Meet Rockies 2nd-rounder Chris McMahon

Miami righty Chris McMahon got off to a strong start in his junior season in Coral Gables, and on Thursday, the Rockies selected him in the second round of the 2020 Draft (46th overall). Here are 10 facts you should know about McMahon, whom MLB Pipeline ranked as its No. 29 Draft prospect.

• The Pennsylvania native grew up a Phillies fan. His favorite player was Chase Utley. When Utley announced during the 2018 season that he’d retire at the end of the year, McMahon took to Twitter to show his gratitude and thank Utley for being “The Man.”

• He pitched for the 2019 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last summer, throwing 12 innings across three appearances, with a 2.25 ERA and a .154 opponent batting average. He notched 15 strikeouts, most of any pitcher on the roster. That momentum clearly carried over into his junior season at Miami, which was his best yet.

• McMahon struck out 38 batters in four starts in 2020 for the Hurricanes, tying for the team lead in strikeouts. He allowed just three earned runs, good for a 1.05 ERA. On Feb. 29 against Towson, he struck out a career-high 12 batters.

• In the tough ACC, McMahon’s ERA ranked fifth. He was also fifth in innings, tied for eighth in strikeouts and seventh in strikeouts looking specifically.

• His outstanding season merited a handful of honors. McMahon was named to the Collegiate Baseball All-America second team, and he was on the 2020 Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list.

• McMahon wasn’t the only All-American on the Hurricanes -- fellow righty Brian Van Belle was as well. It’s the first time that Miami has had multiple All-Americans since 2008, when the team had three: first baseman Yonder Alonso, second baseman Jemile Weeks and lefty Chris Hernandez.

• McMahon was originally drafted by the Braves in the 33rd round out of West Chester Rustin High School in West Chester, Pa., but did not sign and attended Miami instead.

• Baseball has been McMahon’s primary sport since college began, but he spent time playing other sports in high school. He played soccer and basketball, too, earning first-team all-conference honors in soccer in his senior year.

• McMahon is the first Miami player to be drafted in the first five rounds since 2016, when the White Sox took Zack Collins 10th overall. The highest-drafted right-handed pitcher out of Miami in the June Draft who signed was Cesar Carrillo, who went 18th overall to the Padres in 2005.

• Miami has produced some strong Major League players, from Ryan Braun to Greg Vaughn and Yasmani Grandal. But McMahon could have a chance at becoming the all-time WAR leader among pitchers drafted out of Miami. The current leader is lefty Neal Heaton (No. 39, 1981, CLE), with 8.4 career WAR. The leader among righties is Danny Graves (No. 101, 1994, CLE), with 5.6 WAR.