MWL Dayton Dragons

Reds First Round Draft Pick Matt McLain Joins Dragons; Urbaez Promoted to Chattanooga

August 11, 2021 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


DAYTON, OHIO - Matt McLain, the Cincinnati Reds first round draft pick in 2021, has been assigned to the Dayton Dragons. McLain, a shortstop, is in the Dragons lineup for today's 1:05 p.m. game at Lansing. McLain appeared in two games with the Reds affiliate in the Arizona Complex League to start his professional career, going 3 for 7 with two doubles and a triple, before being promoted to Dayton today.

Meanwhile, Dragons star second baseman Francisco Urbaez (ur-BUY-ez) has been promoted to Chattanooga. Urbaez ranked second in the High-A Central League in batting average at the time of his promotion at .333.

Additionally, the Dragons today received outfielder Jack Rogers, the Reds ninth round draft pick in 2021, from the ACL Reds.

McLain was the 19th overall selection in the first round out of UCLA. In 2021 with the Bruins, he batted .333 with nine home runs and a slugging percentage of .579 to earn PAC 12 All-Conference honors as well as All-Tournament Team honors in the Lubbock Regional. McLain was drafted in the first round out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks but elected to attend UCLA rather than turning professional at that time.

McLain is a native of Tustin, California and was an All-American at Beckman High School in Irvine, California.

Urbaez appeared in 67 games for the Dragons, batting .333 with an on-base percentage of .423. He ranked second in the league in both categories. Urbaez hit four home runs and drove in 29 runs with the Dragons.

Rogers played college baseball at Sam Houston State University before being selected by the Reds in the recent draft. He played in 55 games in 2021, his fourth season, batting .367 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI. He also stole 12 bases. He finished second in school history in single season home runs and also ranked second in career homers.

The Dragons have games in Lansing through Sunday and then open a six-game home series against the Lake County Captains on Tuesday, August 17 at 7:05 p.m. at Day Air Ballpark. For ticket information, call (937) 228-2287 or go to daytondragons.com.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from August 11, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central