Parker

Meadows

Meadows’ home run was his ninth of the season. He hit a solo shot in the first inning off Zack Littell. Meadows is perhaps a better real life player than fantasy player. His gold glove defense will keep him in the lineup for years to come and leadoff hitters are valuable. Still, we expected more speed from the 24-year-old. He has nine steals in 78 games this year after stealing eight in 37 games last year. Meadows can fly and the potential is still there for at least a 20/20 season in 2025.

The Tigers are now 24-10 in their last 34 games. Meadows hit ninth tonight because the Royals were throwing a lefty, but he managed a double off Cole Ragans. The go-ahead hit against Lucas Erceg was soft fly to center that dropped in front of Tommy Pham. Meadows should be back in the leadoff spot Wednesday versus Alec Marsh.

Meadows hit a homer in the ninth off Seranthony Dominguez to get the Tigers on the board, but it was still a 4-1 game. The 24-year-old now has gone deep eight times with 32 RBI, and it’s worth pointing out that has come in just 68 games. There’s some real long-term upside in Meadows’ bat.

The home run was Meadows’ seventh of the season and fourth in the 29 games since being recalled in August. In those 29 games, Meadows has gone 37-for-120 (.308) with four home runs, 20 RBI, 21 runs scored, and five steals. It’s a perfect example of the five-category upside that the 24-year-old brings when he’s healthy and in the lineup every day.

The home run was Meadows’ sixth of the season. He hit a grand slam off Robert Suarez in the ninth inning. Things were looking bleak for the Tigers down three runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Meadows came through in the clutch with a game-winning grand slam. He’s 31-for-103 (.301) with three home runs, five stolen bases and 12 RBI in 26 games since returning from injury.

The dynamic 24-year-old outfielder has been a spark plug atop the Tigers’ lineup over the past few weeks, so it’s surprising to see him missing from their lineup. Matt Vierling will slide over and cover center field in his absence while Colt Keith functions as the designated hitter and Zach McKinstry draws a start at second base against Angels’ right-hander Griffin Canning.

The home run was Meadows’ fifth of the season. He hit a game-tying solo home run off Jared Shuster in the seventh inning. Meadows was sent down to the minors in May after hitting .096 in his first 32 games of the year. He was recalled in July but got hurt after three games and returned at the beginning of August. Since his July call-up, Meadows is 28-for-83 (.337) with three home runs, 10 RBI and six steals in 21 games. He’s entrenched as the Tigers’ leadoff hitter for the rest of the season, which only adds to his fantasy value. Meadows will still get some days off against left-handed starting pitchers, but he’s turning into an attractive fantasy option in mixed leagues.

With left-hander Justin Steele on the mound, Meadows will get a rest. He also sat against a left-handed starter on Saturday, so it appears that the 24-year-old is emerging into a short-side platoon role. Matt Vierling will shift to center field with Andy Ibanez entering the lineup in left field.

Meadows smacked a two-out single off of Marcus Stroman in the third inning and swiped second base to get himself into scoring position, but the Tigers were unable to cash him in. He then shot a two-out double into the gap in left-center in the fifth inning, but Jace Jung was cut down at the plate attempting to score on the play. Meadows then played the role of hero in the 10th, smacking an RBI single into left field to plate Zach McKinstry with the winning run. With the three-hit attack, Meadows has climbed over the Mendoza line with a .208/.285/.385 slash line to go with four homers, 10 RBI and nine stolen bases through his first 144 plate appearances.

Meadows smacked a one-out triple off of Logan Webb in the fifth inning then dashed home on a ground ball to short by Dillon Dingler with the game’s first run. He also singled in the contest, collecting two of the Tigers’ five total hits. The 24-year-old outfielder has looked impressive since returning from Triple-A Toledo and is now hitting .198/.286/.396 on the season with four homers, nine RBI and five stolen bases across 115 plate appearances.