Ryan McKenna 2018

[hoosiers]

Except for low numbers in his first 10 or so games with Bowie, McKenna has seen a slide in his numbers to a season low of 242/331/363 on Aug 12.  He has rallied for five hits in his last 3 games to raise each of those numbers about 15-20 points.  

Last 10 games, McKenna is 9/29 for a .310 average and has more BBs (6) than Ks (5).  This reflects a near doubling of his BB rate through his first 130 or so ABs while nearly cutting his K rate in half - 40K in first 134 ABs at Bowie. 

It is a small 10 game sample size, of course, but may be an early indication that McKenna is making some adjustments and could put up more good results in this last bit to the season.

[Frobby]

I’m slightly disappointed that McKenna’s dominant numbers at Frederick didn’t carry over to Bowie, but I still can’t complain about a guy who’s jumped 2 levels to Bowie at age 21 and is putting up a .262/.353/.378 line in AA, which is better than the line he put up last year in low A.    Hopefully he finishes the year strong.  

[Flacco Machado]

12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’m slightly disappointed that McKenna’s dominant numbers at Frederick didn’t carry over to Bowie, but I still can’t complain about a guy who’s jumped 2 levels to Bowie at age 21 and is putting up a .262/.353/.378 line in AA, which is better than the line he put up last year in low A.    Hopefully he finishes the year strong.  

I feel the same way, but being he's 21, is the key.

He'll most likely, start off at Bowie next year. I'm betting he plays great, and is in serious contention to be promoted to Norfolk, or skip it all together, and head to the O's.

 

[bobmc]

45 minutes ago, Flacco Machado said:

I feel the same way, but being he's 21, is the key.

He'll most likely, start off at Bowie next year. I'm betting he plays great, and is in serious contention to be promoted to Norfolk, or skip it all together, and head to the O's.

 

So you're a "betting man"  Got any other tips?  JCE?  Carmona?  Ortiz?  

[Flacco Machado]

20 minutes ago, bobmc said:

So you're a "betting man"  Got any other tips?  JCE?  Carmona?  Ortiz?  

All will be superstars on our 2024 WS Championship team. Book it.

[bobmc]

3 minutes ago, Flacco Machado said:

All will be superstars on our 2024 WS Championship team. Book it.

Would that I would be around to witness/comprehend that "fact"!  #crossingthebar 

[RVAOsFan]

Ryan just took away some extra bases on a hard hit ball to deep center field. He turned around and made a dead sprint to the wall where he turned around tracked the ball down for the out. Very impressive. 

[MachoMachadoMan]

Another 2 hits last night, as well. 

Has shown great plate discipline in his last 10 games. 7 walks to just 3 Ks. 

To pick up on line of discussion from another thread, he's also stolen 4 bases in the last 10 games accounting for all of his swipes since being promoted to Bowie

[joelala]

16 minutes ago, MachoMachadoMan said:

Another 2 hits last night, as well. 

Has shown great plate discipline in his last 10 games. 7 walks to just 3 Ks. 

To pick up on line of discussion from another thread, he's also stolen 4 bases in the last 10 games accounting for all of his swipes since being promoted to Bowie

I'm wondering if we are seeing a new organizational philosophy emerging?  Aggressiveness on the base paths.  Maybe its just coincidence, probabl is, but both he and Adam Hall have gone on binges (Hall more so) in the last two weeks...

[Tony-OH]

5 hours ago, MachoMachadoMan said:

Another 2 hits last night, as well. 

Has shown great plate discipline in his last 10 games. 7 walks to just 3 Ks. 

To pick up on line of discussion from another thread, he's also stolen 4 bases in the last 10 games accounting for all of his swipes since being promoted to Bowie

This is the interesting piece. I really have to ask why McKenna was not stealing bases this year. By all accounts his speed is just as fast if not faster, so it's weird that he was so poor at stealing bases this year (9 of 16). 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

49 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

This is the interesting piece. I really have to ask why McKenna was not stealing bases this year. By all accounts his speed is just as fast if not faster, so it's weird that he was so poor at stealing bases this year (9 of 16). 

