Atlanta Braves Left Hander Adam McCreery
Who Is He?
McCreery was a big time high school prospect coming out of Bonita High School in La Verne, California in 2011, projected at one point to go as high as the back end of the first round or beginning of the second round. Instead in his senior year, he injured his elbow and though he avoided surgery, it scared away teams, and he fell to the 14th round where the Minnesota Twins selected him.
McCreery chose to go to Arizona State, but after his freshman season led to injury that kept him out for over a month, he chose to leave ASU following his sophomore season to go to Azusa Pacific University in the NAIA. There, he began rebuilding his mechanics, having mixed successes, and the scouting reports varied widely depending on when you saw him. Baseball America’s pre-draft report on McCreery was extremely bleak, stating that he may never recover his once mid-90s velocity.
The Angels drafted McCreery in the 22nd round of the 2014 draft, and in his first pro season, he showed the struggle with regaining his velocity, sporting a 4.66 ERA in 15 games over 19 1/3 innings. He also added a 1.60 WHIP and a 19/21 BB/K for the Angels Arizona Rookie League squad.
The Angels returned McCreery to their ARL team in 2015, and he showed that he was getting his feel back, putting up a 2.41 ERA in 16 games and 18 2/3 innings, adding in a 1.29 WHIP and 14/28 BB/K ratio.
Next: McCreery's scouting report