Chris McMahon - Scouting Report


Rank History
Year Team Position Team Rank OFP
2021 COL RHP 2 50

Grades Update: Nov 2020
OFP Role FB SL CH Cnt/Cmd
50 50 50 55 70 60/55

Nov 2020 Report

Evaluator: Geoff Pontes

Age: 22 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 217 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2020 Draft - Round 2
RuleV: 2023

Physical Description: Broad-shouldered, physically mature build, maxed out body, but good physique should maintain long term with some normal conditioning. Good pitcher's build with strength throughout.

Delivery & Mechanics: Easy operation, with minimal moving parts, slight side-step, moderate leg lift, with a front-side close off pre-handbrake. Generates good drive from his back leg with minimal effort throughout his delivery. Three quarters arm action, longer arm stroke, not the most natural arm motion, with sub-six foot release point. Clean mechanics, repeatable motion, with minimal deception.

Fastball: Average pitch, the four-seam sits 91-95 mph touching 97 mph at peak, fringe average vertical movement on the pitch, with a very pedestrian movement profile, averaging in the neighborhood of 16 vMov, 9 hMov, from a 1:30 tilt. It's a high efficiency fastball, but the generic tilt and lack of plus velocity from a right handed starter make it just an average offering that plays heavily off of the changeup. Would need to add 2-3 mph in velocity and alter the tilt closer to 1:15 to maximize efficiency in order to really overcome it's current average state. Grade: 50

Slider: Above average pitch, transitioned from a cutter to a more traditional slider following the 2019 season. Good velocity in the 82-85 mph range with gyro spin and slight drop and sweep. It breaks off his changeup while doing a similar job of killing lift. It's a swing and miss pitch and gives him a true secondary weapon. Command still comes and goes, and he will still manipulate his grip to get more cutter action at slightly elevated velocity. It's fringe-plus. Grade: 55

Changeup: Elite pitch, sold with good arm speed and mimicked fastball release. Does an excellent job of killing vertical lift, and generates nearly 17 inches of run on average. He's a heavy pronator, getting near screwball-like movement on the pitch. Can almost be categorized as a reverse slider. It dominates left-handed batters running off the plate when thrown to the middle of the zone. Has a 12-15 mph separation on fastball and changeup sitting 79-82 mph. One of the best pitches in the organization. Grade: 70

Control and Command: Consistent strike thrower, shows the ability to pound the zone with all three pitches. Has the ability to manipulate his slider, working in his former cutter grip to give batters a different look the second time through. Very good command of his fastball, throwing it effectively to all four quadrants. Historically had been an average strike thrower heading into the spring of 2020, but took a step forward into plus or better territory with his partial season performance. Walked just five batters across 25 innings this spring. Control: 60 | Command: 55

Overall: A strong college track record was buoyed by improved stuff and strike throwing during his draft Spring, pushing McMahon into the top 50 on draft day. He features a true double plus weapon in his changeup with the metrics to back it, and pairs that with an above average slider he's begun to master his feel for. His fastball isn't bad, simply very average, but his control and feel for the pitch allow it to set up his secondary weapons with early count strikes. A backend starter profile with the body, mechanics, and secondaries to have a chance to push into mid-rotation territory.

OFP: 50
Role: 50 -#4 or #5 Starter
Risk: Moderate