Matt McLain

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Cincinnati Reds #12 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: McLain was a two-time first-round pick. He turned down the D-backs as the 25th overall pick out of high school. After a productive career at UCLA he moved up to be picked 17th overall in 2021. After an excellent 2021 debut, the longer full pro season seemed to wear McLain down in 2022. He hit .248/.364/.544 in the first two months of the season, but only .221/.364/.392 from June 1 until the end of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: McLain was Double-A Chattanooga's everyday shortstop in the first half of the season, but once Elly De La Cruz arrived, he played as much second base as shortstop. That is likely a hint of his future role. He's fully capable of playing shortstop, with the feet and hands for the position. But if he's asked to make those throws regularly, his average arm begins to wear down to fringe-average. He doesn't have the kind of arm that can make the difficult play if he doesn't set his feet. Scouts loved McLain's competitiveness and all-out style of play, but that high-energy style also makes it harder for him to hold up, as he's a smaller framed player without a lot of functional strength. He makes excellent swing decisions and has 10-15 home run power.
  
  The Future: Even when he struggled at Chattanooga, McLain still strung together solid at-bats, drew walks and could punish pitchers who made mistakes. The offseason should give McLain a chance to work on gaining strength to help him hold up over the much longer pro seasons. He projects as a super-utility player who can play a variety of positions including shortstop in a pinch.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 50. Power: 40. Field: 50 Run: 55 Arm: 50.
• 
  Ranked Cincinnati Reds #5 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: A two-time first-round pick, McLain spurned the D-backs as the 25th pick in the 2018 draft—he was the fast riser in a high school shortstop class that also included Brice Turang and Xavier Edwards. McLain’s father was a college football player at UCLA, his mother was a college softball and volleyball player and his brothers Sean and Nick play baseball at Arizona State and UCLA, respectively.
  
  Scouting Report: McLain’s pro debut matched what he did at UCLA. He put together consistent at-bats and rarely swung and missed, but he didn’t hit the ball particularly hard. He will have to rework his swing if he wants to hit for more power. His approach is contact-oriented, and his swing doesn’t generate much of a load, but it does leave him able to control the barrel of the bat. He rarely fails to make contact, but he also posts modest exit velocities. Defensively, McLain makes all the plays at shortstop, he just doesn’t always look like he does it easily. There’s effort and a lack of fluidity to McLain’s actions, but he has soft hands and an above-average arm that’s enough to stay at the position. He also played center field as a freshman at UCLA and would fit there or at second base if needed.
  
