Detroit Tigers Budding Star Among MVP Candidates in Key Category

A Detroit Tigers second-round pick from 2018 is keeping company with players that are up for the MVP award in this particular category.

Aug 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows (22) celebrates in the dugout with teammates after scoring during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. / Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Parker Meadows has worked his way up the latter in the Detroit Tigers’ organization and the 24-year-old is heating up as August nears its end.

This season Meadows is slashing .228/.303/.437/.740 with five home runs and 13 RBI.

But, the outfielder had a dearth of playing time in May, June and July before getting back to consistent opportunities at the plate this month.

He’s had an exceptional month, too. He’s slashed .333/.368/.583 with two home runs and eight RBI. He’s improved his batting average by 80 points.

That’s one way to measure his improvement. Another is WAR, or wins above replacement, meant to measure a player’s overall value.

By that measure, according to Detroit Tigers PR, Meadows has a 1.1 WAR this month, as measured by FanGraphs. His is the seventh-best WAR of any player in the game in August.

Many of the other six are competing for the MVP Award. That includes Aaron Judge (2.5), Bobby Witt Jr. (1.9), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1.4), Jarren Duran (1.4), Juan Soto (1.2), and José Ramírez (1.2).

Meadows’ 1.1 WAR matches his figure for the season.

It’s been a challenging season for Meadows, who made the Tigers’ opening-day roster before he was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on May 7. After two months in the minors, Detroit called him up on July 5 before he moved to the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain on July 8.

After a rehab assignment at Toledo, he returned to Detroit on Aug. 3.

In the minors with Toledo the offense was certainly there, as he slashed .292/.388/.495/.883 with eight home runs and 25 RBI in 51 games.

Given the direction of the Tigers’ season, Meadows figures to get as much playing time as possible as Detroit prepares for next season. He’s surrounded by a group of young players that could be a piece of the puzzle in 2025, including third baseman Jace Jung, shortstop Trey Sweeney and catcher Dillon Dingler.

Detroit selected the left-handed hitting outfielder in the second round (No. 44) in 2018 out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga. The Tigers were keen to get him to start his professional career and signed him to an over-slot bonus of $2.5 million.

Once in the system, he move progressively through the minors, minus 2020 when there was no minor league baseball due to COVID-19. He made his MLB debut in 2023, as he played in 37 games and slashed .232/.331/.368/.699 with three home runs and 13 RBI.