Nolan McLean

ANALYSIS
He cited the physical toll that doing both hitting and pitching was taking on his body, but his 52.2-percent strikeout rate in 69 plate appearances as a hitter at Double-A likely also factored into the decision. McLean is a very exciting pitching prospect, sporting one of the best high-spin sliders in the minors and a mid-90s fastball with good movement. There's perhaps another level of upside with McLean on the mound now, considering he had been trying to be a two-way player up until this point and can just focus on pitching going forward. The 6-foot-2 righty has been unlucky at Double-A (.358 BABIP, 21.1 HR/FB), leading to a 5.35 ERA and 1.55 WHIP, but his 3.86 xFIP hints that better days are ahead.