6/15/20

NDFA Sign - OF Brandon McIlwain California

 

The Mets finally signed a non-drafted free agent.

 

Outfielder Brandon McIlwain started as a quarterback at the University of South Carolina but became a fulltime baseball player once he transferred to Cal.

 

He was their starting centerfielder until he came down with a broken foot. The 6-1, 205 redshirt junior was 100% healthy in 2020.

 

2020 stat line:  16-G, 55-AB, .200/.273/.333, 1-HR, 1.000 F%


10 comments:

Mike Steffanos said...

Do you think they saw the upside despite the stat line? (admittedly very small sample size) Or were they just desperate to sign someone?

Tom Brennan said...

I like a low cost athlete signing. See what develops.

Reese Kaplan said...

He was cheap and unwanted elsewhere...hmmm...I'd joked about the Wilpons doing just that.

Mack Ade said...

Mike

Reported low risk signing of a player with untapped tools.

Tell you this... 8 outfielders now on GCL roster.

Something has to give.

bill metsiac said...

His mediocre stats in 2020 were from 55 AB, after recovering from the broken foot. But when was the injury, and what were his stats before it?

John From Albany said...

Bill - His stats last year before he was hurt:

Dual-sport athlete who served as Cal's primary center fielder until an injury in late April sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 26th round of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign
Played in 20 games (18 starts) & batted .258 with two home runs & eight RBI
Added three doubles, one triple & a pair of stolen bases
Hit first collegiate home run vs. St. Mary's (March 1) & followed it up two days later with a three-hit effort against the Gaels (March 3)
Tallied his second home run vs. USC (March 17)
Went 3-for-4 with three runs, one RBI, one double & one triple at Cal Poly (Feb. 22)

bill metsiac said...

Thanks, John. Still mediocre, but the numbers are more relevant.

We'll see more UFA signings like this, with low cost and low ceilings, not just from the Mets but all over baseball.

I don't see these as being different from previous years' 30th and 40th rounders. Basically filler.

John From Albany said...

They just signed Drake Nightengale, RHP, South Alabama as well.

John From Albany said...

Drake Nightengale, RHP, 2019 (Junior): Led the Sun Belt Conference in opposing batting average (.196), and ranked fourth in ERA (3.52) and strikeouts (91) ... Ranked 12th in the league in strikeouts (47) and opposing batting average (.239) in Sun Belt contests ... Finished 6-2 with a 3.52 ERA and one save in 15 appearances with 12 starts in 2019 ... Recorded 91 strikeouts against 38 walks in 71 2/3 innings pitched ... Went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 49 strikeouts with seven walks in his final five starts of the season, which covered a span of 34 1/3 innings ... Named the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week three times - Feb. 26, April 23 and May 20 ... Tossed 4 1/3 innings and struck out six at Clemson (Feb. 15) in his Jaguar debut ... Recorded his first career save with three relief innings against Alabama State (Feb. 19) ... Struck out a then career-high nine batters in five shutout innings against Tennessee Tech (Feb. 23) to earn his first career win ... Recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against Southern Miss (April 16) ... Struck out 11 in a career-high 7 2/3 innings pitched against Troy (May 16) in his final outing of the season.

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