Baseball Prospectus | | Eyewitness Scouting Report


	Austin Meadows Born: 05/03/1995 (Age: )
	Bats: Left	Throws: Left
	Height: 6' 3"	Weight: 225
	Primary Position: LF
	Secondary Position: CF

High waist; broad shoulders; continues to fill out; looks to have gained fairly significant muscle mass since high school; large backside with good strength in his lower half; could see him filling out more through the torso.

Evaluator	Ethan Purser
Report Date	00/00/0000
Dates Seen	7/27-7/29
Affiliate	West Virginia Power (Low A, Pirates)

MLB ETA	Risk Factor	OFP	Video
2017	High	50	No

Tool	Future Grade	Report
Hit	50	Mechanics: Calm, balanced setup; hands begin just off of his ear; compact load with minimal hand movement; short path into the hitting zone; level swing with minimal loft; bat stays in the zone for a long period of time; swing can become upper-body dominant and slightly rigid; solid-average bat speed; simple lower half; gets foot down early; loads to toe and utilizes a heel-plant trigger. Despite a stroke that presents few glaring issues, Meadows struggles to consistently drive balls with authority. He has the type of swing to hit liners from gap to gap but struggled to find the barrel in game action against fringy stuff. At his best, he displays the potential to hit in the .270 range at the highest level. Approach: patient approach; knows the zone well and lays off pitches at the fringes; has a plan at the plate and will wait on his pitch, often to his detriment; will often let hittable pitches go by in pursuit of his pitch; should post above-average walk numbers as he climbs the ladder; failed to adjust to umpire's strike zone in this look and was caught looking more than once.
Power	50	Fringe raw at present, projects to solid-average; flat swing plane with a slight bit of lift at the end; good strength in lower half bodes well for future power output if he can effectively utilize his legs in his swing; swing is built for the gaps and, in combination with his plus speed, player should turn in plenty of extra-base hits; over-the-fence output projects to average.
Baserunning/Speed	60	Plus runner once underway; 4.08 seconds to first base on a dig; good instincts and base-running chops; speed could dip slightly into the solid-average range due to body maturation, but Meadows will be an asset on the bases regardless.
Glove	50	Routes are unimpressive and often inefficient in center field; drifts to fly balls; displays clumsy footwork when charging balls in front of him; range is at least solid-average but the instincts and first-step quickness are questionable; profiles as a left fielder who can play center on occasion.
Arm	40	Left field arm strength; lower release point leads to throws with arm-side tail; slow release; curls wrist; accuracy issues.

Meadows is a certainly player that every team would like to have in their organization. He has prototypical size with developing strength, displays some feel for the game at a young age, and will flash some tools at you. With that said, the overall profile is more role 5 than first division due to a lack of impact tools. He's a no-doubt plus runner, but everything else lingers around average with the exception of the arm, which is below average. The swing is balanced, under control, and checks plenty of good boxes, but his feel for the barrel is underwhelming at present. He has missed a majority of the season with a hamstring injury, so some rust is expected in his first pass through the Sally League.

The major concern is his projected inability to stick in center field, an issue that will be detrimental to his overall value. He should possess the athleticism to be able to handle the position on a part-time basis, but left field should be the full-time destination at the highest level.

Despite the concerns, I don't see the 19-year-old's overall profile being of the extreme boom-or-bust bust variety. As previously stated, he has some feel for the game and should be able to climb the ranks without any serious roadblocks, barring future injuries. I question the overall upside, however, and see more of an average regular if everything comes together.