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Is Austin Meadows The Next Josh Hamilton?

via Gregg Forwerck/USA Baseball.

The following guest contribution was written by Richard Pallarino (@rpallarino).  Richard is a student at CUNY-College of Staten Island and a Constituent Aide at the New York State Senate.

via Gregg Forwerck/USA Baseball.
via Gregg Forwerck/USA Baseball.

Loganville, GA, just east of Atlanta, is the home to an 17 year-old high school senior baseball player that will most likely be selected within the top 5 picks of this year’s MLB Amateur Draft. His name is Austin Meadows and he plays for Grayson High.

He stands at 6’3”, weighing 205 lbs., calling his home the outfield and very seldom plays first base. Batting left handed and throwing left handed, Meadows has been labeled with the talk of being the 1st overall selection in the 2013 Draft since he was a junior.

This past summer, Austin committed to Clemson University to play collegiate baseball. There is no doubt that he will be selected in this year’s draft, but he will decide which route he would like to take when the time comes.

Scouts compare Meadows, a five-tool phenom, to Josh Hamilton. As a junior this past season, Meadows put up the following numbers: .390 AVG, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 19 SB. Austin was a member of the USA 16U team, hitting a superb .537 AVG, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 6 SB, over 8 games. In the NFL, scouts time 40-yd dashes; in baseball, scouts time 60-yd dashes. The average 60-yd dash time for MLB players is 6.6; Meadows is at 6.31.

There is no question pertaining to his talent, and when reading articles where he has been interviewed, Meadows does not pose any questions in my head regarding his character. There has been a lot of hype surrounding this 17 year-old stud for the past couple of years and there is more to come. He has handled the media very well, and according to an ESPN article written by Matt Remsberg, Meadows will be maintaining radio silence when it comes to all things MLB draft.

Going based on scouting reports and professional opinions, the MLB will feature outfielders such as Trout, Harper, Meyers, and Meadows in the next few years.

I wish nothing but the best of luck for this young talent and his family.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.