Matt McBride

Matt McBride - Catcher
Age: 22 Height: 6'2" Weight: 215 Bats: Right Throws: Right

	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007 Lake/Akron	.287	107	428	68	123	37	2	8	66	38	54	1	.353	.439	.792
Career	.283	159	612	92	173	49	2	12	98	54	76	6	.354	.428	.782

History: The Indians selected McBride with the last of their four second round picks in the 2006 Draft out of Lehigh University. In 2006, McBride was named to the NY-Penn League All Star team, and last year he was named to the South Atlantic League All Star team.

Strengths & Opportunities: McBride provides a rare combination of defense and offense at the catching position. McBride has good power potential, and has a very good eye and bat-to-ball ability. In 428 at bats last year, he piled up 37 doubles, which shows as he matures he could be in line for a surge in the home run department as some of those doubles will turn into home runs. Also, in his short career, he has demonstrated the ability to put the bat on the ball and spoil tough pitches (76 strikeouts in 612 at bats). McBride was recently ranked by Baseball America as the fifth best catching prospect in the minors. McBride's potential as an offensive and defensive catcher led many to believe he was the top catcher available in the 2006 Draft, and through two seasons in the Indians organization he has backed that up.

His strengths as a catcher are his catch-and-throw skills, especially his plus arm. Coming into the draft, his throws to second timed at 1.85 to second base, which is considered above average. He also has a very cerebral approach behind the plate, and has shown good leadership qualities. Going into spring training last year, the Indians challenged McBride to see if he could increase his flexibility and comfort level with catching, and he showed that throughout the 2007 season. McBride even went out of his way to go the extra mile to improve physically, which shows his exceptional work ethic. While he is a big and strong catcher, McBride is also athletic and runs very well. He is a gamer, and sort of a throwback that hustles on every play and does not showboat.

While McBride had a strong season last year offensively, he struggled behind the plate with controlling the running game. Throughout the season, McBride worked a lot on the side with his throwing, and getting more fundamentally sound with his feet, and being quicker with his release and not standing straight on his throws. While he showed signs of improvement, his real problem stemmed from a lingering shoulder injury since the Indians drafted him. The shoulder issue even forced him to start his Indians career at Mahoning Valley in 2006 as a designated hitter because he was still rehabbing from it, and this past fall he was limited in his throwing during the instructional league because of his sore shoulder. He ended up having shoulder surgery in November to correct the issue, and he likely will remain in extended spring training when minor league camp breaks in the spring so he can continue the rehabilitation process for his shoulder. He could miss the first month or two of the 2008 season, maybe even more.

When McBride finishes his rehab and gets back to playing, while he has shown very good ability to make consistent contact, he needs to be a little more patient at the plate. He tends to be a hacker at times (54 BB in 612 career AB), so he has to work on drawing more walks. He needs to try and use the whole field more as he has a tendency to pull the ball where he gets too far out in front and pulls the ball foul, and he needs to lay off inside pitches more as he has a hard time keeping them fair. McBride is also still adapting to calling games, as this was something primarily handled by his coaches when he was in college. He needs to become better aware of his pitcher's biggest strengths and the tendencies and strengths of the hitters they are facing. McBride has also taken it upon himself to continue working on being more attentive and smart on the basepaths.

Outlook: Bottom line, being able to hit is what is going to punch McBride's ticket to the major leagues. McBride has a lot of potential as a hitter, and if it were not for his shoulder surgery and him potentially missing a large part of the 2008 season, a healthy McBride would have been ranked in the Top 10 on this list. Had he been healthy, McBride could have possibly started the season in Akron, but it looks like once he gets cleared to play he will be assigned to Kinston.

Video: McBride at Lehigh University and McBride taking batting practice.

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