Scott McGough

Scott McGough

35-Year-Old PitcherRP
 Free Agent  
Free Agent
2024 Fantasy Outlook
McGough's first season back in the big leagues since 2015 might be best described as a roller coaster. The right-hander opened the season as one of Arizona's options to close games, but he blew a couple of save chances early on and spent a few months relegated to setup duties. McGough then went on a dominant 17-game streak from mid-May to late-June where he didn't allow an earned run, spanning 22.1 innings. He struck out 32 during the streak and re-entered the mix for saves, picking up 6 over the next several weeks. The 33-year-old followed that up with a 9.58 ERA in July, at which point the D'Backs acquired Paul Sewald to handle closing duties. McGough's splitter and slider both generated 40-plus percent whiff rates, which should keep him pitching late-innings in 2024. Closing is probably off the table, though, unless he steps in for the occasional ancillary save. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#362
ADP
$Signed a two-year, $6.25 million contract with the Diamondbacks in December of 2022. Contract includes $4 million mutual option for 2025.
Hits open market
PFree Agent  
November 4, 2024
The Diamondbacks declined McGough's $4 million mutual option Saturday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.
ANALYSIS
He receives a $750K buyout in the transaction. McGough logged a 5.59 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 111 strikeouts over 103 innings in two regular seasons with Arizona. He was much more effective in 2023 than in 2024, as his K-BB% dropped from 18.6 percent to 2.7 percent. He moved back and forth between Triple-A and the majors this past season after spending all of 2023 in the big leagues.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
22
Last 10 Games
29
Last 5 Games
28
How many pitches does Scott McGough generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Scott McGough generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-33%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-10%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-42%
BAA vs LHP
2022
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .187 196 50 26 31 7 0 6
Since 2022vs Right .281 255 61 25 63 18 2 14
2024vs Left .256 57 10 13 11 3 0 0
2024vs Right .284 93 15 8 23 7 2 6
2023vs Left .163 139 40 13 20 4 0 6
2023vs Right .280 162 46 17 40 11 0 8
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-44%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-61%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-38%
ERA at Home
2022
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 4.23 1.09 61.2 3 3 2 9.6 3.1 1.0
Since 2022Away 7.62 1.89 41.1 0 7 7 9.8 6.5 2.8
2024Home 5.09 1.35 23.0 1 1 0 8.2 4.3 0.8
2024Away 13.03 2.48 9.2 0 2 0 3.7 9.3 3.7
2023Home 3.72 0.93 38.2 2 2 2 10.5 2.3 1.2
2023Away 5.97 1.71 31.2 0 5 7 11.7 5.7 2.6
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Scott McGough compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
1.19
 
K/9
6.9
 
BB/9
5.8
 
HR/9
1.7
 
Fastball
93.2 mph
 
ERA
7.44
 
WHIP
1.68
 
BABIP
.294
 
GB/FB
1.23
 
Left On Base
53.6%
 
Exit Velocity
83.3 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
7.6%
 
Spin Rate
2108 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
23.7%
 
Swinging Strike
11.8%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Scott McGough See More
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159 days ago
Fernando Tatis and the San Diego Padres take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Adam Warner breaks down that game and Cleveland Guardians-Miami Marlins as well in his MLB Best Bets and Expert Picks for June 9.
Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the NL West
267 days ago
Brad Johnson helps get ready for draft day by analyzing pitching staffs, and this week he focuses on the National League West, and in Los Angeles, Walker Buehler will start the season on the IL.
The Z Files: Projecting Pitcher's BABIP
307 days ago
Todd Zola considers a new approach to regressing a pitcher's BABIP, which suggests better days should be ahead for Hunter Greene.
The Z Files: Pitchers I Rank Highest
341 days ago
Todd Zola continues his review of Roundtable Rankings where he's out of step with the consensus, and holds his ground on the Twins' Bailey Ober.
Collette Calls: NL Pitching Bold Predictions Accountability
October 17, 2023
Jason Collette reviews his final set of bold preseason predictions, including a particularly prescient one about Padres pitcher Blake Snell.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2016
McGough, now 33, makes his return stateside with Arizona this season after a successful four-year stint in Japan. A fifth-round pick back in 2011, McGough had a cup of coffee with the Marlins in 2015 before ultimately leaving affiliated baseball. He found his niche overseas and transformed into one of Japan's top closers, notching 30-plus saves with sub-2.60 ERAs the past two seasons. The right-hander sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and has recently developed a splitter to complement his heater and slider. The Diamondbacks signed him to a two-year, $6.25 million deal with the hope that he can provide some stability at the back end of a mostly unsettled bullpen. A strong showing in the Cactus League has put McGough as the frontrunner to close in the desert.
McGough spent his time rising through the ranks during the entire 2015 minor league season, where he went from High-A to Triple-A. His progressive success (1.93 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) through the three leagues led to a September callup to Miami. With the Marlins, he tossed 6.2 innings and was tagged for seven runs in his month with the team. He is a player that was a development project from the start, and he has come along at a fairly good pace throughout his young career. The 26-year-old will be battling to be one of the bullpen arms in 2016, but it is not expected for him to be more than a middle reliever.
More Fantasy News
Recalled from Reno
PArizona Diamondbacks  
September 16, 2024
The Diamondbacks recalled McGough from Triple-A Reno on Monday.
ANALYSIS
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Sent to Triple-A
PArizona Diamondbacks  
August 11, 2024
The Diamondbacks optioned McGough to Triple-A Reno on Sunday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Back in Arizona
PArizona Diamondbacks  
August 9, 2024
The Diamondbacks recalled McGough from Triple-A Reno on Friday.
ANALYSIS
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Sent to Reno
PArizona Diamondbacks  
June 28, 2024
The Diamondbacks optioned McGough to Triple-A Reno on Friday.
ANALYSIS
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Opening Saturday
PArizona Diamondbacks  
June 14, 2024
McGough will serve as Arizona's opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the White Sox, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.
ANALYSIS
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