McMahon Selected in Second Round by Rockies
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami right-handed pitcher Chris McMahon was selected by the Colorado Rockies with the 46th overall pick of the 2020 MLB Draft.
McMahon, who was selected with the ninth pick of the second round, was one of the top starting pitchers in college baseball before the 2020 season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The junior right-handed pitcher went 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA in his four appearances as Miami’s Saturday starter. McMahon led the Canes with three wins and tied with Brian Van Belle with a team-best 38 strikeouts while walking just five. He held opponents to a .207 batting average over 25.2 innings pitched.
A native of West Chester, Pa., McMahon struck out at least eight batters in all four of his starts in 2020. On Feb. 29, the right-hander posted a career-high 12 strikeouts and allowed just three hits over 6.2 shutout innings in a victory over Towson. He was named to Collegiate Baseball‘s All-America second team following the 2020 season.
McMahon was named to the preseason watch list for the 2020 Golden Spikes Award after an impressive summer performance pitching for the U.S. Collegiate National Team in 2019. He paced Team USA with 15 strikeouts and posted a 2.25 ERA and a .154 batting average against over 12 innings pitched.
A three-year letterwinner at Miami, McMahon improved his draft stock as a Hurricane. The 6-foot-2 pitcher was selected in the 33rd round of 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Atlanta Braves, but did not sign. He came to Miami ranked No. 76 overall in Baseball America‘s list of top 500 MLB Draft prospects coming out of high school in 2017. Prior to the 2020 season, McMahon was ranked the No. 4 prospect in the ACC by D1 Baseball and the No. 47 overall player in college baseball by Baseball America. He rose to No. 29 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 200 for the 2020 draft and was D1 Baseball’s No. 2 junior pitcher in the country in 2020.
For his career, McMahon went 7-3 with a 3.28 ERA and 123 strikeouts over 112.1 innings pitched, making 22 appearances including 20 starts. He was also selected to the All-ACC Academic Team after an impressive sophomore campaign in 2019.
McMahon is the second Hurricane selected in the 2020 MLB Draft. Sophomore right-hander Slade Cecconi was taken with the 33rd overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
