Austin Meadows

Career

Meadows grew up in Loganville, Georgia, where he competed in baseball with Clint Frazier. He attended Grayson High School, and led the school's baseball team to the Georgia Class 6A State semifinals as a junior, hitting .390 with four home runs, 28 runs batted in (RBIs), and 19 stolen bases. Meadows was named a preseason First-Team High School All American by Rawlings and Perfect Game, and he hit .535 with 14 doubles, one triple, four home runs and 28 RBIs in his senior season. Meadows also played American football at Grayson, as a running back, wide receiver, and punter.

Meadows was considered as one of the top prospects eligible for the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. He was ultimately selected in the first round, with the ninth overall selection, by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Meadows was committed to attend Clemson University to play college baseball for the Clemson Tigers, but chose to forgo that commitment by signing with the Pirates, receiving a $3,029,600 signing bonus three weeks after the draft.

After signing with the Pirates, Meadows played for the Gulf Coast Pirates of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League in 2013. He played for the West Virginia Power of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2014, but missed a significant portion of the season due to a hamstring injury. He played for the Bradenton Marauders of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League (FSL) in 2015, and was named an FSL All-Star. He spent the final week of the season with the Altoona Curve of the Class AA Eastern League. After the regular season, he played for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.

Meadows suffered a broken orbital bone in his right eye during spring training in 2016. He returned to Altoona and earned a promotion to the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International League in June, after playing in 51 games for the Curve. The Pirates invited Meadows to spring training in 2017. Meadows returned to Indianapolis for the 2017 season.

Personal life

Meadows' girlfriend, Alexis, teaches middle school in Grayson, Georgia. His mother, Staci, played softball for Georgia Southern University and Georgia State University, and works as an elementary school teacher in Grayson. His father, Kenny, played baseball and football for Morehead State University. His brother, Parker, plays baseball for Grayson High School and is committed to attend Clemson.