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Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows maintains confidence while trying to time up fastballs
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- Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows maintains confidence while trying to time up fastballs
Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows has been getting eaten alive by fastballs.
Recently, he looks lost at the plate.
Meadows finished 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Friday's 8-2 win over the Minnesota Twins , which might have been the worst game of his young career, just 49 games. He struck out on a changeup in the second inning, a fastball in the fourth inning, a slider in the fifth inning and a sinker in the seventh inning.
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"The hardest thing to do when you go through dry spells is take the pitch," manager A.J. Hinch said. "How do you get out of it? You get hits. How do you hit? You swing. And then when you start expanding, it just exaggerates the problem that you have, whether it's soft contact or swing and miss."
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Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows bats against Oakland Athletics during the third inning of the home opening day at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, April 5, 2024.
Entering Saturday's doubleheader, Meadows is hitting .069 (2-for-29) with seven walks and 14 strikeouts in 12 games this season. (He hit .232 in 37 games at the end of last season, maintaining his rookie status.) The fact that he has seven walks, despite the lack of hits, is a positive sign.
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He diagnosed his struggles as a timing issue against fastballs.
It's early, but he has a dreadful 34.9% whiff rate on fastballs.
"I think it's timing," said Meadows, who isn't chasing bad pitches but is swinging and missing a lot. "Being late on the fastball allows me to see the offspeed a lot better, so that's why I'm taking those pitches easier, but I'm going to be on the fastball today and hammer heater."
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The Tigers hope there's an opportunity for Meadows to bunt his way to first base, possibly in Saturday's doubleheader. He has elite speed, ranking in the 96th percentile for his sprint speed.
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Meadows also plays elite defense in center field. He is already worth plus-2 defense runs saved in 84⅓ innings in center field this season after being worth plus-3 DRS in 315⅔ innings last season.
His poor offense hasn't dragged down his top-tier defense.
"What I like is his demeanor," Hinch said. "He hasn't taken it out to defense. ... He's shown some frustration and some angst about getting out, but there's nobody in there that won't show that when they're in a little dry spell."
Meadows is ready to start hitting, but he doesn't seem overwhelmed by the current situation.
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"The moment you lose confidence is the moment you're defeated," Meadows said. "It's hard right now, but I'm still going to have that confidence. I know this game is like a roller coaster, so I'm going to continue to ride it. I'll go out there with full confidence."
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Matt Vierling , a perfect pawn
In Friday's win, the Tigers chased Twins right-hander Pablo López in the fifth inning.
The Twins called on left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk , replacing López, for a matchup with left-handed hitter Kerry Carpenter . There were runners on the corners and no outs. It would have been a bad matchup for Carpenter, so Hinch countered by bringing Matt Vierling , a right-handed hitter, off the bench to pinch-hit.
Detroit Tigers right fielder Matt Vierling (8) celebrates a solo home run against Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of the home opening day at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, April 5, 2024.
"The situation presents itself to change the scoreboard," said Hinch, who has been playing chess with in-game moves over the past two seasons. "That's what I like about it, they are ready, they are prepared. It's a strength that we have on the bench to go attack their strategy of bringing in a lefty."
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Vierling, a right-handed hitter, fell behind 0-2 in the count, but he swung at a third-pitch slider, dropped the ball into right field and extended the Tigers' lead, from 4-0 to 5-0, in the fifth inning. Funderburk then struck out the next three batters, including two lefty hitters.
In the eighth inning, Vierling put the Tigers ahead, 8-0, with an RBI double off right-handed reliever Jay Jackson .
"Those strategies that we have to try to win in the margins, it's all about Matt Vierling coming off the bench," Hinch said. "It doesn't mean Carp couldn't hit him. That guy is tough on lefties, we saw that, but it is nice to be able to counter a move. They're bringing him in specifically to face Carp, and we have a weapon on the bench. A lot of times, we have multiple weapons."
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AL Central update
The injury bug continues to bite American League Central teams.
In Friday's game, the Twins lost shortstop Carlos Correa to the injured list with a right oblique strain. He grabbed at his right side in the third inning, and after striking out against left-hander Tarik Skubal , he exited the game. The Twins also have infielder Royce Lewis , who suffered his injury on Opening Day, on the injured list with a right quad strain. Lewis won't return before June; Correa's timeline is unclear.
Those are two big injuries for the reigning AL Central champions.
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Other AL Central teams are dealing with injuries, too.
Cleveland Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber , the ace of the pitching staff, underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. He had one walk and 20 strikeouts across 12 scoreless innings in two starts, but he won't pitch again until the summer of 2025.
On the South Side, the Chicago White Sox are without Luis Robert (right hip flexor strain), Eloy Jiménez (left adductor strain) and Yoan Moncada (left adductor strain). Jiménez should return soon, but the White Sox will be without Robert for about six weeks and Moncada through the All-Star break.
The Tigers continue to be one of the healthiest teams in baseball.
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows maintains confidence despite cold spell
