FSL notes: Meadows feeling well-aligned

Center fielder Austin Meadows didn't have much experience batting leadoff before this season with Bradenton.

"I did it a little bit for Team USA the summer before I was a senior," the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 Draft said.

There's a good reason that the Pittsburgh Pirates are having the left-handed hitter do it now, though.

"I'm sure it's because they want me to catch up with my at-bats," he said.

And with good reason. 

Meadows, No. 45 among MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects and No. 4 on the Pirates' list, didn't play until July last year because of a lingering hamstring issue. What was to be Meadows' first full season ended up lasting just 45 games.

Once he was on the field, however, the Georgia native had no trouble living up to his advanced billing with Class A West Virginia, batting .317 with a .394 on-base percentage and .488 slugging mark.

Healthy from the start this season, it's been more of the same despite the bump up to the Class A Advanced Florida State League.

Meadows, who didn't turn 20 until Sunday, was hitting .298 through 22 games with six extra-base hits and a .362 on-base percentage.

"For me, the big thing is just staying healthy," Meadows said. "I learned a lot last year about what it really means to take care of yourself and do everything that that takes."

Meadows went the extra mile this offseason, including weekly visits to a chiropractor.

"Getting my hips aligned helped my legs," he said. "I think everything I did this winter and during Spring Training prepared me for a good year."

Spring Training also brought the biggest thrill of his young career so far.

Meadows made the trip March 29 with the Pirates to play the Braves -- the team he rooted for growing up outside Atlanta -- and he tripled in his first at-bat against Shelby Miller.

"It was awesome," Meadows said. "My family was in Bradenton on vacation and they were driving home that day. But Disney is on the way, so they were all able to see me play. It was something we'll all remember."

Meadows was hitless in his other four at-bats during the Pirates' 4-2 victory, but getting to play an entire Grapefruit League game was still a nice step in his development.

"It takes me back to when I was starting out," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said afterward. "For Meadows to rifle a ball off a really good Major League pitcher … that's a feel-good for everybody in the organization, including the Minor League development guys who've worked with him."

His father, Kenny, played football and baseball at Morehead State, but Meadows gave up the gridiron before his senior year because of time conflicts with USA Baseball.

Grayson High School had won the Georgia state championship when he was a junior, and Meadows still closely follows the career of former teammate Robert Nkemdiche at the University of Mississippi. Meadows also remains an avid fan of all the Atlanta professional teams, though the Braves now rank well below the Pirates in his interest.

It might have been nice to be drafted by the hometown team, but it wasn't going to happen. Atlanta's first pick was No. 31 overall.

Meadows has his sights set on making it to Pittsburgh.

"I was really excited being drafted by the Pirates," he said. "It's a great organization."

The Pirates already have one of the best young outfields in baseball, but Meadows isn't taking time to worry about a possible future lack of opportunity.

All he is concerned about is staying healthy and getting better day by day.

"I'm not trying to rush anything," he said.

In brief

Elbow woes: Right-hander Kohl Stewart, ranked No. 36 among MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects, remained on the Fort Myers disabled list with inflammation in his pitching elbow. He last pitched April 21, going 6 1/3 innings in a loss to Palm Beach after working eight innings in his previous start. Stewart, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 Draft, was 0-2 with a 3.10 ERA in three games. The 20-year-old is ranked as the No. 6 prospect in a loaded Minnesota farm system. Stewart had shoulder issues last season, when he was 3-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 19 games for Class A Cedar Rapids.

Stepping up: Right-hander Chih-Wei Hu had become the Fort Myers ace with Stewart sidelined, going 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA through four starts and leading the Florida State League with a WHIP of 0.71. In 24 innings, the native of Taiwan had 28 strikeouts to three walks and allowed only 14 hits. The 21-year-old, ranked as the Twins' No. 23 prospect, started his personal three-game winning streak by allowing two hits and striking out 10 over seven scoreless innings against St. Lucie on April 17. Hu, who throws a palm ball, was signed by Minnesota in 2012 and given a bonus of $220,000.

Swing and miss: Charlotte infielder Andrew Velazquez landed on the disabled list with a left shoulder strain suffered on a swing. The switch-hitter wasn't expected to be sidelined long. Velazquez came to the Tampa Bay organization from Arizona in the Jeremy Hellickson trade and is ranked as the Rays' No. 15 prospect. The 20-year-old was hitting .296 in 15 games. Velazquez was taken by the D-backs in the seventh round of the 2012 Draft and reached base safely in 74 consecutive games last season for Class A South Bend.