Matt McLain

Matt McLain

25-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
Cincinnati Reds
60-Day IL
Injury Shoulder
Est. Return 2/1/2025
2024 Fantasy Outlook
McLain showed the makings of an incredibly well-rounded player in 89 games as a rookie before an oblique injury ended his season at the end of August. Following his mid-May call-up, McLain slashed .290/.357/.507 with 16 home runs and 14 steals in 19 attempts, briefly putting himself in the Rookie of the Year conversation alongside Corbin Carroll. Statcast throws some cold water on his debut, saying he overperformed his batting average by 35 points (.255 xBA) and his slugging by a whopping 72 points (.435 xSLG). His strikeout and walk rates leave something to be desired (28.5 K%, 7.7 BB%), but McLain showed better plate skills in the minors and should put more balls in play moving forward at the super-hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. Despite the caveats, the Reds have to be excited about what the 2021 first-round pick showed in his first exposure to big-league pitching. McLain is also a plus defender and enters 2024 with eligibility at both shortstop and second base. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#107
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Reds in March of 2024.
Not expected back in 2024
2BCincinnati Reds
Shoulder
September 13, 2024
McLain (shoulder/rib) is unlikely to return before the end of the season, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Manager David Bell noted Friday that McLain has started swinging a bat again, but there simply aren't enough games left on the schedule for him to realistically rejoin the Reds. The 25-year-old infielder has been held out of action all season while recovering from shoulder surgery and a stress reaction in his rib cage, and it now seems he'll turn his focus to getting ready for spring training.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
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Scoring
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+21%
OPS vs LHP
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
+21%
OPS vs LHP
2022
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .995 101 17 6 17 5 .326 .386 .609
Since 2022vs Right .820 302 48 10 33 9 .278 .348 .473
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left .995 101 17 6 17 5 .326 .386 .609
2023vs Right .820 302 48 10 33 9 .278 .348 .473
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+26%
OPS at Home
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
+26%
OPS at Home
2022
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .977 181 32 10 26 5 .304 .381 .596
Since 2022Away .774 222 33 6 24 9 .279 .338 .436
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home .977 181 32 10 26 5 .304 .381 .596
2023Away .774 222 33 6 24 9 .279 .338 .436
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Matt McLain See More
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
McLain hit seven homers and stole seven bases while hitting .271 in his first 23 games at Double-A. From there, he hit .217 with 10 home runs and 20 steals, and his elevated strikeout rate and elevated walk rate remained stable. The generously-listed 5-foot-11 middle infielder (likely to end up at second base) didn't chase at an alarming clip, but he also didn't swing enough at pitches in the zone, and when he did swing, he was taking mighty hacks and making contact at a poor 65.8% clip. The hope with McLain when the Reds selected him with the 17th overall pick in 2021 was that he would have at least an above-average hit tool with plus speed and sneaky power. Unfortunately, it seems like McLain is trying to be a three-true outcome hitter without possessing plus raw power, and he is less appealing in fantasy because of it. The Reds now have an abundance of infield prospect depth, and McLain doesn't rank among the best of the bunch.
The Reds gave McLain the ninth-largest bonus in the 2021 draft ($4.625 million) after selecting him with the 17th-overall pick. His hit tool and plus speed are the top selling points, but he has sneaky pop as well. 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. McLain was one of three first-round hitters to get tested with an assignment to High-A (Henry Davis and Sal Frelick were the others), and he handled himself quite well, logging a .273/.387/.424 slash line (127 wRC+), 20.2 K% and 14.3 BB%. He also stole 10 bases on 12 tries in 29 games. If the hit tool is as good as it seems, McClain's defensive versatility -- he can handle all three up-the-middle positions -- and plus speed will allow him to play almost every day and chip in around 20 steals. His eventual power output is TBD, but he could become a 15-20 homer threat, potentially settling in as a valuable five-category contributor with multi-position eligibility.
More Fantasy News
Resuming baseball activities
2BCincinnati Reds
Shoulder
September 5, 2024
McLain (shoulder/rib) is pain-free and has been cleared to resume baseball activities, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
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Still undergoing tests
2BCincinnati Reds
Shoulder
August 27, 2024
Reds manager David Bell said Tuesday that McLain (shoulder/rib) is still undergoing tests to determine the cause of the pain in his side, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
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Resuming baseball activities
2BCincinnati Reds
Shoulder
August 16, 2024
The Reds cleared McLain (shoulder/rib) to resume baseball activities Friday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
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Scratched from rehab assignment
2BCincinnati Reds
Shoulder
August 9, 2024
Reds manager David Bell told reporters Friday that McLain (shoulder/rib) will not begin his rehab assignment that was scheduled for Monday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Suffers rib cage stress reaction
2BCincinnati Reds
Shoulder
August 2, 2024
Reds manager David Bell said Friday that McLain (shoulder) recently suffered a stress reaction in his rib cage, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
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