Billy McKinney Stats & Scouting Report

AB	25
AVG	.2
OBP	.286
SLG	.24
HR	0

Full name William Landis McKinney
Born 08/23/1994 in Dallas, TX
Profile Ht.: 5'11" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Plano West
Debut 03/30/2018
Drafted in the 1st round (24th overall) by the Oakland Athletics in 2013 (signed for $1,800,000).

View Draft Report

McKinney has one of the sweetest swings in the 2013 draft, and he has hit his way into the first round with a strong spring. He generates excellent bat speed from the left side of the plate, and he barrels balls with ease thanks to his hand-eye coordination and disciplined approach. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder has strength and should grow into solid power. The rest of McKinney's tools are fringy to average, but his arm and speed play up because he goes all-out all the time. Scouts love his makeup and are confident that he'll provide the offense required on an outfield corner. Texas Christian holds on to many of its top recruits, but the Horned Frogs will likely lose McKinney when he goes in the second half of the first round.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: McKinney has been a high-profile prospect since the A's drafted in in the first round of the 2013 draft. He has bounced around since then, getting traded to the Cubs in 2014, the Yankees in 2016, and then last year traded to the Blue Jays alongside third baseman Brandon Drury for J.A. Happ. It was a strange year for McKinney, whose on-base percentage stayed under .300 in Triple-A, but he hit well when the Blue Jays brought him up to Toronto in August.

Scouting Report: McKinney's projection has dimmed since his early years in Oakland's farm system, but he still has a potential big league role. He has a loose, fluid swing from the left side and is a good fastball hitter, though he can get too aggressive swinging at breaking pitches. McKinney has average raw power and hit a career-best 22 home runs between the minors and majors in 2018, showing power from left-center field over to his pull side. McKinney began his career as a center fielder, but he's now a below-average runner with a fringe-average arm rotating between both outfield corner spots.

The Future: If McKinney hits like he did in his brief big league stint last year, he has a chance to become a fourth outfielder. He could also become an up-and-down guy bouncing between the big leagues and Triple-A, however.
No matter what happens in McKinney's career, he can always say he was part of a pair trades that helped the Cubs win their first World Series in 108 years. He was included with shortstop Addison Russell in the deal that sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland, and he was then sent to New York in the trade that brought closer Aroldis Chapman in for the stretch run. Now with the Yankees, he's on the cusp of the major leagues. He was a late addition to big league spring training after Tyler Austin broke his foot in the early going, and he responded by going 10-for-25 with three home runs. Once he was assigned to Double-A Trenton, he went into a prolonged slump for the season's first two months. In June, however, he began to bust out and was excellent in the second half of the season with Triple-A. He worked extensively throughout the year to keep a strong base and be consistent with his timing. Despite the strong numbers, scouts who saw McKinney with Scranton saw a lower energy player who looked lost against pitchers with even an average breaking ball. He improved his throwing mechanics in the outfield this year, and he takes solid routes to balls despite not being an above-average runner. The Yankees had McKinney begin working at first base in the Arizona Fall League because the emergence of Aaron Judge in New York has put up a major roadblock in the outfield. He's likely to return to Triple-A in 2018.
It only seems like the Cubs traded Jeff Samardzija to the Athletics for Addison Russell. They also acquired McKinney, Oakland's first-rounder in 2013, barely a year after he was drafted. He failed to finish either of his two full seasons healthy, with a sore shoulder limiting him to DH duty in 2014 and a broken right knee cap, the result of his own foul ball, sidelining him in August 2015. While it's not the smoothest swing, thanks to a bit of an arm bar, McKinney has excellent hand-eye coordination and strike-zone judgment, giving him plus hitting ability. He has fringy power, likely not enough to be an impact bat, and he struggled against lefthanders at Double-A Tennessee in 2015, hitting .212 with two extra-base hits in 85 at-bats. He's an average athlete and runner who can play all three outfield positions adequately, with a fringe-average arm that fits best in left field. McKinney excels at the game's most important skill--hitting. He'll either have to revert to his past success against same-side pitchers or improve his defense in center field to fit a first-division profile for the Cubs, who look set on the corners with Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber. A return to Tennessee seems likely.
The Cubs were stunned they were able to pry both Addison Russell and McKinney, the Athletics' top two prospects, away in the Jeff Samardzija/ Jason Hammel trade. Signed in 2013 for $1.8 million, McKinney jumped to high Class A Stockton for his first full season but hit better at Daytona in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League after the trade. It's all about the approach with McKinney, a polished hitter who is quiet in the box, with a balanced setup and good hands. He'll bar his swing at times but generally has as smooth path to the ball and isn't afraid to hit with two strikes, or to use the whole field. McKinney's pitch recognition and situational-hitting skills are other plusses, leading some evaluators to believe he may wind up with average or a tick above home run production. A sore shoulder limited McKinney to DH duty down the stretch in 2014, and his fringy arm strength limits him to left or center field anyway. He's an average runner. McKinney isn't a profile left fielder, but his Todd Hollandsworth/Rusty Greer skillset blends well with the rest of the Cubs' aggressive, powerful bats. He's headed to Double-A Tennessee as a 20-year-old in 2015.
The Athletics had not selected a prep hitter in the first round since Eric Chavez in 1996, but they went to that demographic in successive drafts by taking Addison Russell in 2012 and McKinney in 2013, signing the latter for $1.8 million. McKinney played through a dislocated shoulder his junior year while starring on the showcase circuit, then showed his offensive polish by hitting a combined .326/.387/.437 at two levels in his 2013 debut spent mostly in the Rookie-level Arizona League. It didn't take long for observers in pro ball to fall in love with his baseball aptitude and picturesque lefthanded swing. He shows advanced instincts both at the plate and in the field, with his tool set drawing Mark Kotsay comparisons. McKinney gets around on good fastballs but also has the bat control to handle offspeed stuff, and he hits balls hard from line to line. Scouts forecast his power to show up more down the road, projecting him for 15-20 homers. He doesn't have premium speed, but he's a good athlete and average runner. He gets good jumps and takes quality routes in the outfield, giving him a chance to stick in center field, though the pre-draft consensus was he'd have to move to a corner. His average could give him a chance in right if he can't stick in center, though many scouts see him as a left fielder. Though McKinney isn't bursting with elite tools, he doesn't have any real holes, either, and his quality work ethic helps his tools play. He starts the climb to Oakland at low Class A Beloit in 2014.

