MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa shared praise Thursday of Cincinnati Reds rookie Matt McLain on “MLB Central,” and went on at length about why McLain has enjoyed success through his first 28 Major League Baseball games.
And just in time for three games between the Reds and the Astros in Houston, “DeRo” compared McLain to Astros veteran and two-time All-Star Alex Bregman:
“Matt McLain is doing some things and to get drafted twice in the first round. There hasn’t been many guys that have been able to do that He was coming off a monster triple-A start – .348 with 12, .474 on base, and a slug of .710. Yeah, it was time for him. … All he’s done is been Mr. Reliable. … He’s doing it in a variety of ways. He’s got ways with pop, he can lay a bunt down, he put it all on display last night. … Take your hands to the baseball, bat head replaces the hands. So, he has looked like this since his high school days. And then we bring in a little bit of Alex Bregman. I mean , that’s who he reminds you of, the way he plays the game. Alex does some things a little bit differently. He doesn’t think hands, he almost sets them and tries to pull his hands across his chest. Kind of a very interesting way about thinking about hitting, trying to get the knob of the bat head ahead of the baseball.”
Video in its entirety of DeRosa’s McLain breakdown from MLB Network via Twitter:
The Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer wrote earlier this week that Reds manager David Bell said McLain and Elly De La Cruz come to mind as among the most likely to hit for the cycle.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mark DeRosa praises Matt McLain, compares Cincinnati rookie to Bregman