Parker Meadows (born November 2, 1999) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Parker Meadows | |
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![]() Meadows with the Toledo Mud Hens in 2023 | |
Detroit Tigers – No. 22 | |
Outfielder | |
Born: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | November 2, 1999|
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
August 21, 2023, for the Detroit Tigers | |
MLB statistics (through August 26, 2024) | |
Batting average | .228 |
Home runs | 8 |
Runs batted in | 26 |
Teams | |
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Early life
editMeadows attended Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia, the same school as his brother, fellow professional baseball player Austin Meadows.
Professional career
editDetroit Tigers
editThe Detroit Tigers selected Meadows in the second round, with the 44th overall selection, of the 2018 MLB Draft. Meadows signed with the Tigers organization and received a $2.5 million signing bonus, nearly a full $1 million above the slot value for the 44th overall pick.[1] Meadows began his professional career in rookie ball with where he hit .284 with an OBP of .376, to go with four home runs in just 22 games. He would get called up to the Connecticut Tigers to finish the rest of the 2018 campaign where he continued the strong start to his professional career, going six-for-19 (.316 average) in his six games at that level. In the lead-up to, and following, the 2019 season, he would be listed within the top twelve Tigers prospects in the organization by various outlets, including a rating as high as ninth.[2][3][4]
In that 2019 season, Meadows spent the entire year with the Single–A West Michigan Whitecaps. Meadows saw a dip in productivity, falling to a .221 batting average and .296 OBP, however he also hit seven home runs and drove in 40 RBIs while stealing 14 bases. He walked 47 times over the course of the season, though he struck out 113 times as well. Meadows was not selected to be part of the Tigers alternate training squad for the shortened 2020 MLB season, however, with the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, Meadows continued to work out at his parents' residence in Loganville and Grayson High School.[5] On September 3, Meadows was among four Tigers minor league players called up for the Tigers' alternate training site in Toledo.[6]
On November 15, 2022, the Tigers added Meadows to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[7] Meadows was optioned to the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens to begin the 2023 season.[8] Meadows' contract was selected by the Tigers on August 21, and he made his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs that evening. In his third at-bat, Meadows singled off Cubs starter Javier Assad for his first major league hit.[9] His first MLB home run was a three-run walk-off to right field off Ryan Pressly on August 25 that ended a 4–1 home win over the Houston Astros.[10] On May 8, 2024, following a poor start to the 2024 season, Meadows was again optioned to the Mud Hens. [11]
References
edit- ^ Beck, Jason (June 26, 2018). "Tigers sign Draft pick Parker Meadows". MLB.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Markle, Jacob (February 8, 2019). "2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #10: Parker Meadows was a savvy second-round pick". blessyouboys.com. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ Fenech, Anthony. "Detroit Tigers' most important players for future: Parker Meadows has star potential". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ Henning, Lynn. "Tigers' Parker Meadows finding his swing, even with no minor-league season". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "Recent Player Pool Additions: Tigers, Rangers, Rays, Pirates, Phillies". mlbtraderumors.com. September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ "Tigers add 5 youngsters to the roster; veteran reliever among those cut". MLive.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ "Tigers' Parker Meadows: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
- ^ McCosky, Chris (August 21, 2023). "'I was on top of the world': Tigers' Meadows singles in debut; Cubs take opener". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ Kornacki, Steve. "'It doesn't feel real': Meadows walks off in 4th game of career," MLB.com, Friday, August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ^ McCosky, Chris. "'He needs to play:' Tigers option Parker Meadows to Toledo, call up Ryan Vilade". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet