Austin Meadows is out of the lineup for the sixth time in the past seven games, and the Pirates are determining whether or not they should keep the former top prospect on their 25-man roster.
With Wade Miley, a left-hander, on the mound for the Brewers Thursday night, Clint Hurdle chose to start Jordan Luplow over Meadows for a second consecutive game. Meadows, the National League Rookie of the Month in May, has batted .254/.289/.296 over his past 23 games. He's logged only nine at-bats since the team returned from Los Angeles a week ago -- with three hits -- and Hurdle is now looking at Luplow as a possible fourth outfielder to use with Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco.
"He’s healthy," Hurdle said of Meadows. "He’s working on some things. The offensive numbers have dropped off — both right- and left-handed pitching. We’re getting to a spot where he needs to play and that’s why we’re taking a look at Jordan to see what he can provide and which direction we’re going to need to continue to hunt as that extra outfielder comes up. The league has kind of punched back, and I think there’s one mechanical thing we can help him with that he’s not doing that he was early that’s kind of hindering some things."
There are two obvious reasons for the Pirates considering such a move: Meadows would benefit from playing every day and sending him down now could delay him from reaching Super Two status. Players must accrue at least three years of service time before becoming arbitration-eligible. Also, players with between two and three years of service may be eligible if they rank in the top 22 percent of service time among players with between two and three years of service.
That message apparently had not been conveyed to Meadows. The 23-year-old said he has not changed his pregame routine. No mechanical adjustment is being made. He's hitting as many pitches in the cage and in batting practice as he did when he was at his best.
He was the lone bright spot for the Pirates for the better part of a month. Recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis May 18 when Marte was placed on the 10-day disabled list, he had two hits in his big-league debut and hit his first career home run two nights later. He batted .409 with three doubles, four home runs and seven RBIs in his first 13 games. He was hitting .346 with a 1.027 OPS in his first 22 games; however, he's struck out 22 times to only three walks in his past 23 games.
"You try to go in before the game and get your routine in, hit off the machine," Meadows said. "Try to make it as real as possible. It’s tough, obviously, if you’re not playing. All you can do is stick to your routine and be consistent."
Luplow, 24, is not ranked among the club's top 10 prospects by Baseball America and did not make the opening day roster, despite being a candidate to start in left field before Dickerson was acquired. He batted .180 with a .511 OPS in April for Indianapolis, but he batted .422 in his final 20 games there.
Luplow was recalled last Friday in what Hurdle initially described as a reward for his diligence after such a difficult start. Plus, the Pirates would be facing some left-handed pitching, and Luplow had a .911 OPS against lefties while in Triple-A. Luplow went 0 for 3 while starting in left field over Meadows Wednesday afternoon and batted .205/.276/.385 in 27 games with the Pirates last season.
Meanwhile, Meadows has three hits in nine at-bats over the past week, including two infield singles Tuesday night.
During his make-or-break proclamation last Sunday, Neal Huntington said the Pirates could possibly trade veterans away to provide more playing time for the club's prospects. It appears Luplow is suddenly ahead of Meadows in the pecking order and now they're considering sending down the former first-round pick.
The Pirates have five games in four days against the Brewers, followed by the four-day All-Star break, before beginning a six-game road trip.
"We’ll have those discussions internally as we discuss what’s best for the player and what’s best for the team," Hurdle said when asked if Meadows would be better off in Triple-A. "Try to figure some things out here."
The Pirates don't typically like a young player such as Meadows to sit on the bench and not receive regular at-bats. Upon Marte's return from the disabled list, Hurdle planned to rotate the four outfielders to keep his starters fresh, while playing Meadows seven out of 10 days.
However, the three starters are performing so well as of late that playing time has been scarce. Polanco has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games, Marte is on a seven-game hitting streak and Dickerson is on a six-game hitting streak. The decision to play Luplow over Meadows, though, indicates the Pirates are leaning towards sending Meadows back to Triple-A.
The only hiccup is the club would need a different backup center fielder since Luplow can only play the two corner spots. Sean Rodriguez is batting .261 with a .781 OPS in his rehab assignment with Indianapolis, while Adam Frazier, who is also capable of playing center field, is batting .311 with a .611 OPS in 21 games there.
The Pirates could send Meadows down until they trade Dickerson, which would prevent Meadows from gaining a few weeks of service time towards Super Two.
Hurdle has shown patience with struggling hitters in the past, particularly Polanco, and he typically prefers to let players try to work through those struggles in games. Rodriguez started three consecutive games against the Diamondbacks last month, despite batting just .157 with a .585 OPS.
"Everybody wants to be in the big leagues," Meadows said. "If you’re not playing, you are, your goal is to play every day and help the team win. Obviously I’m not starting, but I’m still getting into games. That’s OK with me. I’d rather be here than Triple-A."
