Austin Meadows

The Pirates signed top draftee Austin Meadows of Loganville, Georgia yesterday. The Bucs selected Meadows with the #9 pick they received as compensation after they whiffed on Stanford RHP Mark Appel and his DH Scott Boras last year. He was the first high school position player drafted #1 by the Pirates since some Florida kid named Andrew McCutchen back in 2005. That one worked out pretty well.

The 6'4"/210 lb. 18-year-old center fielder from Grayson High School was inked to a signing bonus of $3,029,600, which is exactly slot value.

He led Grayson High School to the Georgia Class 6A State semifinals as a junior, batting .390 with four home runs, 28 RBI and 19 stolen bases. As a senior, Meadows hit .535 with four home runs, 14 doubles, a triple and 28 RBI.

Meadows was named a preseason First-Team High School All American by Rawlings and Perfect Game. He hit lead-off and played center field for the 2011 gold medal U16 Team USA squad that went 7-1. The lefty hit .537 in 41 at-bats with a 1.446 OPS in eight games, set a tourney record with 28 RBI and was named the USA's co-MVP.

Meadows had committed to play college baseball at Clemson University, picking the Tigers over USC, Georgia and Vanderbilt.

He was ranked fifth among draft prospects by MLB.com and was the second-ranked high school prospect on their list. They wrote "Meadows has five-tool potential, a tremendous athlete who can do it all on the baseball field. He can run, has an outstanding arm and plenty of bat as he progresses. A left-handed hitter, Meadows has an ideal frame that should add some strength as he matures, which could lead to more power."

Baseball America ranked him as the sixth best prospect in the draft class, saying he has "a smooth, easy swing that he repeats and he covers the plate well ... he has the leverage to hit for corner-profile power."

In BA's Best Tools, Meadows was picked #1 as a high school athlete, #1 in strike zone judgment and #2 in pure hitting and being closest to the majors.

But on draft day, they noted that "Some scouts do question his loft power thanks to a flat bat path and a relative lack of looseness, and some others consider him a bit low-energy for their taste. Still, he combines athleticism with one of the safest bats in the draft."

Meadows does have average to plus tools all the way around. He earns pluses for his speed, fielding ability and hitting for contact. His arm is considered average and may be a question if he gets shifted to right field, but he makes up for that with accuracy and a quick release. Some have projected him to have 30-homer power, but he hasn't shown a consistent ability to barrel up.

The Bleacher Report wrote "There’s legitimate concern that Meadows' contact-oriented swing...will prevent him tapping into his raw power, which in turn hurts his value if he’s forced to move from center field."

Ah, the swing. It's considered smooth with plenty of bat speed, and he not only knows and covers the strike zone, but uses all fields, a rarity for a prep player. But the swing itself is level; he'll have to learn to apply a little leverage to reach that long ball projection. And they noted that some scouts saw more pop-ups and weak grounders than they would expect from a kid of his talents.

But they were quick to add that "Regardless, Meadows is a first-rate athlete with the potential for at least five average tools at the next level. From a developmental standpoint, he’ll need significant time in the minors to hone his baseball skills, but the finished product could be a very special player."

They compared him to Jay Bruce and Colby Rasmus, and projected him to become an above-average regular on a first-division team and occasional All-Star, estimating he'll hit the show in 2017, a pretty aggressive timeline for a high school position player who hasn't even gotten his prom pictures back yet.

Meadows was assigned to the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Pirates to begin his first steps toward PNC Park. He's polished for a prep player, but still will have lots of coaching up ahead of him, plus getting accustomed to the grind of baseball as a business. That process will determine if he's the next Cutch, Travis Snider, or something in between.

But he's already got a goal in mind.

"I want to put one in the river," Meadows said at his press conference at PNC Park. "That would be pretty neat."

The Envelope, Please...Meadows & McGuire In the First Round

The picks before the Bucs, who are at #9 and #14 in tonight's first round:

1 - RHP Mark Appel (Stanford) to the Astros;
2 - 3B Kris Bryant (San Diego) to the Cubs;
3 - RHP Jonathan Gray (Oklahoma) to the Rockies;
4 - RHP Kohl Stewart (St. Pius X HS) to the Twins;
5 - OF Clint Frazier (Loganville HS) to the Indians;
6 - 3B Colin Moran (North Carolina) to the Marlins;
7 - LHP Trey Ball (New Castle HS) to the Red Sox;
8 - SS Hunter Dozier (Stepen Austin) to the Royals, in the first stretch of the night; he was considered a marginal first round talent.

And the Bucs picked *tada* Austin Meadows, a high school outfielder from Grayson HS in Georgia. The 18 year old lefty is big  (6'3", 210) and raw, and requires some coaching up, but was considered by many services to be a potential top five selection. MLB Network's John Hart compared him to Jay Bruce.

He doesn't come with a blowout five tool package, but across the board all his tools are above average to plus, making him a pretty complete player. Meadows is a kid that should bat for average (he hit .535 with 14 doubles, a triple, four HRs and 28 RBI as a senior) and power. He's considered a top notch defender with a chance to stick in center field (he may grow into a corner OF'er), owning the kind of profile that the Pirates look for in their OF candidates. In comparing him to the Pirates' last high round OF prep selection Josh Bell, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweeted  that Bell has a better bat, but Meadows has better all-around tools.

The draft went on:

10 - RHP Phil Bickford (Oaks Christian HS) to the Blue Jays;
11 - 1B Dominic Smith (Serra HS) to the Mets;
12 - 1B/3B DJ Peterson (New Mexico) to the Mariners;
13 - OF Hunter Renfroe (Mississppi State) to the Padres.

The Bucs next pick was catcher Reese McGuire from Kentwood High School in Washington, who many had going to Pittsburgh as the ninth selection, so the brass should be happy with their early haul. Meadows fell to them yet they still got their original man. He hit .436 with 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 20 RBI in his final prep season. McGuire is also an 18 year old lefty hitter (throws right) who is 6'1", 210 pounds.

He was thought to be by many the top catching prospect in the 2013 draft class, athletic, good technically behind the plate, blessed with a rocket arm and has been calling his own games throughout HS. McGuire will also take some time to percolate through the system.

Now comes the hard part - signing them. Neither will be cheap, and both have major college scholarships in their pockets. The slot amount for Meadows is $3,029,600, and for McGuire it's $2,569,800, so let's hope that's in their price range...but don't be surprised if it's not, especially in Meadows' case.

The Pirates continued their quest for upside players rather than going the safer college route. There's more risk and time involved from draft to the show for prep players, but it's the road that the smaller revenue clubs have to travel to become successful.