Padres’ best power-hitting prospect comes with one thrilling detail worth circling

The Padres have plenty of prospects you can talk yourself into. Smooth swings. Clean actions. “High floor” guys who look like they were built in a lab to be a respectable big leaguer.

Alex McCoy isn’t that kind of excitement.

McCoy is the kind you notice the second he steps into a ballpark, because he’s built like a tank at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds. And he’s the kind you remember because when he connects, the ball comes off his bat like it’s trying to escape the stadium.

Alex McCoy is giving the Padres a thrilling new power storyline

MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis, and Jonathan Mayo just put a name to what that looks like on paper by listing McCoy as the Padres’ best power prospect in their “best power prospect for each MLB club” piece.

The thrilling detail is the one number that basically demands a double-take: 118 mph.

That’s the top-end exit velocity they noted for McCoy — the kind of raw impact that doesn’t show up often anywhere, let alone from a player who entered pro ball as a nondrafted free agent out of Hofstra.

And here’s why this matters for the Padres specifically: San Diego is always hunting for reliable thump. When a prospect has a “one swing can ruin your night” tool, the organization can’t help but pay attention. The Padres don’t need McCoy to be perfect at this moment. But they do need him to be impossible to ignore.

So far, the production has matched the pop. Despite working around hamstring and quad issues, McCoy slugged .513 with six homers in 53 games for Single-A Lake Elsinore. 

There are real flags that come with his profile. Scouts suggest there could be plenty of swing-and-miss as he climbs the ladder, and he’s already 24, so this isn’t a “wait five years and see” type of development track. But that’s also what makes the story so interesting: the timeline is faster, the carrying tool is louder, and the next test is going to come quickly once he’s challenged at High-A and above.

118 mph isn’t just a fun Statcast-style flex. It’s a ceiling marker. It’s proof that the raw ingredient that’s hardest to find — truly elite bat speed and impact — is already present. If the approach becomes even a little more stable and the contact rates don’t crater against better pitching, he’s exactly the kind of player who can jump from a farm curiosity to a prospect everyone suddenly can’t stop bringing up in a hurry.

For now, the headline is simple. The Padres’ best power-hitting prospect has a calling card you can’t miss — and it’s the kind of number that makes the whole system feel louder: 118.