ALTOONA, Pa. -- It’s going to take some getting used to. By manager Joey Cora’s estimation, it'll be maybe a week or so before Austin Meadows works off the rust and adjusts to the pitching he’s facing with the Double-A Altoona Curve.
But, on Monday night, the center fielder was getting a feel for the gaps in the outfield at Peoples Natural Gas Field, a reminder of his six games there at the end of last season.
Meadows even reminisced about the clutch home run he hit here last September. Meadows hit .360 with the Curve last season in 25 at-bats.
“It’s always great being back with these guys,” Meadows told DKPittsburghSports.com, the tags still on the bags in his locker from his Sunday afternoon arrival. “It’s a good group of guys, a good group of coaches, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Teammates were happy to see the return of the Pirates’ first pick in the 2013 MLB Draft -- the ninth selection overall -- as the 20-year-old worked though the pregame excitement stemming from his season debut.
Monday marked the end of a nearly seven-week return to the lineup for Meadows, who sustained a broken orbital bone when a ball skipped off a glove while playing catch at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., this spring.
Ranked as the 17th-best prospect by MLB.com and the second highest-rated prospect in the Pirates organization behind right-hander Tyler Glasnow, Meadows said the “freak” injury initially left plenty of thoughts running through his mind.
"A lot of fear, definitely," he said. "With an eye, it’s scary."
If it weren’t for the non-prescription glasses he’s wearing at the plate for added protection, or the face guard jutting out from his helmet, there’s no way of noticing any damage that was done. After completing his rehab in extended spring training where he worked on vision focus, a process where he had to regain his comfort at the plate while also tracking balls, Meadows said everything is back to normal.
Well, almost.
“Yeah, I forgot my glasses,” Meadows laughed after the game, recalling the walk he made back to the dugout before his second at-bat. The lenses fogged up throughout the game.
“I gotta get used to it. I’m not sure how much longer I gotta wear it so we’ll see what happens.”
The leadoff batter went 1 for 4 with an infield single. He made a nice play in the top of the ninth, taking a hard angle back to the wall where he stuck out his glove to make the catch.
With the arrival of Meadows, centerfielder Harold Ramirez shifted to left field and Jonathan Schwind played right. Cora said the early-season experience for Ramirez, both as a leadoff hitter and in center field, will only help with his development.
The manager aims to give Meadows the same opportunities for growth this season.
“Meadows is going to move around too,” Cora said. “He’ll play some corners, too. So he’ll play mostly center field, but he’ll play left a little bit every once in a while.
“It’ll be good for him. You never know what the big-league team will need by the time he’s ready. The position that could be open could be left, it could be center, it could be right, who knows? It’s our job to get him ready for that.”
Meadows said he played some corner outfield in the Arizona Fall League. He credited his experience in high school, where he moved around in the outfield.
With Barrett Barnes, Stetson Allie, Ramirez and Meadows on the roster, the Curve outfielders are an intriguing group.
“It’s going to take him a little time to get used to his surroundings and to the people around him,” Cora said of Meadows. “But, he’s going to be okay. He’s a good player. We expect big things out of him, no doubt.”
STETSON STYLE
Curve right fielder Allie has done enough through the first 18 games to continue earning his playing time in right field, Cora said this week.
While Allie didn’t play Monday night, he homered and drove in three runs Saturday afternoon and is batting .294, with one home run, seven RBIs and six runs scored in his past 10 games. The Pirates’ 2010 second-round pick used the word “consistent” about a half-dozen times during our conversation this week.
“They know I can hit for power. They know I can hit for average. So it’s about being consistent day in and day out,” Allie said. “In order to do that, I’ve got to relax and have fun.”
Allie added that he’s much more mature and better equipped to deal with the ups and downs of a season than he was back in 2011 when he struggled on the mound with the State College Spikes. While his pitching career lasted just 26 2/3 innings and he issued 37 walks, the 25-year-old still prides himself on his strong right arm, even after a few position switches.
He said he finds solace at the plate and said he doesn't put as much pressure on himself as he did earlier in his career.
"Shoot, for me as a young kid, I was very immature," he said. "It took some years to grow as a person and where I'm at now, I couldn't be more happy. ... I don't really look back though. My pitching days were limited to a year and a half, two years. I love hitting and wouldn't change a thing."
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