Parker Meadows returns to Detroit Tigers after swing adjustment in Triple-A Toledo

CINCINNATI — For the first time since May 6, Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows stood at his locker, in the same clubhouse as longtime teammate — and spring training roommate — Riley Greene. He looked natural shagging fly balls in center field during pregame warmups.

Meadows smiled in the clubhouse.

"I'm back," he said.

The Tigers recalled Meadows — demoted May 7 after his 32nd game — from Triple-A Toledo before Friday's game against the Cincinnati Reds, kickstarting a three-game series at Great American Ball Park. Akil Baddoo, a fellow left-handed hitting outfielder, was optioned to Toledo in a corresponding move.

"Feels great," Meadows said. "It was great. I went down there and wanted to get my timing back and catch a rhythm. I was able to do that, so I feel pretty good right now."

In his first stint with the Tigers this season, Meadows hit .096 with two home runs, 11 walks and 32 strikeouts, and as a result of his poor performance, the Tigers optioned him to Triple-A Toledo in the first week of May. Struggling to hit fastballs was the biggest problem, simply because his swing wasn't on time for them.

So, Meadows fixed the timing issue with the Mud Hens.

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The 24-year-old made "a little mechanical adjustment" to his swing, with a focus on his hands.

"Just keeping my hands up longer," Meadows said. "My hands were dropping a little bit, so my swing was uphill. We really worked on being more down and direct to the ball. I was able to do that. Once I got that dialed in, I could really focus on the timing. It's hard to hit a rising fastball when your swing is uphill."

For the Mud Hens, Meadows hit .298 with eight home runs, 28 walks and 42 strikeouts in 47 games, stealing 19 bases in 24 attempts. He needed about two weeks in Toledo to make the adjustment, then spent the next six weeks earning his way back to the Tigers.

Meadows is on time for fastballs again.

"We like the adjustment that he's made," manager A.J. Hinch said. "There's been some subtle routine adjustments and swing adjustments that have gotten him to more pitches, and now, the challenge is letting him get back acclimated playing at this level."

With the Tigers, he hit .077 with a .465 OPS and a 27.7% whiff rate on fastballs. With the Mud Hens, he hit .404 with a 1.259 OPS and a 14.1% whiff rate on fastballs.

He also feasted on high-velocity fastballs at the Triple-A level. On fastballs at 95 mph and above, he hit .308 (8-for-26) with the Mud Hens, compared to .000 (0-for-10) with the Tigers.

"I started rolling," Meadows said. "I was taking advantage of the heater. Coming here, I know that I probably won't get as many of those, but I'm still going to stay on it and lay off those tough pitches."

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What are those tough pitches?

Breaking balls.

It's an area where Meadows continued to struggle in Triple-A Toledo. He hit just .170 with a 35.3% whiff rate against breaking balls with the Mud Hens. The issue: Meadows is chasing too many of those pitches outside of the strike zone.

Before the trip to Toledo, Meadows was exposed with up-and-away fastballs and below-zone breaking balls, and he couldn't hit anything. After the trip to Toledo, he feels confident in his ability to hit fastballs, even if the breaking balls still give him trouble.

That's a big difference.

He's ready for the challenge.

"I'm capable," Meadows said. "The confidence is there. It feels good to execute a plan, but now, the goal is just keep it going. I got confidence. I'm here to help the team win."

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The message to Akil Baddoo

The Tigers optioned Baddoo to create room for Meadows.

The 25-year-old — making $1.55 million from the salary arbitration process — has played 22 games for the Tigers in his fourth MLB season, hitting .132 with two home runs, eight walks and 19 strikeouts. He had four hits in his first eight games, then three hits in his last 14 games.

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"I've had a lot of meetings with Akil like this," Hinch said. "I don't know how many times we've had it. He's got to continue to play and continue to work towards being a more complete hitter. He flashes all kinds of ability, and we love some of the things that he can do. Obviously, it wasn't a great stretch for him, but the bursts of really good performance is nice to see, we just didn't see enough of it."

Baddoo has a .205 batting average with a .628 OPS in 207 games over the 2022-24 seasons. He hit .259 with a .766 OPS in 124 games as a rookie in 2021.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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