ESPN's Keith Law: Rays' Two-Way McKay a better hitter than Ohtani
Seven months after being drafted with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, Brendan "Two-Way" McKay will have another year to develop, while fellow two-way star Shohei Ohtani will make his impression on the majors as soon as Opening Day. Less than a year younger than his Los Angeles Angels counterpart, McKay's progression through the minors could be informed by Ohtani's usage on the other side of the country.
Despite being regarded as top-rated pitching and hitting prospects, McKay and Ohtani are by no means perfect facsimiles of each other. McKay is a left-handed pitcher, Ohtani is a righty. McKay plays first base, two-way Shohei is an outfielder. One difference stands out among the rest, though - that is, if ESPN's Keith Law's keen scouting eye can be trusted.
"McKay is a better hitting prospect," Law said on a conference call Wednesday as he discussed his top-100 prospect rankings. It's part of why he believes Ohtani's usage with the Angels won't affect the way the Tampa Bay Rays use McKay; they're different players.
"Ohtani's likely outcome: he's a pitcher," Law added. "Maybe if he had developed full time as a hitter or he never threw another pitch we could talk about his hitting future, but he's nowhere near as good as a hitting prospect as McKay is."
Law's glowing scouting report of McKay, the 28th-best prospect in baseball on his list, didn't stop there.
"McKay could say tomorrow, 'I don't ever want to throw a pitch again,' and he'd still be somewhere in the same range on my prospect list on my rankings because he's got enough potential to hit for average, hit for power, and play first base."
The 23-year-old Ohtani, whom Law didn't rank among his top prospects due to his experience in Nippon Professional Baseball, is considered a more complete pitcher by the senior ESPN writer and former Toronto Blue Jays executive.
"For the Angels, letting Ohtani hit from time to time is probably more about keeping the player happy, whereas with the Rays, you really could develop this guy either way and they're probably going to have to try to balance that over the course of this first year and not overwork the player - just not get fatigued - to still explore both possibilities, because there's enough potential either way and you don't want to close that door.
"You would not want to send McKay out just as a pitcher and permanently close the door on him being a position player. And I have a feeling that, maybe in a year or so, (the Rays will) decide, 'Well, we have to just go one direction to further his development,' but this first full year in pro ball is probably going to be a lot about exploration and seeing, now against better competition, how far is he along on both aspects of his game."
For the purposes of narrative, Ohtani and McKay could be inextricably linked based on their two-way resumes. Whenever McKay breaks into the big leagues - if it's as a two-way player - we can guarantee there will be comparisons to Ohtani's 2018 campaign.
Ohtani came over from Japan early this offseason and immediately began a recruitment war around MLB. With the paydays of international free agents under 25 restricted by the recent collective bargaining agreement, he and his agent sent baseball into a frenzy, requesting written explanations of how he'd fit with each prospective club. After narrowing it down to finalists and meeting with a handful of teams, the Angels signed Ohtani to a minor-league deal with a reported signing bonus of $2.315 million.
For McKay, it'll be an uphill battle to become a major-league player on both sides of the ball. He's rated the top first-base prospect in baseball, while simultaneously sliding in as the fifth-best left-handed pitching farmhand, according to MLB Pipeline.
McKay doesn't boast the same leverage Ohtani did this offseason to secure a job with a team willing to use him in a dual role. Even Ohtani couldn't have playing time in the field guaranteed. His plate appearances will require him to be the designated hitter, after Angels GM Billy Eppler said he didn't anticipate using their star acquisition in the outfield.
Of course, the Rays - often considered one of the more forward-thinking front offices in baseball - seem to have treated his progression with an open mind through his limited work. In 149 plate appearances with Low-A Hudson Valley, the 22-year-old McKay posted a .232/.349/.376 slash line with 21 walks, four home runs, and a pair of stolen bases. Meanwhile, on the mound, he threw 20 innings over six starts and posted a sterling 1.80 ERA.
Regardless of whether either prospect lives up to the astronomical hype that surrounds them, following the ascent of a pair of young phenoms who are doing something baseball fans haven't seen in more than a generation will be exciting. Shohei vs. McKay: Who will own the nickname "two-way?"