McMahon's fifth jack not enough for Rockies

Another “RyMac Jack.” But is RyMac back?

Ryan McMahon launched his fifth home run of the young season -- a go-ahead, two-run homer to center field in the fifth inning of the Rockies’ 4-3 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park on Saturday.

The projected 417-foot shot gave McMahon a tie with the Reds’ Tyler Naquin for the MLB lead in home runs, and is already more than half of his home run total of nine in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. He struck out 34 percent of the time last year, but he has struck out only five times in 34 plate appearances in ’21.

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It’s still very early, but is this the McMahon who hit 24 homers in 480 at-bats during the 2019 season? Or perhaps someone who will do more damage than that in ’21 and beyond?

“He’s got power, the ability to hit for average as well -- I think that’s key. And I think there’s an on-base component, too, because he has pretty good strike-zone discipline,” manager Bud Black said. “The ingredients are there for a complete player.”

When one element falls into place, others follow. That’s what appears to be fueling McMahon’s early surge this season: His reduction in whiff rate is enlarging his window for offensive production. Last year, McMahon missed 31.4 percent of the time he swung; this year, though it’s a tiny sample, he entered play Saturday with a 22.4 percent whiff rate.

McMahon attributes his early success this season to a more simplified approach at the plate, one he worked on with Rockies hitting coach Dave Magadan over the offseason. The work, at least in the early going, seems to be paying off.

What is McMahon most happy with so far? It’s not the homers. It’s what’s leading to them.

“There’s a lot of baseball left, but through these first nine games, I’m not striking out nearly as much as I typically have,” McMahon said. “I’m taking some pride in that, man. I’m going up there and if I get to two strikes, I’m trying to bear down and make myself a harder out.”

McMahon, with his smooth left-handed swing and raw power, is the type of hitter who makes coaches, teammates and fans salivate. The potential is enormous. And while his mantra is to take things piece by piece, McMahon could become a rare type of player in the Majors if he starts to realize that potential.

The 26-year-old is one of the most versatile defensive players the Rockies have. If he becomes a 30-homer guy who can, as Black noted, hit for average and reach base at a high clip, he could become something of a unicorn in the league.

“He’s got that potential, for sure,” Black said. “There’s a skill set there that plays. We’ve talked about it for a couple years now. We’ve seen him at first, we’ve seen him at second, we’ve seen him at third. I think all of them are above average, depending on how you scout and how you evaluate.”

Is this the year McMahon breaks out? It’s begun that way, but he’s not the type of guy who thinks too far ahead, lest he miss the here and now, much like so many pitches he swung through in 2020.

“I’m not a big ‘set numbers,’ ‘set goals’ [guy] like that,” McMahon said. “I’m trying to just go out there and attack it day by day, make sure I’m staying in the moment. … If you look down the road too far, you’re going to miss the moments that are happening in front of you.”