Ryan McKenna 2018

[oceanicvoyage]

McKenna is kind of being overshadowed by Mountcastle at the moment, but he's heating up over his last 50 ABs and has been really hot since July 1.

.808 OPS over last 50 ABs, .916 OPS since July 1, and .737 OPS overall at AA. Still striking out a lot at every interval, but that will lower with more exposure to this level (see Mountcastle's progress).

PS - For some reason I never put it together that they both are named Ryan and initials are RM (and, for extra fun, their birthdays are only 4 days apart).

 

[Luke-OH]

Some McKenna video, the first pitch is fun, he legs out a triple (~11s home to 3rd) on a ball he drives to CF.

 

[Ohfan67]

OPS .775 for July so far. 

[dcterp]

I'm sure they already have him doing so but he looks like he needs to hit the weight room hard.

[justD]

8 hours ago, dcterp said:

I'm sure they already have him doing so but he looks like he needs to hit the weight room hard.

One of his best tools is his speed - Luke recently posted a video of him getting from home to third in about 11 seconds. Asking a real question here: Wouldn't bulking up in a weight room threaten that? 

(Hoping I'm not initiating another grow-into-arm-strength debate  )

[bobmc]

1 hour ago, justD said:

One of his best tools is his speed - Luke recently posted a video of him getting from home to third in about 11 seconds. Asking a real question here: Wouldn't bulking up in a weight room threaten that? 

(Hoping I'm not initiating another grow-into-arm-strength debate  )

Yep.  I'm afraid you are!  SG will be pushing plyo.  Snutchy will be pushing heavy weights.  scOtt weed.  Then we'll have B-12 and GNC supplements.  In the end, no answer.....

[Luke-OH]

9 hours ago, dcterp said:

I'm sure they already have him doing so but he looks like he needs to hit the weight room hard.

Why?

[Luke-OH]

In case my why isn’t answered, the dude is more muscular than your average MLB player.

[oceanicvoyage]

With the addition of Diaz to a somewhat already crowded potential outfield (that may also include Mountcastle), the orioles should see if McKenna has some positional flexibility. It's definitely harder to go from OF to INF than the other way around, but I think it's worth a shot. I can't even think  of any successes in this type of transition so this post might be dumb. However, I think he has the build and athleticism of a second basemen. I don't know about his arm, but I think I remember reading he was clocked at 90mph from the outfield, but I could be way off - but that would work in the infield as well. This flexibility could also help him as a bench player if he doesn't develop to be a regular. His speed and positional flexibility (and ability to play CF) would be a solid bench piece.

[jamalshw]

32 minutes ago, oceanicvoyage said:

With the addition of Diaz to a somewhat already crowded potential outfield (that may also include Mountcastle), the orioles should see if McKenna has some positional flexibility. It's definitely harder to go from OF to INF than the other way around, but I think it's worth a shot. I can't even think  of any successes in this type of transition so this post might be dumb. However, I think he has the build and athleticism of a second basemen. I don't know about his arm, but I think I remember reading he was clocked at 90mph from the outfield, but I could be way off - but that would work in the infield as well. This flexibility could also help him as a bench player if he doesn't develop to be a regular. His speed and positional flexibility (and ability to play CF) would be a solid bench piece.

This is an interesting idea and second would make more sense than SS or 3B, but has he ever played infield in his amateur days? The reaction time and reads are just completely different. I'm sure the athleticism is there to do it as are the raw skills, but is the reaction time there?

[Ruzious]

23 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

This is an interesting idea and second would make more sense than SS or 3B, but has he ever played infield in his amateur days? The reaction time and reads are just completely different. I'm sure the athleticism is there to do it as are the raw skills, but is the reaction time there?

Yeah, it would certainly go against conventional wisdom to expect that to have a reasonable chance of succeeding. Also, these guys are going to need to focus on offense to make it in the bigs. None are great prospects where you know they'll succeed offensively in the majors.  And the front office is finally looking like they have developed the ability to make trades.      

[Luke-OH]

1 hour ago, oceanicvoyage said:

With the addition of Diaz to a somewhat already crowded potential outfield (that may also include Mountcastle), the orioles should see if McKenna has some positional flexibility. It's definitely harder to go from OF to INF than the other way around, but I think it's worth a shot. I can't even think  of any successes in this type of transition so this post might be dumb. However, I think he has the build and athleticism of a second basemen. I don't know about his arm, but I think I remember reading he was clocked at 90mph from the outfield, but I could be way off - but that would work in the infield as well. This flexibility could also help him as a bench player if he doesn't develop to be a regular. His speed and positional flexibility (and ability to play CF) would be a solid bench piece.

This isn't a terrible idea and I think there was mention in scouting reports when drafted that his skill set might play well at 2B. I'd want to make sure Mullins shows that he can be a starting CF before I move McKenna though. Maybe let him take infield on off days. He's a much better fit in CF than Diaz or Hays though so if Mullins doesn't pan out as a regular, he'd be needed there. 

[Thato'sfan]

19 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

This isn't a terrible idea and I think there was mention in scouting reports when drafted that his skill set might play well at 2B. I'd want to make sure Mullins shows that he can be a starting CF before I move McKenna though. Maybe let him take infield on off days. He's a much better fit in CF than Diaz or Hays though so if Mullins doesn't pan out as a regular, he'd be needed there. 

I think Mckenna's offensive profile could wind up being similar to Whit Merrifield with a slightly higher OBP. If Mckenna could become the starting second baseman, that would be a huge win for the organization. It would also allow us to keep good defense in the outfield if an outfielder needs a rest. It's a long shot, but a good idea.

[Frobby]

Hey, if Steve Pearce can play a credible 2B, why not McKenna?

[ChrisP]

10 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Hey, if Steve Pearce can play a credible 2B, why not McKenna?

Even our AS rep from 2010 would probably vote yes.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wiggity01.shtml#all_standard_fielding