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IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Austin Meadows: Taking Center Stage

July 27, 2018 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


It wasn't supposed to be this easy. Or was it? Days, weeks, months, partial seasons missed because of injury. Now fully healthy, off to a jaw-dropping major league start and exceeding - or finally meeting - his own expectations.

On the biggest stage of them all.

Five years ago, Austin Meadows was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the ninth-overall pick in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft. He was thrust into the minors not only as one of the top prospects in Pittsburgh's farm system, but all of baseball.

And rightfully so.

Born with athletic genes to no end - his mom, Staci, played softball at Georgia Southern and Georgia State; his dad, Kenny, played baseball and football at Morehead State - Meadows racked up accolades left and right as a prep.

In 2011, he led the USA Baseball 16U National Team to the IBAF Worth Youth Championship in Mexico. Meadows made the all-tournament team after leading the Red, White and Blue in hits (22), doubles (five), triples (three), RBI (28) and stolen bases (six).

The following year as a junior at Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga., he helped lead his team to the Class 6A state semifinals with four home runs, 28 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Those numbers garnered him a 2013 Rawlings preseason first-team All-American honor, and he didn't disappoint as a senior, batting .535 with four more homers and 28 RBI. Baseball America rated him as the third-best position player and fifth-best player overall entering the 2013 MLB Draft. The same publication listed Meadows as the "Best Athlete" with the "Best Strike Zone Judgment," as well as "Closest Player to the Majors" among high schoolers.

Meadows justified his draft stock by batting .316 (56-for-177) with 23 extra-base hits and a .977 OPS between the rookie-level GCL Pirates and Short-Season A Jamestown in 2013. But then came the injuries...

He missed the first three months of the 2014 season with a left hamstring strain and played in just 45 games. After an injury-free 2015, again providing a glimpse of future stardom with a .310 average (165-for-533), 38 extra-base knocks, 55 RBI and 21 stolen bases between High-A and Double-A that year, an errant throw in March 2016 at Pirate City broke his orbital bone. The mishap forced him to miss the rest of camp and first three weeks of the season.

Meadows returned to the field toward the end of April in 2016 but missed an additional three weeks later that summer with a right hamstring strain. His 2017 campaign, another season shortened to 81 games due to right hamstring and left oblique strains, finally forced a change of trainers in the offseason.

"The past six years, I've had a great trainer," said Meadows, standing outside the Pirates clubhouse at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. this past February. "You really can't put into account what happened with the hamstring and what it was from. For me, it was more of just functional movements and total body lifts. I was paying more attention to my lifts, to my body, to the form and technique of those lifts."

Fast forward four months, where Meadows is making the most of a healthy season with his first taste of the majors. With his family, friends, high school sweetheart and now fiancé Alexis in attendance on May 18 at PNC Park, Meadows singled off San Diego's Tyson Ross in his second major league at-bat. He went 2-for-4 in his debut. Two days later he ripped a 420-foot home run off Jordan Lyles, the first of five big-league long balls through his first 14 games. He hit safely in 16 of his first 20 MLB starts and owned a .329 average through June 13.

Meadows retrieved plenty of mementos from a whirlwind of a first week in "The Show." And he was humbled, even with the cup-of-coffee results.

"It's amazing what [the Pirates] do up here for you," said the 23-year-old. "I got the lineup cards, the first base hit and home run balls in separate cases, the jersey in a frame. It's been awesome. I've been aggressive in the zone, putting good swings on the baseball. I've been hitting the ball hard and fortunately a handful of them have sailed over the wall."

Somewhat settled and, in his words, "just playing baseball," the now former Tribe outfielder received some positive words from another former Tribesman and Pirates legend, Andrew McCutchen, in addition to his current Pirates teammates.

"'Cutch' texted me to congratulate me and told me he's excited to follow my career," said Meadows. "I've also attached to guys in the clubhouse like Corey Dickerson, Jordy Mercer, Sean Rodriguez, David Freese. It's a really great clubhouse, guys telling me it's not a life-or-death situation. Whatever happens, happens."

Absorbing everything on the fly, the smooth-swinging youngster can pass along what he's learned over five-plus seasons of professional baseball to his even younger brother, Parker, who was selected with the 44th overall pick by the Tigers in this summer's MLB Draft.

"Time has flown by. When I was 18, [Parker] was just a little 13-year-old watching me play, watching me get drafted on MLB Network," big brother Austin recalled. "Who would've thought he'd be in my shoes now? It's been a special couple of weeks. I'm a proud big brother right now."

Little brother ought to be impressed, as well.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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