  The Future: Much like fellow Reds prospect Nick Lodolo, McLain is the kind of steady, solid contributor who is viewed as a relatively safe first-round pick. He’s unlikely to be a regular all-star, but he should be a solid big leaguer. A return to High-A Dayton is possible to start the season, but he should spend much of 2022 at Double-A.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #10 prospect in 2021 draft
  McLain was the biggest riser in the 2018 draft class after a huge senior season at Beckman (Calif.) High. The D-backs drafted him 25th overall, but he was strongly committed to UCLA and did not sign. McLain rebounded from a poor freshman season for the Bruins with a strong showing in the Cape Cod League and the abbreviated 2020 season. He followed up with his best season as a junior this spring, batting .323/.429/.569 with nine home runs during the regular season despite missing nearly three weeks with a broken thumb. McLain is undersized at a listed 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, but he is a dangerous hitter who is strong in his frame. He has a short, direct swing and consistently lines balls hard from gap to gap. He has a knack for finding the barrel, separates balls from strikes and rarely chases outside the strike zone. He is a consensus above-average to plus hitter and projects to hit at the top of a lineup for a first-division team. The only question about McLain’s offensive game is how much power he will produce. Though he hit for power in college, his fringe-average raw power will likely translate more to doubles with a wood bat and limit him to 10-15 home runs per season. He has plus speed and consistently runs hard to beat out infield singles and leg out doubles and triples. McLain played shortstop the last two seasons at UCLA and is playable there, but he lacks the natural actions for the position and projects better at second base. Some teams prefer him in center field, where he played as a freshman, and others think he projects best as a multi-positional player who bounces around the diamond. He is an instinctive defender who positions himself well, gets good reads off the bat and has above-average arm strength at any position. Regardless of where he ends up defensively, McLain is one of the top hitters in the class and will be taken in the first round again this year.
• Ranked #61 prospect in 2018 draft
  McLain has taken advantage of a down year in Southern California this spring, hitting in seemingly every game he's played. His performance was so strong, in fact, that area scouts began putting his name in the same conversation as fellow California shortstop Brice Turang--which would have seemed absurd just a year ago. A 5-foot-10, righthanded hitter without a ton of power, McLain doesn't seem to profile as a top-50 pick, but he's given himself a chance to be selected that high because he simply does everything well. He makes all the plays at shortstop as a soft-gloved infielder with agility, body control, impressive footwork and a solid arm, and he's regularly given scouts plus running times down the line. While McLain is a shorter prospect, he's not built slightly. He's put on as much strength as he can for now, to the point where he's showing some surprising power in games, although he'll never project as a plus power hitter. He regularly hits the ball hard and with authority, frequently going to right-center with impact. McLain has shown enough bat-to-ball skills that scouts are putting a 50 or even 60 grade on his future hit tool. While some evaluators believe he might move off shortstop at the next level--he's not a Nick Allen sort of defender--he's hit enough this spring to rise up draft boards. Seemingly all of his tools have improved this spring, and with good makeup to top things off, it's unlikely he ever sets foot on campus at UCLA, where he is committed.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: McLain was a two-time first-round pick. He turned down the D-backs as the 25th overall pick out of high school. After a productive career at UCLA he moved up to be picked 17th overall in 2021. After an excellent 2021 debut, the longer full pro season seemed to wear McLain down in 2022. He hit .248/.364/.544 in the first two months of the season, but only .221/.364/.392 from June 1 until the end of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: McLain was Double-A Chattanooga's everyday shortstop in the first half of the season, but once Elly De La Cruz arrived, he played as much second base as shortstop. That is likely a hint of his future role. He's fully capable of playing shortstop, with the feet and hands for the position. But if he's asked to make those throws regularly, his average arm begins to wear down to fringe-average. He doesn't have the kind of arm that can make the difficult play if he doesn't set his feet. Scouts loved McLain's competitiveness and all-out style of play, but that high-energy style also makes it harder for him to hold up, as he's a smaller framed player without a lot of functional strength. He makes excellent swing decisions and has 10-15 home run power.
  
  The Future: Even when he struggled at Chattanooga, McLain still strung together solid at-bats, drew walks and could punish pitchers who made mistakes. The offseason should give McLain a chance to work on gaining strength to help him hold up over the much longer pro seasons. He projects as a super-utility player who can play a variety of positions including shortstop in a pinch.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 50. Power: 40. Field: 50 Run: 55 Arm: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: McLain was a two-time first-round pick. He turned down the D-backs as the 25th overall pick out of high school. After a productive career at UCLA he moved up to be picked 17th overall in 2021. After an excellent 2021 debut, the longer full pro season seemed to wear McLain down in 2022. He hit .248/.364/.544 in the first two months of the season, but only .221/.364/.392 from June 1 until the end of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: McLain was Double-A Chattanooga's everyday shortstop in the first half of the season, but once Elly De La Cruz arrived, he played as much second base as shortstop. That is likely a hint of his future role. He's fully capable of playing shortstop, with the feet and hands for the position. But if he's asked to make those throws regularly, his average arm begins to wear down to fringe-average. He doesn't have the kind of arm that can make the difficult play if he doesn't set his feet. Scouts loved McLain's competitiveness and all-out style of play, but that high-energy style also makes it harder for him to hold up, as he's a smaller framed player without a lot of functional strength. He makes excellent swing decisions and has 10-15 home run power.
  
  The Future: Even when he struggled at Chattanooga, McLain still strung together solid at-bats, drew walks and could punish pitchers who made mistakes. The offseason should give McLain a chance to work on gaining strength to help him hold up over the much longer pro seasons. He projects as a super-utility player who can play a variety of positions including shortstop in a pinch.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 50. Power: 40. Field: 50 Run: 55 Arm: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Track Record: A two-time first-round pick, McLain spurned the D-backs as the 25th pick in the 2018 draft—he was the fast riser in a high school shortstop class that also included Brice Turang and Nick Allen. McLain&#39s father was a college football player at UCLA, his mother was a college softball and volleyball player and his brothers Sean and Nick play baseball at Arizona State and UCLA, respectively.
  
