Another Austin Meadows Major MOJO HIT!!!!

When the Pirates had the fortune of having Austin Meadows drop to them at 9th overall in the 2013 draft, I instantly went on ebay in search of some of his cards.  While I haven't had much luck at making crazy good snipes like I had hoped, I am happy to finally add another major hit to my growing PC of the Pirate Prospect.

I have to hand it to Pirates GM Neal Huntington and owner Bob Nutting for not shying away from talent in the draft just because of coveted signing bonuses.  If only the Pirates had this kind of support behind them like in the 2007 draft when they overlooked Matt Wieters for a middle reliever Daniel Moskoes (ugh!!!!).

2012 Panini USA Prime Patches 23/24

Pictured above is my prime patch of Austin Meadows from 2012 Panini USA.  It's numbered 23/24 and makes my first jersey relic of the 5 tool teenager.

Meadows had a very good first year in pro ball after a slightly rocky start.

In the Gulf Coast League he batted a .294/.399/.519 line (.918OPS) as a Center Fielder 18 year old.  Of his 47 hits, he had 11 doubles, 5 triples, and 5 homeruns while driving in 20 over the course of 43 games.  Defensively he committed 1 error, but had 3 outfield assists and 1 double play.

After the Gulf Coast League season ended, him and fellow 1st round pick Reese McGuire became members of the NY Penn-League Jamestown Jammers where he played in 5 games and hit 2 HR and batted a .529/.636/.882 line for an OPS of 1.519 while walking more than striking out.  To say this kid isn't going to be something special would be disrespectful.  From video I've seen, he's going to be one of the game's best in a few years.

If you had previously missed my post where I showed off autographs of the Pirates recent draft picks in Team USA gear, click this link to see autos of Cole, Taillon, McGuire, and Meadows.