Iowa baseball: Mason McCoy earns well-deserved honor

Former Iowa baseball infielder Mason McCoy was named to the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game. It’s a well-deserved honor for him.

Following a junior season that saw him produce a 0.328/0.394/0.474 slash line with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, and 34 RBI for the Iowa baseball team, Mason McCoy was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft.

The Peoria native was assigned to short-season Aberdeen and produced a magnificent 0.301/0.382/0.409 slash line with 11 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, and 29 RBI in 53 games. He’s quietly worked his way through the Orioles minor league system, spending all of the 2018 season with their Single-A squad.

McCoy put up gaudy numbers for Single-A Delmarva including 18 doubles, and 10 triples in 124 games. Just for reference, his 10 triples were tied for the South Atlantic League lead with Giants’ prospect Logan Baldwin. He earned a well-deserved promotion to High-A Frederick where he produced a 0.379/0.416/0.509 slash line in 27 games and that was apparently enough for the Orioles to promote him to Double-A.

McCoy played 105 games for Double-A Bowie to finish out the 2019 season and slashed 0.266/0.326/0.343 with 13 doubles, 7 triples, 2 home runs, and 31 RBI. The 24-year-old is never going to be a power hitter but his ability to produce extra-base hits is what could ultimately see him get a chance in the big leagues.

He took part in the Arizona Fall League after the conclusion of the 2019 regular season, along with the who’s who of top prospects from all Major League teams. McCoy was able to produce an 0.817 OPS in just 8 games with 1 double, 1 triple, 2 RBI, and 12 total bases. He also displayed tremendous plate discipline as he took 6 walks in those games. Certainly, it’s difficult to make a full assessment on a player in the Arizona Fall League given the sheer volume of players that are on each roster.

Despite limited playing time, McCoy was named to the AFL’s Fall Stars Game which obviously, selects the best players from each roster to play. Similar to the MLB All-Star game. McCoy will suit up for the Team West roster this Saturday at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale.

Given his performance this season and the state of the Baltimore Orioles big league roster, McCoy has a very good shot at being promoted to not only to Triple-A next season but also to the big leagues as a potential September call up.