MLB Pipeline wrapped up their rankings of the top ten prospects at each position, finishing with outfielders on Thursday afternoon. Last year, Austin Meadows was named the eighth best outfield prospect by MLB Pipeline. This year, he ranks fourth overall. The video in the link has high praise for Meadows, giving him strong marks for his approach at the plate, center field defense and speed. They also believe he will add power to his game as he fills out and gets more experience.
Meadows hit .310/.360/.420 this season, playing 121 games with Bradenton and six with Altoona. He was among the youngest players in the league at both levels. In the playoffs, he hit .400 in four games, with two walks and a homer. Meadows continued on after the season, going to the AFL, where scouts loved the tools. He didn’t do well at the plate in the Arizona Fall League, but that didn’t stop Jim Callis from naming him the second best prospect in the league. Meadows will start the season with Altoona this year and could see Indianapolis by the end of the season. With the outfield the Pirates currently have in place in the majors, there is no need to rush him through the system.
The Pirates were well-represented on Pipeline’s top ten list, putting a player on six of the eight lists, including two catchers. You can find links to the previous articles here. They will release their top 100 on Friday night on MLB Network starting at 9pm. We will have something up following the show.