McLain went 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a steal in Sunday's win over the Cubs.
McLain capped off his big week with a bang, tallying multiple hits for the third straight game while also notching his first big league steal. Over the last seven games, the 23-year-old has gone 15-for-31 with two homers, seven RBI, nine runs and a 3:6 BB:K. McClain has strictly hit out of the two spot across 12 starts thus far and is contributing to what is becoming a dangerous hitting trio at the top of the order with Jonathan India and Spencer Steer.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Matt McLain's first full week in the majors went about as well as it possibly could, with him collecting multiple hits in five of his last seven games. It's premature to say he's the real deal given his underwhelming exit velocity readings (as expected) and his high strikeout rate (not expected). But a start like this makes for justifiable enthusiasm after the way he performed in the minors, batting .348 with 12 homers, 10 steals and an 1.184 OPS. Shortstop can be a difficult position to fill off the waiver wire, so it's better not to think too hard about it and just snatch up McLain before someone else does.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Continues hot hitting
Rotowire
McLain went 3-for-5 with a walk and a run scored in Friday's 9-0 victory over the Cubs.
All three knocks were singles in the first three-hit game of the rookie's career. The shortstop has been a consistent offensive threat since being called up in mid-May, hitting safely in eight of his first 10 big-league games. Over his last five appearances, McLain has totaled nine hits (four for extra bases), five RBI, three walks and six runs scored across 24 at-bats. For the moment, he appears to be the Reds' everyday shortstop, as Jose Barrero has started playing more outfield with Wil Myers (illness) on the injured list.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Goes yard for second straight day
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-5 with a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 10-3 win over the Cardinals.
One day after launching his first career homer, McLain went yard again, although this time he got some help -- his drive to the wall in right field during the fourth inning bounced off the glove of a leaping Oscar Mercado and hopped over the fence. McLain has quickly shown his stellar numbers at Triple-A this season were no fluke, batting .281 (9-for-32) through his first eight big-league games with four doubles and two home runs, though his 4:14 BB:K indicates he will need to make some adjustments down the road.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Launches first big-league homer
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Cardinals.
The rookie launched his first career homer in the third inning, driving a two-run shot the other way to right field off Adam Wainwright. McLain was also caught stealing for the first time in the majors, but the 23-year-old shortstop has otherwise had a solid start to his big-league career, batting .259 (7-for-27) through seven games with three doubles, five RBI and seven runs.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Gets breather Wednesday
Rotowire
McLain is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus the Rockies.
McLain will get a breather after he went 2-for-8 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored, a walk and four strikeouts over his first two major-league games. Jose Barrero will draw the start at shortstop and bat eighth in the series finale with Colorado.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Batting second in debut
Rotowire
McLain will start at shortstop and bat second in his big-league deubt Monday in Colorado.
The lineup placement is a favorable one for McLain, who should be a popular DFS option Monday while the Reds face a right-hander (Connor Seabold) at a hitter-friendly park. The rookie infielder earned a promotion to the majors after contributing a .346/.464/.713 slash line with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases across 168 plate appearances with Triple-A Louisville this season.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Officially added to roster
Rotowire
The Reds selected McLain's contract from Triple-A Louisville on Monday.
McLain is expected to take over as the Reds' primary shortstop while also seeing the occasional start at second base. He slashed .346/.464/.713 to go with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases across 168 plate appearances with Louisville this season and will get to break in at the major-league level at Coors Field for his first series. McLain is worth rostering in most formats where he might be available.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Joining MLB club Monday
Rotowire
The Reds will select McLain's contract form Triple-A Louisville prior to Monday's game in Colorado, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
McLain is one of several quality infield prospects in the Cincinnati system, and the 23-year-old has dominated the International League with a slash line of .346/.464/.713 to go with 12 homers and 10 stolen bases across 168 plate appearances. A first-round selection out of UCLA in 2021, McLain should receive immediate regular playing time with the Reds, and while there may be an adjustment period in his first taste of major-league pitching, he's talented enough to be worth rostering in the majority of redraft formats. He's most likely to settle in as the Reds' everyday shortstop, given that the team has struggled to get much production at the position from Jose Barrero and Kevin Newman this season.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Strong opening act at Triple-A
Rotowire
McLain has a .284/.429/.567 slash line with five home runs, six steals and a 19:15 K:BB in 20 games with Triple-A Louisville.
McLain had a 1.049 OPS after his first 20 games at Double-A last season and he proceeded to hit .219 with 106 strikeouts over his final 83 games, so we don't want to overreact to this small sample. However, his 22.6 percent strikeout rate and 17.9 percent walk rate are very encouraging marks, as are his 31.9 percent hard-hit rate and 52.1 percent flyball rate. McLain has made 15 starts at shortstop and four starts at second base.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Reassigned to minor-league camp
Rotowire
McLain was reassigned Tuesday to the minor-league side of Reds camp.
