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Blue Jays Trade Espinal to the Reds for Chris McElvain

Jays24

By Jays24
in Toronto Blue Jays Talk

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Spanky99 GOAT

Spanky99

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BA scouting report...

 

School: Vanderbilt Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted

 

Age At Draft: 21.8

 

BA Grade: 35/High

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: - | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 50

 

McElvain committed to Vanderbilt before he threw a pitch in high school and in 2022 he stepped into the Friday night starter role for the team after pitching out of the bullpen in 2020 and 2021. In his first stint as a full-time starter with Vandy, McElvain posted a 4.27 ERA over 86.1 innings with 100 strikeouts (26.8 K%) and 44 walks (11.8 BB%). A 6-foot, 205-pound righthander, McElvain is a strike thrower with average stuff across the board, headlined by a fastball that sits around 92 mph and gets up to 95 with good carry and the induced vertical break numbers to back it up. McElvain throws a slider in the low 80s and has also added an upper-80s cutter this spring, with a fringe-average changeup in the mid 80s as well. Analytically-inclined teams will like the characteristics of McElvain’s fastball and a strong track record of control dating back to his high school days—though his walk rates are a bit higher than his reputation as a control artist—while more traditional scouting teams could be more skeptical about the impact of his stuff and his overall upside potential.

Terminator All-Star

Terminator

Old-Timey Member
Posted
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41. Chris McElvain, SP

Drafted: 8th Round, 2022 from Vanderbilt (CIN)

Age 22.3 Height 6′ 0″ Weight 205 Bat /Thr R/R FV 35+

Tool Grades (Present/Future)

Fastball Slider Changeup Command Sits/Tops

40/45 55/60 30/50 30/45 89-93 / 95

McElvain spent his first couple of years at Vanderbilt in the bullpen, then moved to the rotation in his draft year. He has a plus two-plane breaking ball and his fastball plays up due to its riding life, but it isn’t hard enough to miss bats within the zone, so McElvain needs to live above the zone to avoid getting hurt. For this reason, he was walk-prone in 2022, but his command actually isn’t bad — it’s just what he has to do to get by. Because he’s so new to a rotation, he may just be scratching the surface in some pitchability areas (that’s where the changeup projection is derived from here), but Vanderbilt isn’t a school that tends to leave developmental meat on the bone, and it’s rare for pitchers moving from the ‘pen to the rotation to add velocity, something McElvain will ideally do. The Reds didn’t send him to an affiliate after the draft, so he’s poised to be rested for the start of 2023, important context to keep in mind if he’s throwing harder at the onset of camp.

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/cincinnati-reds-top-46-prospects-2023/

Jays24 New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Jays24

Old-Timey Member
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Posted (edited)
This might be the first Atkins trade that no one bitches about

 

Wait wait.. let me give it a shot lol.

 

Omg, I can't believe we traded the World Series MVP in Steve Pearce to the Red Sox for this scrub. What a disaster move to help a rival that was.

Edited by Jays24
Carlos Danger Dunedin Blue Jays

Carlos Danger

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted
BA scouting report...

 

School: Vanderbilt Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted

 

Age At Draft: 21.8

 

BA Grade: 35/High

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: - | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 50

 

McElvain committed to Vanderbilt before he threw a pitch in high school and in 2022 he stepped into the Friday night starter role for the team after pitching out of the bullpen in 2020 and 2021. In his first stint as a full-time starter with Vandy, McElvain posted a 4.27 ERA over 86.1 innings with 100 strikeouts (26.8 K%) and 44 walks (11.8 BB%). A 6-foot, 205-pound righthander, McElvain is a strike thrower with average stuff across the board, headlined by a fastball that sits around 92 mph and gets up to 95 with good carry and the induced vertical break numbers to back it up. McElvain throws a slider in the low 80s and has also added an upper-80s cutter this spring, with a fringe-average changeup in the mid 80s as well. Analytically-inclined teams will like the characteristics of McElvain’s fastball and a strong track record of control dating back to his high school days—though his walk rates are a bit higher than his reputation as a control artist—while more traditional scouting teams could be more skeptical about the impact of his stuff and his overall upside potential.

 

I would have been happy with a bag of balls or not cared if he was DFAd. However, getting a pitcher with great control is a good deal. All the other stuff can be worked on, but control is the most elusive.

Laika Cooperstown

Laika

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted
I wonder if the injury to McClain is worse than letting on…

 

Sounds like it.

Spanky99 GOAT

Spanky99

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted
Wait wait.. let me give it a shot lol.

 

Omg, I can't believe we traded the World Series MVP to the Red Sox for this scrub. What a disaster move to help a rival that was.

 

Red Sox? :P

Spanky99 GOAT

Spanky99

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted
I would have been happy with a bag of balls or not cared if he was DFAd. However, getting a pitcher with great control is a good deal. All the other stuff can be worked on, but control is the most elusive.

 

Yeah, back of rotation upside for Espy is very good at this stage in the game, very nice deal by Ross.

glory Vancouver Canadians

glory

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted
Nice move. Espinal needed to be traded so thankfully they found a taker. If the Reds took his whole salary then even better.
G-Snarls Cooperstown

G-Snarls

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted
To the Reds is surprising

 

Yeah. The Reds seemed to have a surplus of infielders until all of a sudden they didn't.

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