Chicago Cubs Draft: Chris McMahon is next Aaron Nola

Desperate for pitching, Chris McMahon has been climbing up draft boards. If the Chicago Cubs take him 16th overall, he would be well worth it.

To no one’s surprise, the Chicago Cubs were top-heavy selecting pitching talent in the 2019 MLB Draft. After all, they lose 60 percent of the rotation after this season and with the top pitching prospect at least two years away from seeing Wrigley Field, it makes sense to add as much talent as possible.

I expect Theo Epstein and company will have the same approach in this year’s draft. With the 16th overall pick, the Cubs have several directions they can go. There is a plethora of top pitching talent that will be available to them when they are officially on the clock. One guy that has recently been picking up steam has been University of Miami’s Chris McMahon.

Background

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 205 pounds

Throws: R

Bats: R

McMahon was previously drafted in the 33rd round by the Atlanta Braves in the 2017 MLB Draft out of West Chester Rustin High School. However, the two sides failed to reach a deal, and the Pennsylvania native was headed off to the U. In his first season on campus, he made six appearances – including four starts – and struck out 18 batters in 26.1 innings.

The following year, McMahon had a breakout year as Miami’s Saturday starter. He posted a 3.73 ERA while striking out 67 in 60.1 innings. He made the start for the Hurricanes in the Starkville Regional Opener against Central Michigan, striking out five in 4.1 innings.

He likely could have gone longer in that game, but an error at first base kept the fifth inning alive for the Chippewas, and manager Gino DiMare ultimately opted for his bullpen in a close game. Prior to the shutdown, McMahon was off to a terrific start this year, striking out 38 in 25.2 innings while posting a 1.05 ERA.

Strengths

McMahon throws gas often touching the high 90s, but his fastball regularly sits in the mid-90s. He has an above-average slider – demonstrated in his 12K dominant performance against Towson earlier this year – and a changeup that has the deceptive appearance of his fastball.

He has all the makings of a front-end of the rotation pitcher and rarely gives up the long ball.

Weaknesses

He’ll likely need to develop another pitch, and he’s reportedly dabbled in learning a cutter. I’d like to see him reduce the number of walks. He has a simple delivery from the 3/4 arm slot, which makes it easy to repeat throughout a start and was on track to improve the number of free passes before the pandemic shut everything down.

Pro Comparison

McMahon reminds me a lot of Aaron Nola. The latter has a little bit of a higher leg kick, but there’s no denying the similarities in their stats from last season.

Nola: 7.8 H/9, 1.2 HR/9, 10.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9

McMahon: 7.5 H/9, 0.3 HR/9, 10.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9

If the Miami product follows a similar path as Nola, the Cubs will be in a great position going forward with Kyle Hendricks, Yu Darvish, Brailyn Marquez, and McMahon as their top four starters in the rotation.