Tampa Bay Rays: Will Austin Meadows bounce back in 2021?

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows struggled with an oblique injury in 2020 after an All-Star season in 2019. Today we look to see if he will regain that form in 2021.

After being such a big piece of the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays team and making the AL All-Star team, Austin Meadows struggled for the majority of the 2020 season. He played in only 36 games as he dealt with COVID-19 and an oblique injury.

Here is what Meadows put up in those 36 games:

• .205 BA
• .667 OPS
• .292 wOBA
• 4 HR
• 11.2% BB%
• 32.9 K%

Not such a hot stat line for Austin Meadows in the successful season for the Tampa Bay Rays. This is compared to 2019 in 138 games:

• .291 BA
• .922 OPS
• .380 wOBA
• 9.1% BB%
• 22.2% K%

Dealing with COVID-19 and an oblique injury is definitely something serious and is most likely the main reason for the major regression from Austin Meadows.

Meadows reportedly entered camp this year having lost 10-15 pounds in an attempt to bring back that 2019 form. This is a good sign for a rebound in his performance from last year.

Looking at his numbers between 2019-2020, the thing that sticks off the page the most as a major concern is the increase in K% and contact as a whole. As shown already, his K% increased from 22.2% to 32.9%.

His whiff % increased from 23.5% to 31.4% and his zone contact % decreased from 84.7% to 76.2%. Meadows was simply not making contact at nearly the same rate last year. Cutting out these swings and misses seems like it may be the most important thing for Austin Meadows in 2021.

When Meadows did make contact in 2020, his numbers off the bat don’t differ too much from 2019. His average exit velocity only changed from 90.4 MPH to 90.1 MPH and his hard hit % was the exact same in 2019 and 2020 at 42.9%.

Seeing this is what makes me think that cutting down on the whiffs and strikeouts is most important.

There was a big increase in fly balls and launch angle off the bat which could also be a difference from the two seasons, but seeing the pure similarities in speed off the bat makes me think he can certainly bounce back this season.

This is where I really see the oblique injury causing him lots of problems in 2020 as he was very uncomfortable and less athletic in the box. Losing weight and coming into 2021 more athletic will likely help this in 2021.

While 2020 was very bad for Meadows, it is going to take more than an injury riddled 36 game stretch for me to think that 2019 wasn’t a glimpse of the true Austin Meadows.

Coming back healthy in 2021, I believe Meadows will return close to his 2019 form and be a big piece of the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays.

From the perspective of the Tampa Bay Rays, Austin Meadows potentially regaining his 2019 form can be seen almost as an addition to the AL Champion 2020 team as Meadows was certainly not the same player in the two seasons. Keep an eye out for Austin Meadows as a major bounce back candidate in 2021.