LAKELAND, Fla. — It’s a cliché to say that Parker Meadows is entering a pivotal season.
Yes, it’s a pivotal season for him, and for just about any 26-year-old trying to establish himself. Just like the last one and the one before that. And the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that, until he decides to hang up his cleats.
That’s the way baseball works.
But this one feels especially pivotal because we’ve seen, in monthlong spurts, just how good Meadows can be. We’ve just never seen it over a full season.
And the game’s top outfield prospect — one of the most decorated center-field prospects in years — is getting very close to the big leagues.
TIGERS IN 2026: This is the sixth in a series of profiles on the Detroit Tigers’ organizational depth heading into the 2026 season. Previously: Catchers, first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen.
That’s not reason to fret about what will happen when Max Clark inevitably gets his call to Detroit. If the Tigers somehow end up with two really good center fielders, it will be an exceptional problem to have, one shared by very few teams.
But it’s a problem that currently doesn’t exist.
Meadows, 26, missed the first two months of the 2025 season after suffering a nerve injury in spring training. He then struggled offensively after his return, hitting .200 with a .566 OPS (59 OPS+) in 137 plate appearances.
He went on the injured list again on July 28 with a strained quadriceps and didn’t return until September.
Meadows had his moments, but it largely felt like a lost season after the 2024 campaign had ended with such promise.
He still started the most games in center field for the second consecutive season, but he was nearly beat out by infielder Javier Báez — who saw that coming? — which underscores the fact that the Tigers do have other options if Meadows gets off to a slow start. Wenceel Perez, Matt Vierling and Trei Cruz, recently added the 40-man roster, have ample center field experience.
Meadows’ defensive metrics were down slightly in 2025, but the Tigers still believe he’s an above-average defensive center fielder when healthy.
Players like that don’t grow on trees. But the Tigers have another one growing down on the farm.
Clark, who will be in big-league camp for the first time this spring, is one of those rare five-tool players. In scouting terms, the five tools are running and speed, throwing and arm strength, fielding, hitting for average, and hitting for power.
The 21-year-old got his first taste of Double-A last summer. If he’s not in Triple-A Toledo at the outset of 2026, it shouldn’t take him long to get there. That would put another center-field option on the doorstep of the big leagues.
The urgency of promoting Clark could depend in large part on Meadows.
And if they both hit and play elite defense, it becomes a wonderful problem to have.
Detroit Tigers right fielder Wenceel Perez (46) catches a fly ball during Game 4 of the ALDS on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at Comerica Park. The Detroit Tigers defeated the Seattle Mariners, 9-3.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)
CENTER FIELDERS IN THE SYSTEM
On the 40-man roster: Parker Meadows, Wenceel Perez, Matt Vierling, Javier Baez, Trei Cruz.
Non-roster invitees to spring training: Max Clark, Ben Malgeri.
Possible assignments:
Detroit: Meadows, Vierling, Perez, Baez.
Triple-A Toledo: Ben Malgeri, Gage Workman, Trei Cruz.
Double-A Erie: Max Clark, Roberto Campos, Seth Stephenson.
Class A (advanced) West Michigan: Jackson Strong, Brett Callahan, Woody Hadeen, Patrick Lee.
Class A Lakeland: Zach MacDonald, Nick Dumesnil, Anibal Salas, Jesus Pinto.
Detroit Tigers’ Mikie Mahtook slides into third base during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)AP
Most starts in center field over the last 10 years
2016: Cameron Maybin
2017: Mikie Mahtook
2018: Leonys Martin
2019: JaCoby Jones
2020: JaCoby Jones
2021: Akil Baddoo
2022: Riley Greene
2023: Riley Greene
2024: Parker Meadows
2025: Parker Meadows