  Scouting Report: McLain&#39s pro debut matched what he did at UCLA. He put together consistent at-bats and rarely swung and missed, but he didn&#39t hit the ball particularly hard. He will have to rework his swing if he wants to hit for more power. His approach is contact-oriented, and his swing doesn&#39t generate much of a load, but it does leave him able to control the barrel of the bat. He rarely fails to make contact, but he also posts modest exit velocities. Defensively, McLain makes all the plays at shortstop, he just doesn&#39t always look like he does it easily. There&#39s effort and a lack of fluidity to McLain&#39s actions, but he has soft hands and an above-average arm that&#39s enough to stay at the position. He also played center field as a freshman at UCLA and would fit there or at second base if needed.
  
  The Future: Much like fellow Reds prospect Nick Lodolo, McLain is the kind of steady, solid contributor who is viewed as a relatively safe first-round pick. He&#39s unlikely to ever be a regular all-star, but he should be a solid big leaguer. A return to High-A Dayton is possible to start the season, but he should spend much of 2022 at Double-A.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 60. Power: 40. Run: 60. Field: 50. Arm: 55.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: A two-time first-round pick, McLain spurned the D-backs as the 25th pick in the 2018 draft—he was the fast riser in a high school shortstop class that also included Brice Turang and Xavier Edwards. McLain’s father was a college football player at UCLA, his mother was a college softball and volleyball player and his brothers Sean and Nick play baseball at Arizona State and UCLA, respectively.
  
  Scouting Report: McLain’s pro debut matched what he did at UCLA. He put together consistent at-bats and rarely swung and missed, but he didn’t hit the ball particularly hard. He will have to rework his swing if he wants to hit for more power. His approach is contact-oriented, and his swing doesn’t generate much of a load, but it does leave him able to control the barrel of the bat. He rarely fails to make contact, but he also posts modest exit velocities. Defensively, McLain makes all the plays at shortstop, he just doesn’t always look like he does it easily. There’s effort and a lack of fluidity to McLain’s actions, but he has soft hands and an above-average arm that’s enough to stay at the position. He also played center field as a freshman at UCLA and would fit there or at second base if needed.
  
  The Future: Much like fellow Reds prospect Nick Lodolo, McLain is the kind of steady, solid contributor who is viewed as a relatively safe first-round pick. He’s unlikely to be a regular all-star, but he should be a solid big leaguer. A return to High-A Dayton is possible to start the season, but he should spend much of 2022 at Double-A.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  McLain was the biggest riser in the 2018 draft class after a huge senior season at Beckman (Calif.) High. The D-backs drafted him 25th overall, but he was strongly committed to UCLA and did not sign. McLain rebounded from a poor freshman season for the Bruins with a strong showing in the Cape Cod League and the abbreviated 2020 season. He followed up with his best season as a junior this spring, batting .323/.429/.569 with nine home runs during the regular season despite missing nearly three weeks with a broken thumb. McLain is undersized at a listed 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, but he is a dangerous hitter who is strong in his frame. He has a short, direct swing and consistently lines balls hard from gap to gap. He has a knack for finding the barrel, separates balls from strikes and rarely chases outside the strike zone. He is a consensus above-average to plus hitter and projects to hit at the top of a lineup for a first-division team. The only question about McLain's offensive game is how much power he will produce. Though he hit for power in college, his fringe-average raw power will likely translate more to doubles with a wood bat and limit him to 10-15 home runs per season. He has plus speed and consistently runs hard to beat out infield singles and leg out doubles and triples. McLain played shortstop the last two seasons at UCLA and is playable there, but he lacks the natural actions for the position and projects better at second base. Some teams prefer him in center field, where he played as a freshman, and others think he projects best as a multi-positional player who bounces around the diamond. He is an instinctive defender who positions himself well, gets good reads off the bat and has above-average arm strength at any position.