Prospects Meadows, McGuire headed to AFL
MILWAUKEE -- Outfielder Austin Meadows and catcher Reese McGuire, the Pirates' two first-round choices in the 2013 Draft, headline seven Buccos prospects selected to participate in the 2015 Arizona Fall League season.
Meadows, the ninth overall pick in that '13 Draft, and McGuire, No. 14, are both finishing up the Minor League season with Class A Advanced Bradenton in the Florida State League. They will be joined on the roster of the Glendale Desert Dogs by two of the pitchers McGuire caught with the Marauders, left-hander Cody Dickson and righty Tyler Eppler.
Meadows, the Pirates' second-ranked prospect by MLBPipeline.com, is batting .309 with 54 RBIs in 120 games, and has also stolen 19 bases. McGuire has thrown out 25 percent of 106 runners attempting to steal on him, while batting .255.
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Two other Buccos pitching prospects are among the selections for Glendale -- lefty Steven Brault and right-hander Brett McKinney, both off the staff of Double-A Altoona. Brault was acquired from the O's in the January deal of outfielder Travis Snider -- who on Tuesday rejoined the Bucs as one of their September callups after being re-signed as a free agent in August.
With such a heavy representation by the team's pitching prospects, it should not be surprising that Justin Meccage, Altoona's pitching coach, will be one of two pitching coaches on Glendale manager Bill Haselman's staff.
Adam Frazier is the other position player from the Pirates' system chosen by the AFL. Frazier is listed by Glendale as an infielder, but he has split the '15 season between shortstop and the outfield while batting .327 with Altoona.
As is every other team in the six-team AFL, the Desert Dogs will be a conglomerate of players from five different organizations. In addition to Pirates, the Glendale mix will include players from the White Sox, the Astros, the Phillies and the Dodgers.
Generally acknowledged as the Major League's "finishing school," the AFL annually showcases baseball's brightest prospects.
As an indication of the league's status, Andrew McCutchen, a Desert Dog in 2007, will be inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame during its coming season.