Highly touted prospect Brendan McKay is headed to the Tampa Bay Rays — potentially as a first baseman.
McKay doubles as a slugging first baseman and a left-handed pitcher for the Louisville Cardinals, and there had been some dispute as to what position he’d play professionally. When MLB announced the pick, they called McKay as a first baseman.
While it’s unclear if that was an indication of the Rays’ intent for how they will use the talented player, it seems as if McKay’s first chance to make it will be as a hitter.
McKay, great two-way performer at Louisville, was logical for rays. Most figure he'll be used as hitter 1st. TB may have bat in mind anyway
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 12, 2017
McKay has a 2.15 ERA over three years at Louisville, racking up 385 strikeouts in 310.1 innings with a high-octane fastball. It’s easy to see why pitching would be a tempting path. But the bat plays — he’s hitting .343 with 17 home runs in 2017, including a four-homer performance back in April.
UPDATE: It turns out the Rays will let McKay go both ways for now.
#Rays are going to let McKay play both, pitch and play 1B
— Roger Mooney (@RogerMooney50) June 13, 2017
#Rays GM Neander: "Let him put a cap on what he can do."
— Roger Mooney (@RogerMooney50) June 13, 2017
#Rays 1st pick McKay said he will take playing 2-ways as far he can.
— Roger Mooney (@RogerMooney50) June 13, 2017
