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2020 MLB Draft: Scouting Colorado Rockies second-round pick Chris McMahon

By Daniel Wettstein II

DENVER, COLORADO, - MARCH 26: People cycle in front of Coors Field on what was to be opening day for Major League Baseball on March 26, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Major League Baseball has postponed the start of its season indefinitely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO, - MARCH 26: People cycle in front of Coors Field on what was to be opening day for Major League Baseball on March 26, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Major League Baseball has postponed the start of its season indefinitely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Jon Gray of the Colorado Rockies
DENVER, CO – JULY 17: Jon Gray #55 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of a game at Coors Field on July 17, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Most viewed McMahon as a first-round talent. He was ranked 29th overall by MLB.com in their top 200 prospects list. This to me also affirms that the Rockies have a type when it comes to starting pitchers at least: Big, heavy fastball and a nasty slider.

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Below you can see the comp I like best, which is Jon Gray, another big right-hander with big K and small walk potential drafted high. But it is more than that. Both pitchers were multiple time draft picks: Gray three times and McMahon twice. They both scrapped a curve during college to focus on a high-spin, big-break slider, came in with a great feel for the change (McMahon even more so than Gray), and made the most of time spent in college.

The similar build and no-nonsense intensity on the mound also jumps out at you. They are both Alpha-male bulldogs with a nasty disposition. I love it!

Below you can see a comparison via their scouting grades coming into the draft. The numbers for McMahon are from MLB.com, while the numbers for Gray are from Baseball Prospectus.

You can clearly see why Gray was considered a no-brainer with the third overall pick for the Rockies in 2013. But it makes you wonder how McMahon dropped all the way to the second round when you had the like of Nick Yorke going to Boston at 17th overall (when he was the 139th-ranked prospect). Or pitcher Jared Shuster going 25th overall to the Braves (when he was ranked 77th as a prospect). No matter how it happened, we in Denver are ecstatic to somehow come out of the first 46 picks, with three of the top-35 ranked prospects via MLB.com (Veen #9, Romo #35, and McMahon #29).

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