the jinx 13. “I had a lot of injuries, so I’m not going back to that one,” Meadows said about the 13. “That’s an unlucky number in general, anyway.”
Last year, the injuries were to his hamstring and oblique. He was so frustrated that he employed a new trainer in the offseason to try and prevent them. "It's been a tough road, but I feel like that's behind me now. I’ve really learned a lot. I've ventured out, learned a lot about myself and my body,” he told Jonathan Mayo of MLB prior to the season.
Meadows was optimistic that he could make the kind of impact that he has if he could just stay healthy. “I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity this year, looking forward to staying on the field. When I stay on the field, I'm definitely capable of doing a lot on the field, as I have done in the past. I think there's more to come there,” he said in the Mayo interview.
Tough 2017
The injuries definitely hampered his production last season in Indianapolis, which frustrated him. He hit just .250 with four home runs and 36 RBI's in 72 games. "Freak things just happened," Meadows told Kevin Gorman of TribLive during spring training. "Whether it's a hamstring pull or something crazy, things are going to happen in this game. But it's just my ability to try to learn from them and bounce back as quick as I can. That's all I can control. I think we're going in a good direction right now."
Because of the injuries, Hurdle wanted Meadows to try and play a full season at AAA this year. However, since he has taken advantage of the opportunity to impress Hurdle and others, maybe his time has come.
Outfield production
That may be tough since Dickerson is leading the team in hitting with a .321 batting average, 13th in the majors. He is the only one of the Bucs in the top 50 hitters in the league, though they are tenth in team batting average.
Marte has a .280 BA with seven home runs and 25 RBIs. He also has 13 stolen bases. Once hailed as a great prospect, Polanco has a batting average of just .206 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. So, if Polanco, just 26, does not turn his season around, that may be where Meadows could be a fit. Dickerson is 29 and spent three years with Colorado and two with Tampa Bay.
“We need to continue to monitor [Corey] Dickerson’s on-field innings,” Hurdle told a gaggle of reporters. “Marte’s bouncing back, we’re going to be smart with, and Polanco. So I think between the four of them, and a true fourth outfielder, we’ll be able to have the opportunity to get everybody playing time.”
Meadows is now .356 in batting average with an OBP of .385. However, the question is what has taken the Georgia prospect, now 23-years-od-age but signed right out of high school, so long to develop.
Injuries have hurt progress
The road to Pittsburgh seemed to be clear for Meadows once he was signed in 2013. He worked his way to the number 2 prospect and then the number 1, but along the way, injuries have deterred his progress. Some cannot be avoided, like the orbital fractured during spring training in 2016. They are usually a matter of bad luck, but after his problems last season in Indianapolis, Meadows decided to change his number from the jinx 13. “I had a lot of injuries, so I’m not going back to that one,” Meadows said about the 13. “That’s an unlucky number in general, anyway.”
Last year, the injuries were to his hamstring and oblique. He was so frustrated that he employed a new trainer in the offseason to try and prevent them. "It's been a tough road, but I feel like that's behind me now. I’ve really learned a lot. I've ventured out, learned a lot about myself and my body,” he told Jonathan Mayo of MLB prior to the season.
Meadows was optimistic that he could make the kind of impact that he has if he could just stay healthy. “I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity this year, looking forward to staying on the field. When I stay on the field, I'm definitely capable of doing a lot on the field, as I have done in the past. I think there's more to come there,” he said in the Mayo interview.
Tough 2017
The injuries definitely hampered his production last season in Indianapolis, which frustrated him. He hit just .250 with four home runs and 36 RBI's in 72 games. "Freak things just happened," Meadows told Kevin Gorman of TribLive during spring training. "Whether it's a hamstring pull or something crazy, things are going to happen in this game. But it's just my ability to try to learn from them and bounce back as quick as I can. That's all I can control. I think we're going in a good direction right now."
Because of the injuries, Hurdle wanted Meadows to try and play a full season at AAA this year. However, since he has taken advantage of the opportunity to impress Hurdle and others, maybe his time has come.
Outfield production
That may be tough since Dickerson is leading the team in hitting with a .321 batting average, 13th in the majors. He is the only one of the Bucs in the top 50 hitters in the league, though they are tenth in team batting average.
Marte has a .280 BA with seven home runs and 25 RBIs. He also has 13 stolen bases. Once hailed as a great prospect, Polanco has a batting average of just .206 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. So, if Polanco, just 26, does not turn his season around, that may be where Meadows could be a fit. Dickerson is 29 and spent three years with Colorado and two with Tampa Bay.
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