Minor league pitcher Justin Meis, the son of Baldwin substitute teacher Leigh Meis, had the opportunity during spring training this year to pitch against several established Pittsburgh Pirates players.
“I faced Jake Mangum and Joey Bart in a spring training game,” Meis said, referring to the Pirates outfielder and catcher. “It’s been cool, and especially being from Pittsburgh, getting to see some of the guys that I watched growing up.”
Eventually, he might have to get used to that level of competition. At the end of spring training, the right-handed pitcher from Bethel Park was promoted to Triple-A, a move that places him just one step away from the major leagues and his dream of one day pitching for the Pirates.
Meis, who is now 26 years old, was drafted in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB draft, selected 283rd overall by the Pirates.
“On draft day, we were all down on vacation at Deep Creek, and even though we had a pretty good inkling that the Pirates were interested in him, I don’t think any of us thought that the Pirates would take him,” his dad, Jeff Meis, said.
When Justin Meis first signed with the Pirates organization in 2021, he was elated.
“Signing my first contract felt amazing, especially with my family being there, and it was in my hometown. I felt so good,” he said.
Meis started out playing for the Single-A Bradenton Marauders, where he remained until late in the 2022 season, when he was promoted to the Single-A+ Greensboro Grasshoppers.
In 2023, he was promoted again, this time to the Double-A Altoona Curve, where he played for three seasons. He excelled in 2025, with a 2.89 earned run average while holding opposing batters to a .213 batting average.
During this season’s spring training, Meis got the opportunity to play for Colombia in the World Baseball Classic, where he was also able to pitch against more experienced players. He and a couple of others in the Pirates organization were called up to pitch for Colombia since that country’s team needed pitching depth.
After his stellar season last year and then this year’s spring training, the Pirates decided it was time for him to move up to their Triple-A team, the Indianapolis Indians.
Throughout his journey, Meis has seen the differences in skill between players at different levels of the minor leagues.
“Each level, there’s an extra level of maturity with everybody,” he said. “Being a pitcher, you can tell, facing hitters, that they have a better approach at the plate, and they’re not going to miss many pitches.”
He credits his success so far to his work ethic and his ability to build a routine that fits him.
“Playing so many games at the lower levels, you kind of develop a routine,” Meis said. “Everybody up here kind of knows what they need to do to be successful, and obviously, everybody’s very good.”
His mother, Leigh Meis, said he has always fully committed to whatever task is at hand.
“Whatever he does, he’s all in. Whether it’s baseball or any other aspect of his life, like helping plan his wedding last year, he’s all in,” Leigh Meis said.
His father agreed.
“His work ethic was great because he always wanted to play. I don’t think I ever had to ask him to do stuff,” Jeff Meis said.
When Meis arrived at the Indianapolis Indians stadium for the first time, he was both physically and mentally prepared to start his Triple-A journey.
“Some people don’t understand the long days in the clubhouse, the long travel days, and the sacrifices you make with your body, trying to stay in tip-top shape to play,” Meis said. “You always have to put your body and yourself to whatever you want to get to first.”
Meis always has a set pregame routine that helps him fully prepare for the day’s game.
“Usually, for a 6 o’clock game, we’re probably at the field at around 12:30. So I’ll get there, stretch, do my mobility, throw, and then hitters will take batting practice,” Meis said.
Since he is a pitcher, which is a rotational position, he doesn’t play every single game. However, he still finds ways to develop his game on his off days.
“Sometimes, if you pitched the previous game, you might have to do a game review and go over that game,” Meis said. “A lot goes on, so even though we’re at the field for so many hours, there’s not a lot of sitting around.”
Meis has also been able to make new friends and meet new people through his experiences within the Pirates organization.
“A real close friend of mine, Nick Dombkowski, came up with me in 2021, and we’ve been friends ever since, and he’s been to Triple-A before,” Justin said. “I’ve been trying to pick his brain a little bit on what he thinks is working for him.”
With his new placement in Indianapolis, he is able to talk to some MLB veterans and learn from their major league experience. One of them is Beau Burrows, who is in Indianapolis but who has played for the Detroit Tigers and has been on the Minnesota Twins.
With the Pirates organization, Burrows “was in Altoona a little bit last year, then quickly moved up to Triple-A,” Meis said. “I’m just trying to pick those guys’ brains – they’re a little older than me and have more experience.”
The team often has get-togethers off the baseball diamond to boost morale and create a sense of unity.
The players “will go out to dinner or hang out, and they’re great. That’s how you get to know your teammates,” Meis said. “Just the other night, a couple of us went out to dinner, which is cool because you don’t really talk about baseball. You just hang out and have a normal conversation. That’s what the bus rides and all the travel are like, too.”
Justin’s wife, Kenna Meis, agrees with him about the bonding.
“That’s a huge positive thing with the lifestyle – all of the other wives and families that I’ve met along the way, spending a lot of time with them,” Kenna Meis said. “Being at the fields and watching the games together, sitting together, or grabbing dinner before the game, it gives a great sense of community.”
Making it to Triple-A has taken a lot of time and effort. Leigh Meis knew Justin was an athlete from a young age.
“From the time he was able to walk, he was hitting off of a Little Tikes tee and playing catch for as long as I can remember,” his mother said. “He started playing on a coach-pitch team when he was 4.”
Justin’s father, Jeff Meis, always played catch with his son when Justin was young.
“He was always the one who was like, when I’d come home from work, ‘Let’s just go throw. Let’s just go play. Let’s just go throw,” his dad said.
