BRADENTON, Fla. — With the Pirates' major-league coaching staff gathered nearby, Austin Meadows sprinted aggressively toward a rolling grounder Monday at Pirate City, corralling the ball from the grass into his glove before tossing it to a teammate.
It was the first day of a weeklong voluntary minicamp for young major leaguers and prospects, and Meadows, a 22-year-old outfielder, approached the drill with an intensity not often seen during the day.
He called over to Kimera Bartee, the first base and outfielders coach, to ask about his arm angle. Moments later, Meadows, who is ranked by MLB.com as the Pirates' top prospect, successfully made the adjustment as many of the coaches and staff watched attentively.
Meadows is used to all eyes being on him. After all, he was ranked as Baseball America's No. 6 overall prospect one year earlier. However, injuries derailed his first full season in Triple-A, and now, Meadows wants to use this early time in front of Pirates brass to prove he's healthy and eager to fulfill his potential in 2018.
"The past 16 months or so have been very frustrating," Meadows told DKPittsburghSports.com following the workout. "It's been the most difficult stretch of my career. It is what it is, though. You can't really control it. I'm focused on what's next."
For Meadows, that begins with health. After all, he has been limited the past two seasons because of injuries, beginning with a broken orbital bone in March 2016.
The injury kept Meadows out of the lineup until April 25, but he batted .311 with 16 doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI in 190 plate appearances for Double-A Altoona. He was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis in July but suffered a hamstring injury in his 12th game. Meadows batted just .214 in 145 plate appearances at that level in 2016, but he was still ranked among the top prospects in baseball entering 2017. He then missed the Arizona Fall League season because of an oblique injury.
Many expected him to make his major-league debut in 2017, especially with Andrew McCutchen the subject of trade rumors last December and after Meadows reshaped his offseason workout regimen.
But his progress hit another roadblock. When Starling Marte was suspended 80 games this past April, Meadows began to struggle at Triple-A, beginning the season in a 1-for-23 slump.
"When you look back on it, for me, I think maybe I was putting too much pressure on myself," he said. "I was trying to do too much. Not really being where I was, not being where my feet were. I was worrying about things I couldn’t control. That’s going to hurt you in the long run. … I need to take care of what I can and worry about where I’m at."
Pirates infielder Max Moroff, who was playing for Indianapolis at the time, saw firsthand how the slump tore at Meadows. Meadows, a left-handed hitter, would arrive to the ballpark early to work in the batting cage and would take extra reps to try to figure out what was wrong.
"He’s a quick learner," Moroff said. "He obviously has the talent. You can see it every day. When he was struggling, he was working his butt off in the cage. He was the first one in every day. He was trying to fix things. He's that kind of guy."
Meadows' former manager, Andy Barkett, had a theory, though. Barkett, now an assistant hitting coach with the Red Sox, told this website in May that Meadows was simply chasing pitches outside the zone and was often second-guessing himself.
Meadows seemed to find an answer, though. He lifted his average to .248 in June, but a hamstring strain forced him to miss six weeks. Meadows then started to excel upon his return in August, but he suffered an oblique injury that effectively ended his season.
His first 'full' season in Triple-A ended with a .250 average, .311 on-base percentage and .359 slugging percentage with 36 RBI in 72 games.
Meadows described the experience as "humbling," but it began his search for answers. He wasn't sure what caused either injury, especially when he dedicated the previous offseason to lower-body workouts and other drills to improve his flexibility.
He's still not sure why he struggled at the plate, either.
So, he moved his offseason training to Georgia Sports Performance, a facility in Suwanee, Ga. His focus is now aimed at full-body workouts to improve both upper- and lower-body strength. And yes, Meadows seemed quite confident that it's the answer to what ailed him last season:
Meadows has been working out four days a week, in addition to his time in the cage. No, this new regimen isn't in an effort to reach the major leagues as soon as possible. Sure, that has been his goal since the Pirates drafted him ninth overall in 2013.
But Meadows said he simply wants to take advantage of whatever opportunity he's given, whether it's back in Indianapolis or with the Pirates. Anything to avoid what happened to him last season.
"It's hard when you're hurt," he said. "You can’t get in a rhythm. You really find out what works when you play every day. … It flows naturally. When you’re on and off, on and off, you tend to think a little more. The mental side of things was hard.
"It’s finding what works for me and staying on the field, whether it’s for 80 games, 140 or whatever."
EXTRA BASES
• A total of 33 lockers were prepared for the week, although those belonging to Felipe Rivero, Sean Rodríguez and Richard Rodríguez were empty Monday.
The full list of participants is as follows:
Pitchers: Trevor Williams, Jordan Milbrath, Chad Kuhl, Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, A.J. Schugel, Nik Turley, Tyler Eppler, Montana DuRapau, Alex McRae, Yeudy Garcia, Casey Sadler, John Stilson, Steven Brault, Dario Agrazal, Luis Escobar, Clay Holmes, Edgar Santana, Richard Rodríguez and Rivero
Catcher: Christian Kelley
Infielders: Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, Kevin Newman, Erich Weiss, Eric Wood, Moroff and Sean Rodríguez
Outfielders: Todd Cunningham, Jordan Luplow, Meadows
