TAMPA, Fla. — When Austin Meadows walks into the LECOM Park clubhouse each morning, he’s carrying a gallon jug of water. He’ll take it down over the course of the day. The focus on hydration makes sense, given Meadows’ stated goal for this season: Avoid injuries.
“That’s kind of been the struggle early on, being healthy,” Meadows said. “But I’ve learned a lot.”
Health will allow Meadows to further demonstrate why Baseball America ranked him as the top prospect in the organization and the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball. In the short term, so will the fact that the entire outfield leaves this week to play in the World Baseball Classic, giving Meadows more experience in major league camp.