Jeff Meis had noticed Justin’s arm strength since his early baseball days.
“When he started to do kid pitch, his arm strength was a little bit above average compared to everybody else,” his father said.
Later, he played in some big-time tournaments.
“When he was 12, he had the honor of playing at Cooperstown’s All-Star Village. That was a fun week that made memories that will last a lifetime. Justin had a blast there, and so did we,” Leigh Meis said.
One day about that time, Bethel Park baseball Head Coach Tony Fischer was driving in his neighborhood, and he saw Justin Meis practicing in his backyard with his brother.
“He and I lived in the same neighborhood, and one day I was driving down the street and saw this about 12-year-old boy with picture-perfect throwing mechanics rip off a fastball towards his little brother, who was suited up in catcher’s gear in their backyard,” Fischer said.
What caught Fischer’s eye was Justin’s arm strength and mechanics.
“Trying to have good, strong throwing mechanics is good, so you do not get hurt,” Fischer said.
Initially, Meis also played basketball, which Fischer coached as well.
“I coached his seventh-grade basketball team,” Fischer said. “In his freshman year, I had to convince him he had a much higher ceiling in baseball than basketball.”
Meis started noticing his potential as well.
“In high school, I realized I put a lot of time in and started seeing some results,” he said.
In 2017, Meis was a junior and threw his only no-hitter, against Baldwin. Then about a week later, he helped lead Bethel Park to a playoff win over Shaler.
His Bethel Park pitching coach was Chris Tekulve, son of retired Pirates star reliever Kent Tekulve. For Chris Tekulve, another game that Meis pitched stands out.
“In his senior year, Justin threw a complete game in 64 pitches,” Tekulve said. “He knew pitching wasn’t always about strikeouts. He knew that his team was behind him to help him.”
During high school, Meis also played for the Steel City Wildcats travel team under Coach Mark Saghy.
“Justin was a very talented player, but a lot of colleges overlooked him coming out of high school just because he wasn’t the physically imposing physique that they look for in a lot of the players,” Saghy said.
Saghy was vital in the recruiting process when it was time for him to go to college.
“There was a coach at Eastern Michigan named Spencer Schmitz, who was the assistant at the time, and I had been communicating with him a lot. I was very persistent,” Saghy said.
Meis ended up going to Eastern Michigan. While there, he stood out to various MLB coaches with his performances.
“He pitched eight shutout innings against Mississippi State, the number three team in the country at the time, in front of their packed stadium,” Leigh Meis said. “The entire Mississippi State fanbase gave him a standing ovation when he got pulled from the game because they respected his talent so much.”
While in college, Meis had many opportunities to show out to coaches and to prove that he was supposed to be out there.
“Justin played in the Cape Cod League the summer before he got drafted,” his mother said. “Several of the best college players in the country participate in this league, and many of them have gone on to the MLB, so it was really cool watching him play with this much competition.”
Meis left Eastern Michigan in his junior year after he was drafted by the Pirates. Throughout his minor league years, his ability to be level-headed and keep his composure have been key.
“It’s very easy to get down on yourself,” Meis said. “You don’t have much time to think about what went wrong. Just understand what you did and turn the page.”
Jeff Meis has noticed his son’s approach.
“The way Justin is, I think he’s just learned that it’s not always going to be all positive stuff,” his father said. “Just keep working hard, keep grinding through it.”
Saghy, his travel team coach, said that level of mental toughness is rare.
“I had the Wildcats for 18 years and coached high school age players for 30 years, and Justin was probably the most composed, level-headed individual I saw pitch,” Saghy said.
And that mentality has paid dividends.
“Justin is very level-headed and calm when he pitches, so he handles the pressure of coming into the game with runners on base,” Leigh Meis said.
For Meis, the main hardship of being in the minor leagues is missing time with his family.
“It’s pretty hard being away from family and friends for so long, but that comes with it, and you just have to keep playing,” he said.
His parents have spent a lot of time at his baseball games over the years, from youth tournaments to traveling to Florida for spring training this year.
“I know parents always tend to complain about how stressful having a child in sports can be, but looking back, I am so thankful for all the time I got to spend with Justin on our trips,” Leigh Meis said. “Watching Justin grow up playing baseball has been so much fun.”
With Justin’s recent promotion to Triple-A, he and his wife have to move to Indianapolis. However, they are already familiar with relocating to new cities for his minor league journey, so the transition to Indianapolis should be smooth.
“I’ve learned to be really independent, and Justin’s long days at the field and constantly being ready to move at a moment’s notice will do that. It’s not a typical lifestyle, especially with all the travel and uncertainty,” Justin’s wife, Kenna Meis, said.
Despite the constant movement and unpredictability of the baseball world, Justin and his wife continue to stay committed because they understand that the sacrifices are worth it.
“The sacrifices are the long days and a lot of hard work, but knowing the purpose behind it makes it worthwhile,” Kenna Meis said.
Throughout the whole process, Meis has had a lot of support from his family and friends.
“The dream is the Pirates, and I fully believe he will get there,” Kenna Meis said. “He’s worked so hard, and he’s a deserving person, and that is and always has been the end goal.”
Despite how busy his schedule is at the Triple-A level, Meis regularly takes a moment to reflect on what got him there.
“I’m here, playing at this level, and I don’t take it for granted,” he said. “Every day, I take a second and stop, and I’m like, ‘You know, this is pretty cool.’ I’m super grateful for it.”
