Meadows, Happ, Kelly head to Minors

It was a busy day for reassignments as several of baseball's top prospects were sent to Minor League camp Monday. The Pirates reassigned their No. 2 prospect, Austin Meadows, to the Minors while the Cubs sent 22-year-old Ian Happ to Triple-A Iowa and the Cardinals' Carson Kelly headed to Memphis.
Meadows, the No. 9 prospect in baseball, had an impressive Spring Training, hitting .326 with two home runs, nine RBIs and a .420 OBP in 43 at-bats with the big league team. The outfielder is expected to start the season with Triple-A Indianapolis. 

With much of the Pirates outfield competing in the World Baseball Classic, Meadows got more playing time with the big club, gaining some valuable experience against Major League pitching. 
"Being around big leaguers, facing big leaguers has been very, very good for his development," manager Clint Hurdle told MLB.com earlier in March. "It's a comfortable place because they've played with these men. They know the routines. They know how to prepare. Then the real season look is obviously different than the Spring Training look."
Happ tore through the Cactus League for the defending World Series champs. The Cubs' No. 2 prospect hit .417/.473/.813 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 48 at-bats after batting .279/.365/.445 with 48 extra-base hits and 73 RBIs in 135 games between Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach and Double-A Tennessee in 2016.
"Baseball is routine, routine, routine, and if you can do it 162 times a year, just pound that repetition and muscle memory," Happ told MLB.com. "For me, going into the start of the year, to lock down something I can do every day will help."
Chicago also sent No. 23 prospect Rob Zastryzny to the Minors.
St. Louis reassigned No. 39 overall prospect Kelly after he compiled a slash line of .182/.300/.182 with four RBIs in 33 at-bats. St. Louis' second-ranked prospect made his Major League debut in 2016 after batting .289/.343/.395 with Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.
Rockies optioned Raimel Tapia to Triple-A Albuquerque. Colorado's fifth-ranked prospect hit .269 in Spring Training with the Major League club, collecting three RBIs and four stolen bases in 25 games. He'll rejoin Albuquerque, where he hit .346 with a .355 OBP, five doubles and 14 RBIs in 24 games during the 2016 campaign. 
Meanwhile, the Orioles reassigned top prospect Chance Sisco to the Minors after the catcher this month. The No. 5 catching prospect hit .292 with a homer, two doubles, five RBIs, a pair of walks and a .380 OBP in 17 games with the Major League club. He's expected to begin the season with Triple-A Norfolk after being sent to Minor League camp.
Baltimore wanted to give Sisco as much exposure to Major League pitching as possible this spring, using him effectively as the club's everyday starter in the Grapefruit League after the 2013 second-round pick spent almost all of last season at the Double-A level. His success in Major League camp will likely make it easier for the Orioles to bring him up sooner than later from Norfolk this summer. Welington Castillo remains the Orioles' primary catcher, although he missed much of Spring Training while playing in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic.
Sisco, who hit .320 with four homers, 44 RBIs and a .406 OBP in 112 games for Double-A Bowie last year, said he was eager to take on a larger workload this spring.
"It's just more innings and another opportunity to improve behind the dish and get some at-bats," Sisco told the Baltimore Sun.
In other roster moves, Philadelphia's No. 6 prospect Roman Quinn was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Boston sent fourth-ranked prospect Sam Travis to Minor League camp and former top prospect Deven Marrero to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Kansas City's Peter O'Brien was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. O'Brien amassed a slash line of .294/.362/.765, with seven homers and 14 RBIs this spring.