Three Quarter Slot is still a one-man shop, so getting to every player trade and call up isn’t going to happen, but I will do my best to get as many as I can. I didn’t get to Nick Margevicius before his debut Saturday where he went 5+ innings allowing just three hits and a run without walking anyone, nor will I write up Chris Paddack before his debut today as my take on him is in the Padres Top 10 Prospect post this past week. Today I will highlight David McKay as he was called up with Hunter Strickland hitting the IL (I will mistakenly call it the DL several times this season) for the Seattle Mariners.
McKay is not an elite talent and may struggle to stick at the big league level, but there is some upside in the arm. He sits in the low 90s with a running fastball, although he misses high to the arm side more than you want to see. This comes in large part to the very low 3/4, bordering on side arm slot he releases the ball from that can see his fingers losing positioning on top of the ball.
The breaking ball is slurvy with a bump in it to make it look like a curve at times, but a late, sharp break to give it slider shape. He runs it into the low 80s and it can be inconsistent, but at its best can dive at a lefties feet allowing him to be successful against hitters on both sides of the plate.
The command is more control over command as he won’t walk a ton, but he won’t exactly hit the catcher’s glove all the time either. This comes from late effort and inconsistent arm/hand location in the delivery, although the cross-body action and movement on all pitches makes it effective in the lack of command. He will hang the breaking ball at times leading to hard hit balls, but when the fastball is at its best and the breaking ball is sharp, he can be hard to hit. I see him running through his options this year as he won’t stick in Seattle all season but will instead travel back and forth from Tacoma some and be a 4A arm.
THREE QUARTER SLOT 