McLain had been one of the standouts this spring in major-league camp, but he'll get at least a little seasoning at Triple-A Louisville before the Reds consider calling him up to the big leagues. He finished out the 2022 campaign at Double-A Chattanooga. The 23-year-old infielder went as the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of UCLA.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Heating up recently
Rotowire
McLain has hit .292/.514/.625 with two homers, three steals and an 11:11 BB:K across his last seven games for Double-A Chattanooga.
He'd been slumping pretty badly before this stretch, posting a meager .617 OPS with zero homers over his prior 16 contests. It's been a hot-and-cold season for McLain, but with 17 homers, 27 steals and an .808 OPS in 103 games, he's been able to raise his prospect profile significantly. The caveat, of course, is that he's hitting .229 with a 28.1 percent strikeout rate. It's hard to see him succeeding in the majors without making significant adjustments to cut down on the whiffs.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Activated from 7-day IL
Rotowire
McLain (wrist) was activated from the 7-day injured list Friday, Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com reports.
The 22-year-old will be active with Double-A Chattanooga for the first time since late June, joining Elly De La Cruz in the infield. McLain has produced a .233 average with 12 homers, 35 RBI, 42 runs and 16 stolen bases over 219 at-bats in 59 games with Chattanooga this year.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Could return from IL next week
Rotowire
McLain, who is on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Chattanooga with a wrist injury, is expected to return to action at some point next week, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.
Once McLain is ready to play again, he'll be joined in the Chattanooga infield by top prospect Elly De La Cruz, who was promoted from High-A Dayton on Wednesday. De La Cruz bounced between shortstop and third base during his time at Dayton and is expected to continue seeing reps at both positions, which should allow a healthy McLain to see consistent time at the two middle-infield spots. Before he was deactivated in late June, McLain slashed .233/.349/.461 with 12 home runs and 16 stolen bases across 261 plate appearances for the Double-A club.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Hits shelf at Double-A
Rotowire
Double-A Chattanooga placed McLain on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
The Reds haven't provided an explanation behind McLain's placement on the IL, but he hadn't played in either of Chattanooga's past two games after apparently getting hurt Thursday against Tennessee. For the season, the 22-year-old infielder is hitting .233 with 12 home runs and a 16-for-17 success rate on stolen-base attempts across 261 plate appearances at Double-A.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Flashing skills in Double-A
Rotowire
McLain is hitting .278/.365/.593 with three homers, three steals, 12 RBI and 13 runs across 15 games for Double-A Chattanooga.
After a solid pro debut in High-A last year, the Reds moved McLain somewhat aggressively to Double-A, and he's rewarded them with a productive start to the year. The UCLA product's strikeout rate has ticked up a bit, but it's not in concerning territory, especially while he's hitting the ball this hard -- he's racked up four doubles and a pair of triples to go with his trio of long balls. We'll see whether he can maintain this level of power output; if so, it'll lift his prospect profile considerably, as he already boasts an above-average hit tool and good speed.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Gets camp invitation
Rotowire
McLain was invited to the Reds' big-league camp Friday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
McLain was selected 17th overall in last year's draft and went on to hit .273/.387/.424 in 29 games for High-A Dayton. While he still has two more levels of the minors to conquer before he pushes for his debut, he'll get the chance to work with the big-league coaching staff for a few weeks this spring.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Assigned to High-A
Rotowire
McLain debuted for High-A Dayton on Wednesday, starting at shortstop while going 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and five RBI.
McLain, the No. 17 overall pick in July's first-year player draft, appeared in two games for the Reds' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate before Cincinnati assigned him to High-A. The fact that McLain is bypassing Low-A entirely isn't completely shocking, given that he was regarded as one of the more advanced hitters of his draft class following a three-year college career at UCLA. A move to second base or center field may be in the cards for McLain down the road, but his excellent hit tool, plus baserunning skills and burgeoning pop make him an intriguing player to monitor in dynasty leagues.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Goes 17th overall to Reds
Rotowire
The Reds have selected McLain with the 17th overall pick in the 2021 first-year player draft.
As with most college shortstops with good hit tools, McClain's profile is otherwise lacking in clear impact potential. He can handle shortstop but may fit better at second base or center field. At 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, there are concerns about how much power will come with what could be a high batting average. When he hits a home run, he is typically top-spinning a grooved fastball up in the zone or hitting a wall scraper to the opposite field. He hit .333/.434/.579 with nine home runs, nine steals (on 10 attempts) and a 34:34 K:BB in 47 games as a junior at UCLA. If the hit tool is as good as advertised, McClain's defensive versatility and plus speed will allow him to play almost every day and chip in around 20 steals. However, a potential swing change in pro ball designed to unlock more power could compromise his hit tool, so the eventual offensive output is fluid.