Maybe he doesn't read the pitcher that good and gets a poor jump.

[Tony-OH]

14 minutes ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

Maybe he doesn't read the pitcher that good and gets a poor jump.

Maybe, but he didn't have that issue last year. I haven't seen him live this year so it's hard to judge, but I also haven't talke to any baseball people/scouts yet either as I'm sure they have a better idea. Heck, maybe I'll ask him. haha

 

Tony

[Legend_Of_Joey]

3 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Maybe, but he didn't have that issue last year. I haven't seen him live this year so it's hard to judge, but I also haven't talke to any baseball people/scouts yet either as I'm sure they have a better idea. Heck, maybe I'll ask him. haha

 

Tony

You'll probably have a whole lot better luck talking to Bowie players than I did this season....

Barring rain, I'll be there Thursday. Hopefully he gets on base so I can check.

[weams]

https://www.milb.com/bowie/news/a-firm-foundation/c-291882116

Quote

By Robby Veronesi & Lizzy Lombardo / Bowie Baysox | August 25, 2018 9:35 AM

 

The Northern New England coast at the border of New Hampshire and Maine is a spot that is frequently sought out by vacationers and weekend retreaters across the northeastern United States.

Known for scenery, lakes, beaches, and lots of community-driven small towns where having cookouts under a beautiful summer sky is far from uncommon, the town of Berwick, Maine, became the home to the McKenna family in 1999.

 

Originally from Grants Pass, Oregon, the McKenna clan moved across the country a couple years after Ryan was born.

 

"My dad had a business opportunity," said McKenna. "He was involved in a coffee business called Dutch Bros. Coffee. He was one of the original guys that started the business, so he pretty much took that same idea and said 'Hey, I'm going to do my own thing on the other side of the country.' It's been great for him and he's done a great job."

 

While the McKenna patriarch was helping Aroma Joe's Coffee get off the ground, Ryan and his brother, Sean, were keeping their mom equally busy.

 

"She was a full-time mom and very involved with the church," said McKenna. "She has a blog now, reaching out to help other women--and sometimes men, too--follow a good faith foundation and guide people that way. She was awesome (and) took care of me and my brothers as best as she could. She's an amazing woman."

 

Of course, there was also baseball. For a young New England boy, that usually revolves around a certain organization about an hour and a half south on I-95 in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston.

 

"My dad had strong passion for (baseball)," said McKenna. "I think that comes from my grandfather, his dad. He coached Little League, but he never got the opportunity to play in college just because the resources weren't there for his family. He was a great player from what he says and the stories of other people I talked to.

 

"We grew up Red Sox fans and that's always a struggle because they hadn't won for 86 years. 2004 was a great year for our family. Ever since I was little, we just started playing and my ability showed. I kept pursuing that. It was a passion, so (my dad) sought development opportunities for me and was hopeful for me to play in college or pro ball in the big leagues one day. He was fully on board with baseball for my brother and I, so that's how it started originally."

 

...

 

"Summer ball was huge for me in my exposure," said McKenna. "Perfect Game was in the beginning (stages), when they were just started to get big at the time. Through the (high school) years, I did those camps and showcases (and) I just tried to get in front of as many people as I could. I think my athleticism and doing well in those tournaments got some (exposure) from some of those scouts. I think the summer programs were the biggest things for my experience.

 

[Frobby]

McKenna’s final numbers:

@FRE: 301 PA, .377/.467/.556, 8 HR, 37 RB

@BOW: 250 PA, .239/.341/.338, 3 HR, 16 RBI.

I’m not quite sure what to make of McKenna at this point.    He was ridiculously good at Frederick, then seemed overmatched at Bowie.   He’s only 21 so there’s no problem being patient with him,  but I hope he’s able to adjust to AA competition next year, as Mountcastle did this year.