Kevin McAvoy Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Kevin Robert McAvoy
Born 07/21/1993 in Syracuse, NY
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Bryant University
Drafted in the 4th round (134th overall) by the Boston Red Sox in 2014 (signed for $300,000).

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McAvoy was a three-time state champion at Westhill High in Syracuse, N.Y., winning two baseball titles and one in basketball. He focused on baseball this spring and evolved into Bryant's ace, going 9-1, 2.62 this spring and helped Bryant to back-to-back regional trips. At his best, McAvoy gets good movement on his low-90s sinker and upper-70s slider. He's lacked an out pitch but improved his slider this season, helping improve his strikeout rate from 6.1 K/9 IP last season to 8.5 K/9 in 2014.

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Sinkerball pitchers who generate high groundball rates have long been difficult to evaluate based on minor league performance given the inconsistent quality of fields and defenses behind them and the counterintuitive nature of embracing a pitch-to-contact approach. For that reason, some evaluators believe that McAvoy's first full pro season--in which he spent all of 2015 at high Class A Salem while forging a 3.89 ERA with just 5.2 strikeouts and 4.5 walks per nine innings--showed more promise than the surface numbers. He showed a low-90s fastball with plus sink that generated 2.5 groundouts for every flyout, the fourth-highest ratio among qualified full-season starters. He struggled to throw strikes, quite possibly due to the action on his sinker. If McAvoy can harness his two-seamer and develop his slider, then given his athleticism (which, in turn, creates the prospect of repeating his delivery and commanding), he could have a chance to make a considerable step forward with some chance of starting. More likely, he's a future reliever who can deliver key groundballs.

A three-year member of the rotation at Bryant, where he helped lead the program to its first two NCAA tournament appearances, McAvoy followed up his strong junior year with an encouraging debut in the NYPL. McAvoy's best asset is his ability to rack up groundball outs with a bowling ball heater that sits 89-93 mph and touches 95 with plus to plus-plus sink. To wit, he posted a 3.14 groundout/airout ratio for Lowell, and he has excellent command of his sinker. As one scout put it, "That fastball never has a bad day." McAvoy's second pitch is a changeup that projects as an average offering. He can throw his fringy slider for strikes, but he'll need to tighten it up and add power to make it a swing-and-miss pitch. If he can complement his sinker with a pair of average secondary pitches, he could become a mid-rotation big league starter.