So since I had the chance to talk to several players the other day, I figured I’d write about all of them, instead of just one (More Interviews!). For my next couple of blogs, I’ll give you the inside scoop on five more Rays prospects. I’ll start out with a group of pitchers — Brendan McKay, Tanner Dodson, and Shane McClanahan.
At the major league level, one of the best things the Rays have going for them is all the versatility that exists on the team. Several guys can play multiple positions, giving manager Kevin Cash a ton of flexibility when it comes to making the lineup. And that quality 100 percent holds true within the minor league system. What’s interesting, though, is not all of them have the typical versatility we’ve become accustomed to seeing. Two-way players McKay and Dodson bring a unique element to the table. Both are pitchers who also play the field and bat. Rays director of minor league operations Mitch Lukevics is very optimistic about each of these guys. He says he’s excited about their talents, as well as their determination to pull off being two-way players at the major league level.
Brendan McKay, 1B/LHP — .232 AVG/.295 OBP/.368 SLG/1.93 ERA (Bowling Green/Charlotte/GCL Rays)
McKay has had a tendency of making his presence known throughout his career. It dates back to his college days where he received countless awards and honors, and especially when he became the highest drafted player out of the University of Louisville in program history after being selected fourth overall in 2017. He was drafted as a two-way player, which is something not many players can do and hardly any teams try to do. Despite this, he, along with Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, went on to become the first players ever on two of MLB.com’s top 10 position lists in the same offseason (№1 1B/№5 LHP).
Following the 2018 season, McKay is now the №3 prospect in the Rays system and Baseball America’s №47 overall. Oblique injuries plagued the Pennsylvania native last season, forcing him to take two trips to the DL, which ended up hindering his season batting stats. But through it all, he still managed to post decent numbers on the pitching side. Learning how to best take care of himself and minimize stress on his body are things the lefty is looking forward to in 2019. To try to help with this, the Rays announced he won’t be playing first base this season, and instead, will be the DH. A little bit of a smaller workload will hopefully also help with his mental focus — something McKay says he knows he needs to have throughout the season.
Lukevics also speaks to the importance of the mental aspect of the game, and he says he believes McKay has both the physical and mental skills he needs to hopefully one day take him to the majors.
Tanner Dodson, OF/RHP — .273 AVG/.344 OBP/.369 SLG/1.44 ERA (Hudson Valley)
Dodson will likely be the beneficiary of McKay paving the way for two-way players in the organization. The former UC Berkely Bear is a year behind McKay in the process and has the luxury of knowing what worked (and what didn’t) for him. Dodson says he’s very appreciative of this.
While Dodson and McKay are both two-way players, they’re still pretty different, with Dodson being thinner and an outfielder. But even still, Lukevics says the team has learned a lot from working with Brendan that they’ll apply when it comes to Tanner.
During the 2018 season, Dodson worked 25 innings in nine games, leading to a 1–0 record and one save. He allowed just four earned runs and picked up 25 strikeouts. As it stands now, the righty is the №16 prospect in the Rays system and №6 in the New York-Penn league, according to Baseball America. He also earned their honor of Best Outfield Arm in the organization.
When it comes to the 2019 season, Dodson is excited about playing a longer season and says he’s hopeful he can continue to improve in every aspect of his game.
Shane McClanahan, LHP — 0.00 ERA/4 G/7 IP/13 K (GCL Rays/Princeton)
McClanahan isn’t a two-way player like the previous two pitchers, but he’s still very highly touted. He was the 31st overall pick in the 2018 draft, and following the season, Baseball America ranked him the №12 prospect in the Rays system, in addition to giving him the honor of Best Fastball in the organization.
The 21-year-old has come a long way since the 2016 season that he missed while he recovered from Tommy John surgery. He says he’s looking forward to continuing to grow and eventually reaching his ultimate goal of playing in the big leagues.
After suffering from such a tough injury, he’s very grateful for the position he’s in today. And while he himself has immense talent and could one day contribute a lot to the organization, he says he loves being a part of such a great group of young guys with so many skills.
As a former USF Bull, last Tuesday night’s matchup between the Rays and South Florida was extremely exciting for the young pitcher. The Rays’ lineup was made up of mostly minor leaguers, with the majority of big-league guys already having played in a split squad game in Fort Myers. This meant McClanahan was in uniform and had the chance to play against his former teammates. Prior to the game, he said he was expecting it to be a great experience and a good game.
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