With the count even at two balls and two strikes, Austin Meadows pulled a pitch from left-handed pitcher Adam Wilk over the 22-foot wall in right field and past the home run terrace at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio Friday night. It was Meadows' first home run of the season for Triple-A Indianapolis, and the display of power came with Neal Huntington in attendance.
“A towering drive over the right-field wall, would be fun to see it hit halfway up the Clemente seats in the future, but he’s playing like a young player on a mission to earn his spot in the big leagues," Huntington later recalled during his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan.
Meadows, 22, is finally healthy. He was limited to 72 games at Triple-A last season because of hamstring and oblique injuries, and his drop in production bumped him down 38 spots in Baseball America's top 100. A revamped workout regimen helped the 22-year-old regain his athleticism in the field and at the plate; however, he's not complacent after a strong first month to his sixth professional season.
His goal is helping the Pirates in the major leagues and staying there.
"It’s taking care of business every day," Meadows said in a phone interview with DKPittsburghSports.com this week. "I’m obviously not going to settle for being here in Triple-A. Every single day I work on my craft, whether it’s defense, hitting, running or base stealing. I want to be a complete player. I want to work on every aspect I can to get to the big leagues and stay there."
Meadows, ranked the organization's second-best prospect entering the season, is batting .319 with a .831 OPS in 18 games for Indianapolis. The left-handed hitter has six doubles and eight RBIs, including his home run during a four-hit game Friday against Columbus.
He's split his time between center and left field while batting third in a talented lineup featuring Jose Osuna, Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer. Meadows' path to contributing with the Pirates is blocked by Starling Marte, Corey Dickerson and Gregory Polanco, but he's received glowing reviews from Huntington since the start of spring training.
Huntington called Meadows' performance one of the more gratifying developments for the Pirates during their six weeks in Bradenton, Fla. After all, Meadows' ascent through the minor leagues was stalled by injuries the past two seasons. First, he missed the start of 2016 because of a broken orbital bone and was limited to 37 games in Triple-A that season because of a right hamstring injury.
Then, Meadows, drafted ninth overall by the Pirates in 2013, was limited to 73 games with Indianapolis last season because of two stints on the disabled list, including a right hamstring injury that held him out for five weeks.
He underperformed when he was on the field, too, batting .250/.311/.359 with 36 RBIs and 48 runs. It was a far cry from his production at Double-A in 2016, when he batted .311 with a .976 OPS, six home runs and 23 RBIs in 45 games, earning him the No. 6 spot in Baseball America's top 100.
So, Meadows switched trainers and reemphasized full-body workouts during the offseason. Rather than having separate days for upper- and lower-body lifting, Meadows has tweaked his regimen to engage his hamstrings and lower body.
The adjustments translated to success on the field from the start of spring training. He batted .368/.429/.739 with four extra-base hits, including one home run, and eight RBIs in 19 at-bats in the Grapefruit League. That production rivaled that of major leaguers on the 40-man roster; however, he was reassigned to minor-league camp in mid-March.
Shortly after receiving the news, Meadows was told by Huntington to focus on staying healthy and to not compare himself to outfielders in the major leagues. Meadows struggled with both facets last season. He appeared to be on the cusp of the major leagues when the Pirates lost Starling Marte to an 80-game suspension in April, but Osuna was the one who was recalled to take Marte's roster spot.
"The number one is the health, staying healthy," Meadows said. "That's the main goal. That was the number one thing and the other was taking care of myself. A lot of guys when they get on the verge [of the majors] they worry about how other guys are doing and they want to do better than that guy and start comparing themselves to others. ... Now my head is in the right place and I’m healthy. That’s a good combination."
In turn, Meadows has been more comfortable at the plate. Former Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett, now an assistant hitting coach for the Red Sox, explained last May how Meadows is at his best when he limits his movements at the plate. For example, Barkett could tell Meadows was uncomfortable if he would move his elbow or lower half when watching a pitch go by him.
Meadows said that is no longer an issue and he is working with Indianapolis hitting coach Ryan Long to avoid bad habits that plagued him last season. For Meadows, it all goes back to health.
"Austin has really continued to take positive steps forward," Huntington said on his radio show. "In spring training he played healthy, he played like a baseball player that was competing to make the club, was competing to take that next step in his career, and he’s continued to do that in Indianapolis. … Continues to swing the bat, continues to move athletically."
He's batting .346 against left-handers and .400 (8 for 20) with runners in scoring position, hitting safely in 14 of 18 games for Indianapolis. Meadows called the adversity he's faced "blessings in disguise," but he now wants to apply all he's learned to help him finally reach the major leagues.
"Right now I’m feeling good," he said. "I have to keep working and keep progressing."
