Cranston's Anthony Meo Moving Up Professional Baseball Ranks

Cranston's Anthony Meo Moving Up Professional Baseball Ranks

Former Cranston West baseball star, Anthony Meo, has never played in a league where he hasn't dominated the competition. Meo, a former First Team All-State selection for the Falcons and hard throwing right-handed pitcher, is now entering his third season in professional baseball.

Meo was drafted in the second round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks after an impressive three years at Coastal Carolina University. As a sophomore in 2010, Meo was named Big South Pitcher of the Year and was a consensus All-American pick. Starring in his junior season, Meo went 10-3 with a career-low 2.16 earned run average. He also pitched 108.1 innings, striking out 115 batters, allowing a career-low 31 walks, and holding opposing hitters to a mere .228 batting average against.

After being drafted, Meo saw continued success, not allowing a run in rookie ball, before starting the 2012 season with the Visalia Rawhide, a High-A team that plays in the California League. As a starting pitcher, Meo struckout an impressive 153 hitters in 140 innings, while compiling an overall record of 9-8.

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His success landed him with the Double-A Mobile BayBears to start the 2013 season. However, things aren't going as smoothly as Meo's used to, sporting a record of 0-4 and an earned run average of 6.37. He's also allowed six home runs and 25 walks in 35.1 innings pitched.

Although he has hit a speed bump in his quick ascension up through the baseball ranks, Meo is still only 23 years of age and remains one of the Diamondback's better pitching prospects in its farm system.

It should be interesting to see how Meo handles this adversity, enduring some struggles for the first time in his baseball career.