Scouting Report
More from Tomahawk Take
- Braves News: New Year’s Eve comes with several questions about the 2023 Braves
- Braves News: How the Braves got their name, mailbag, more
- Atlanta Braves Mailbag: New Year’s Edition
- Braves News: Atlanta makes a pair of trades, prospect debuts, more
- Atlanta Braves History: How the Red Stockings became the Braves
I have very little to go on with McCreery, so I talked with a few folks I knew had seen McCreery last season and reviewed the few YouTube videos of his pitching that I could find. I also consulted a few pay sites to read what others had seen on him. This may not be the in depth report that you’re accustomed to around here, but I’m working with what I have!
McCreery is listed on B-Ref as 6’8 and 195, but none of the reports I find back that up, and the videos I find of him look much more like the report I found through Scout.com, which listed his weight at 245. The reports were from 240-260, but in looking at pictures and video, it’s not bad weight by any means.
He’s adjusted his pitching slot from almost a side arm in high school and at Arizona State to a more typical 3/4 delivery, and at his height from the left side, that’s a lethal angle to throw from for the hitter to pick up. His fastball has ticked back up to the mid-90s, even touching a reported 97 in one scouting report I found. He has two breaking balls, a slider that runs in the low 80s with late-breaking slider that works well in the low part of the zone and a sharp late-breaking curve that sits well in the middle of the zone. His change has all but been scrapped at this point as he has struggled to throw it well.
In the video I was able to view, it was obvious that the change in mechanics still is not natural for McCreery. He hit multiple landing spots in the videos I saw, but the bright spot is that his arm angle stayed consistent. When he does lose that good foot placement, however, the control goes with it, and he’s seen his control be an issue in the past.
The Braves will likely need to work with McCreery some, but this is a very nice template to start with, to say the least.
Next: Future outlook