James McCann 2023

[Spy Fox]

Not a ton to say here, but it looks like McCann is a solid upgrade to the roster. It wasn't hard to improve on what we had but I'm glad Elias decided to address backup C in the offseason. 

.694 OPS after a few hits yesterday.

2 HR and 5 RBI in 36 PAs paces out quite nicely compared to the 5 HR, 23 RBI Bemboom and Chirinos put together last year in 279 PAs. 

[Sanity Check]

21 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

Not a ton to say here, but it looks like McCann is a solid upgrade to the roster. It wasn't hard to improve on what we had but I'm glad Elias decided to address backup C in the offseason. 

.694 OPS after a few hits yesterday.

2 HR and 5 RBI in 36 PAs paces out quite nicely compared to the 5 HR, 23 RBI Bemboom and Chirinos put together last year in 279 PAs. 

He's putting professional at bats together, no matter how much people complain when they see his name in the lineup instead of _____________. 

[sportsfan8703]

.800 OPS vs LHP.  Even if he was just passable at the plate, he's worth having because it allows Adley to rest.  The hitting LHP is a bonus, but was hoped for.  

[TommyPickles]

On a more anecdotal note, he looks jacked. The dude is 235, all muscle.

 

[glenn__davis]

3 minutes ago, TommyPickles said:

On a more anecdotal note, he looks jacked. The dude is 235, all muscle.

 

On a more anecdotal note, his helmet looks really dumb.  Not quite Justin Turner Pine Tar on Jersey Back dumb but pretty close.

[emmett16]

19 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

On a more anecdotal note, his helmet looks really dumb.  Not quite Justin Turner Pine Tar on Jersey Back dumb but pretty close.

Hopefully it's just rosin and not his version of old school greenies to get him fired up for an AB.  

[Sanity Check]

1 hour ago, glenn__davis said:

On a more anecdotal note, his helmet looks really dumb.  Not quite Justin Turner Pine Tar on Jersey Back dumb but pretty close.

I saw that last night and thought, maybe he just doesn't like the Oriole Bird......but I agree, why wipe it out, unless it is pine tar and he uses it for his grip when he bats.  But guys just put that up the handle on their bats, so I really don't get it.

[HandsomeQuack]

5 minutes ago, Sanity Check said:

I saw that last night and thought, maybe he just doesn't like the Oriole Bird......but I agree, why wipe it out, unless it is pine tar and he uses it for his grip when he bats.  But guys just put that up the handle on their bats, so I really don't get it.

He likes the Oriole Bird so much that he emulates the droppings on his helmet

[sportsfan8703]

He had a pretty good game defensively yesterday. I think we underrate him a little bit. He made some solid throws on steal attempts. 

[Frobby]

It was nice to see McCann have a big day, increasing his RBI total by 50% in one game with 5 RBI.  Listening to his postgame interview, it’s pretty clear he took special satisfaction from doing it against the Mets.  

He’s been extremely underwhelming on offense, but he’s been excellent defensively and seems to have a strong clubhouse presence.  I’m still happy with him as our backup C.
 

[baltfan]

@Can of Corn Why doesn’t he just turn on the “I Will Show Them!” gene on all of the time like you should be able to turn on the clutch gene. /s

[sportsfan8703]

Probably a position where Elias can improve us on the margins in the offseason, but we will be paying him so who knows?

[jabba72]

Slowly climbing his way back to relevancy. OPS up to .649 after todays game. Thats acceptable for a backup Catcher. Sub .600 OPS not so much.

Lets hope he finishes strong and gives Adley some more rest. 

[glenn__davis]

Before today he's had a .903 OPS since the ASB.

[banks703]

Unpopular Opinoin: JM's defense has been a notch above Adley's defense this year.

Didn't he start the year on the IL? Maybe it took half the year for him to get healthy. He's not the hole in the lineup that he was for the first half of the season. He's probably not the .900+ OPS guy that he's been since the break either though. With his D this year, a .700+ OPS from him = an extremely productive backup catcher. He's always ready to go, says all the right things and seems to call a pretty good game back there (contrary to what a lot of us - myself included - thought of him coming into this year.