Promising young Tigers player lands on impressive list of breakout stars for 2025

ByEmma Lingan|
Division Series - Detroit Tigers v Cleveland Guardians - Game 5
Division Series - Detroit Tigers v Cleveland Guardians - Game 5 | Nick Cammett/GettyImages

With spring training just around the corner, one former MLB executive is especially high on the Detroit Tigers' promising young center fielder.

In a column for The Athletic (subscription required), former MLB general manager Jim Bowden listed Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows as one of the 12 MLB breakout candidates he is most excited to scout. Bowden based his selections on feedback from top evaluators at all 30 MLB teams.

"The Tigers have found their long-term answer in center field with Meadows, who last season ranked in the 92nd percentile in outs above average (he has special range in all directions) and in the 93rd percentile in sprint speed," Bowden wrote. "He batted .244/.310/.433 with 12 doubles, six triples, nine homers and nine stolen bases in 82 games (298 plate appearances). He profiles as a future 20-home run, 20-stolen base player who is a plus defender in center field."

Tigers' Parker Meadows listed as top 'breakout candidate' ahead of Spring Training

This list includes some of the most exciting young players in the game, like Michael Harris II, James Wood, Junior Caminero, Lawrence Butler and Ceddanne Rafaela.

Meadows was at the center of some of the biggest plays and moments during a stunning 2024 season that saw the Tigers ride a late August surge all the way to the ALDS. A career .241 hitter through 119 MLB games, he became a key contributor at the plate during Detroit's 2024 playoff run and slashed .269/.345/.462 in seven postseason games.

The biggest selling point for Meadows, however, is his glove. Last season, it felt as though every time the Tigers had a big, momentum-shifting defensive play, Meadows was at the center of it – like when he robbed Cal Raleigh of a home run at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 7 in what became the unofficial turning point of Detroit's magical season.

Meadows' glove came in clutch again during the playoffs last year, when he made a brilliant leaping catch to rob Jeremy Peña in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Tigers' Wild Card Series-clinching win over the Houston Astros.

Needless to say, Tigers fans share Bowden's excitement and hope to see what Meadows can do with his bat and his glove over a full season (and hopefully into the playoffs).

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