When the Detroit Tigers selected an 18-year-old Parker Meadows with the first pick in the second round of the 2018 draft, we were pretty pleased with the idea. The center fielder’s eye-popping potential was obvious, and while it was characterized as a bit of a reach, it was the kind of chance on a prep hitter with huge upside that the club has rarely taken in its history.
Meadows came with plus speed and a lean 6’5” frame that already packed average raw power in high school and promised a lot more to come. His hit tool came into question, both for a long, somewhat ungainly swing, and his vulnerability at the bottom of the zone, and the Tigers were notoriously unable to develop hitters.