A recent first-round pick, a key trade piece and a couple of Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster members highlight those expected to begin this season with the Chattanooga Lookouts.
The Lookouts are scheduled to start their 138-game Double-A South schedule Friday night against the Tennessee Smokies in Kodak, with their AT&T Field opener versus the Birmingham Barons set for April 12.
Matt McLain, a former UCLA shortstop selected 17th overall by Cincinnati in last summer’s Major League Baseball draft, is bound for Chattanooga after hitting .273 with 19 RBIs in 29 games last year for the high Single-A Dayton (Ohio) Dragons. The No. 4 organizational prospect according to MLB.com hit .286 with an RBI in five big-league games this spring.
“We’re very excited to have Matt,” Reds vice president for player development Shawn Pender said from Cincinnati’s spring training site in Goodyear, Arizona. “He’s played exceptionally well in the big-league games he’s been asked to play in here. He’s a young man who is very confident and also very calm. He’s a very good defender with a strong arm, and he’s got a short, compact swing.
“Although this is a push to a higher level, he looks like he’s up for the task.”