Draft Prospects

McKinney has one of the sweetest swings in the 2013 draft, and he has hit his way into the first round with a strong spring. He generates excellent bat speed from the left side of the plate, and he barrels balls with ease thanks to his hand-eye coordination and disciplined approach. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder has strength and should grow into solid power. The rest of McKinney's tools are fringy to average, but his arm and speed play up because he goes all-out all the time. Scouts love his makeup and are confident that he'll provide the offense required on an outfield corner. Texas Christian holds on to many of its top recruits, but the Horned Frogs will likely lose McKinney when he goes in the second half of the first round.

Minor League Top Prospects

The Cubs acquired McKinney, as well as high-profile shortstop prospect Addison Russell, from the Athletics in early July as part of the blockbuster Jeff Samardzija trade. While a shoulder injury limited McKinney to DH duty for much of August, he showed enough offensive ability in his FSL stint to make the top 20. McKinney is a pure hitter who in his first full pro season showed the ability to slow the game down and have quality at-bats in all situations. He doesn't fit a clean profile, because he's not a burner or true center fielder, and his modest arm strength makes him a better fit in left field than right. He has bat-to-ball skills and a mature plate approach, and he could be a plus hitter who draws walks enough to hit leadoff, though his speed is just average. Learning to loft the ball as he gains more experience will be the difference in whether McKinney is an impact corner bat or a player more along the lines of David Murphy.
McKinney followed in Addison Russell's footsteps as a high school first-round pick the Athletics sent straight to Stockton for his first full season. The second-youngest everyday player in the league--older only than Carlos Correa--McKinney unsurprisingly got off to a slow start as he struggled to catch up with the speed of the Cal League. Just as he was figuring things out--he hit .292 in June--McKinney was traded with Russell to the Cubs in the July 4 deal that sent Jeff Samardzija to Oakland. Most Cal League observers didn't see McKinney with his best foot forward--he hit much better in the Florida State League after the trade--but his tools were apparent in flashes. Questions surround how much power he'll have and what position he'll ultimately play, but he should be able to hit for average. He has a mature approach at the plate and is a solid line-drive hitter. He has the bat speed to get around on inside fastballs and pull them to right field, but he's adept at going the other way, too. McKinney does have some power, though his bat would profile best in center field. His instincts help make up for a lack of top-shelf speed, and he'll need a quicker release to get more out of his average arm.
The Athletics went for a high school position player with their first-round choice for the second year in a row, following last year?s No. 1 AZL prospect Addison Russell with the selection of Texas prep outfielder McKinney, who received a $1.8 million bonus. McKinney doesn?t wow with his tools but succeeds with baseball savvy, a pure swing and all-out effort. The pro game was a little fast for him initially, but he quickly made adjustments and finished the season strong, moving up to short-season Vermont at the end of August. McKinney has excellent hand-eye coordination and a good feel for the strike zone. He started driving the ball more as the season progressed and should develop more over-the-fence power. Some scouts question whether he?ll be able to stay in center field, but he has good instincts there, his jumps are good and he can run down balls with his slightly above-average speed. His arm grades at above-average and is very accurate. ?He has natural instincts for a young player,? AZL Athletics manager Marcus Jensen said. ?He?s been around the game and has been coached well.?

Top 100 Rankings

Best Tools List

Rated Best Defensive Outfielder in the Oakland Athletics in 2014

Career Transactions

LF Billy McKinney elected free agency.
Indianapolis Indians transferred LF Billy McKinney to the Development List.
Pittsburgh Pirates sent LF Billy McKinney outright to Indianapolis Indians.
Pittsburgh Pirates designated LF Billy McKinney for assignment.
Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of LF Billy McKinney from Indianapolis Indians.
Indianapolis Indians activated LF Billy McKinney.
LF Billy McKinney roster status changed by Indianapolis Indians.
Indianapolis Indians activated LF Billy McKinney from the 7-day injured list.
Indianapolis Indians sent LF Billy McKinney on a rehab assignment to Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Indianapolis Indians placed LF Billy McKinney on the 7-day injured list.
New York Yankees selected the contract of LF Billy McKinney from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
New York Yankees selected the contract of LF Billy McKinney from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.