Detroit Tigers: Austin Meadows may be headed for a breakout season

When the Detroit Tigers pulled the trigger on a last-minute deal to acquire outfielder Austin Meadows, the initial thought was it was a fleecing. However, some were speculative because the Tampa Bay Rays tend to find ways to win trades that appear lopsided.

In this case, it seems like the Detroit Tigers were intelligent to act on acquiring Meadows for multiple reasons. On top of injuries messing with the look of the outfield, Meadows has looked mighty good so far.

He appears to be settling into his new home quite well. The 26-year-old outfielder has plenty of quality baseball left, and the way things seem early on, he’s going to be poised for a big season. The Tigers may have struck gold in this trade with the Rays.

It seems as if he’s adjusting incredibly well in the box, being able to get out of playing home games at Tropicana Field. A benefit of coming to Comerica Park, even as a pitcher’s ballpark. Owning that massive gap in right center might be a lifeline for him. Early on, it is working.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows could pop off in 2022.

It’s really early, but Meadows may be able to pop off and have a bit of a breakout season ahead of him, especially since he seems to really enjoy hitting in his new home ballpark. The Tigers should be excited to see how this year goes for the left-handed-hitting outfielder.

Meadows has five games under his belt in 2022, where he is 8-for-17 which is good for a .471 batting average. He has seven base knocks and a triple to his credit thus far, with just five punchouts over his 21 plate appearances.

He seems to be adjusting to his new home very well. He is coming off a season where he played in 142 games, slashing .234/.315/.458 with 27 home runs and 106 RBI for the Rays. While at the end of the day, his homers and RBI totals were on the plus side, there’s room for a breakout.

The Tigers should be more than excited for Meadows to continue acclimating to his new home. Meadows seems to enjoy swinging the bat in Comerica Park, and he will get 81 games to do so (hypothetically). Meadows should be able to post some impressive splits at home.

That being said, he should be poised for an impressive breakout season in 2022 if things keep falling into place for him. There has to be some confidence in Meadows’ ability to do it; it will just be a matter of seeing how the season winds up playing out.