LOGANVILLE, GA—Wrapping up a quick three-day run through Georgia, I saw a couple High School Top 100 hitters in C Will Banfield (Brookwood HS, GA) and OF Parker Meadows (Grayson HS, GA). Both collected two hits in their respective games, but Meadows provided a little more action, as he was able to show his speed on the bases and some defense in the outfield.

Meadows has a tall, lean and athletic frame, easily grabbing attention just by walking out on the field. His older brother is Austin Meadows, who was the ninth overall selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013 and is on the cusp of breaking into the big leagues. Athleticism clearly runs in the family. The younger Meadows struck out swinging in his first at-bat, as some pre-pitch movement in his hands can hinder his timing. After a walk in his second at-bat, he singled in his next two. The first was a hard line drive to right field and the second was a groundball between the first and second basemen. Meadows chews up ground with long, easy and athletic strides on the bases, turning in a couple steal times of 3.4 seconds. He wasn’t particularly challenged in the outfield, quickly closing ground on a few relatively routine fly balls. He also threw a runner out at the plate with a strong, accurate throw on a base hit back up the middle. The arm strength is average and should only get stronger as he continues to develop.

After seeing RHP Cole Henry (Florence HS, AL) and before heading out to see RHP Kumar Rocker (North Oconee HS, GA) on Friday, I was able to catch one at-bat from Banfield. He blasted a 2-0 fastball, but hooked it foul. He then singled off the end of his bat to center field, keeping his hands back some on an offspeed pitch. On Saturday, he walked in his first three at-bats, seeing a heavy dose of secondary offerings. In his fourth trip to the plate, he just missed a home run, jumping on a pitch out over the middle of the plate. He lifted it to left field and it seemed gone off the bat, but it fell just short of the wall for a long single as the left fielder whiffed on it, battling the sun and a high sky.

I didn’t see much from Banfield defensively, which is currently his best asset. He is a solid receiver, gets low in his crouch and is agile, showing the ability to easily block balls in the dirt. He has a strong arm, but didn’t go full tilt on his throws between innings and opponents know better than to run on him.

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