On the night of the MLB Draft, many dreams come true. For the Pirates, they were fortunate enough to draft not just one, but two high schoolers in the first round and make their dream come true. The Pirates selected outfielder Austin Meadows with the No. 9 pick in the first round and Reese McGuire with the No. 14 pick in the first round.
Meadows said the whole process has been a humbling one and he didn’t even hear his name called.
“It’s been a great, humbling experience. I wasn’t even in the room when they called my name,” Meadows said. “I was in my parents room trying to answer all of these calls and texts. We never got the call, but I heard my name announced.”
Meadows says it’s great to be selected, but to be picked by a team like the Pirates with a very good minor league system is a bonus.
“It feels great. I’ve heard a lot of good things with the Pirates system,” Meadows said. “I’m excited to be apart of the team and I have a lot of family in Pittsburgh. I hope to make them all proud and I hope to get there as soon as I can.”
Meadows said that he has aunts and cousins in the Pittsburgh area and that someone in his family actually saw this coming.
“My brother, Parker, actually said last week that I was going to be picked by the Pirates,” Meadows said with a laugh.
While he’s excited to make it to Pittsburgh eventually and make his family up here proud, he’s especially looking forward to seeing one person.
“Honestly, I can’t wait to meet Andrew McCutchen,” Meadows said laughing. “He makes the game look so easy.”
As for McGuire, he knew he was on the Pirates radar, but said that anything can happen when the draft starts.
“Going into the draft, anything can happen. The Pirates did show interest throughout this process,” McGuire said. “The Pirates just having the confidence with me in the first round builds my confidence too. I’m excited and it’s a dream come true.”
With players like Tony Sanchez, Wyatt Mathisen and Jacob Stallings in the system, is McGuire worried about the competition at catcher?
“I know little to none about the Pirates catching situation,” McGuire said. “I know that I’m ready to work hard and get to that next level.”
McGuire said that he first gained the exposure that led him to being discussed as a first rounder this past summer while playing for Team USA.
“This last summer, I got to do Team USA and play in Korea and get a gold medal. There was talk that I could become a first rounder,” McGuire said. “I kept working hard. It’s surreal right now that it’s finally here. It was awesome to have that exposure this past summer. It was awesome to know I was considered a first round pick.”
Both McGuire and Meadows have a tough decision coming up. Meadows committed to Clemson and McGuire committed to the University of San Diego. While neither has decided what they will do yet, McGuire dropped hints that he’s ready to begin his professional career.
“I’ve talked it over with my family and we are going to do what is best. I’m ready to physically and mentally to go for the professionals,” McGuire said. “I think in this situation, I’m going to be leaning towards professionals.”
Meadows, however, wasn’t as sure.
“It’s a big decision. The next few weeks are going to be a big decision,” Meadows said. “I have to wait it out and see what happens.”
