Former MLB prospect charged with felony, illegally manufacturing explosives

Christopher Machamer was Ohio’s 2016 Gatorade High School Player of the Year.
BOSTON, MA – JULY 19: A detail of a Boston Red Sox hat in the dugout during the first inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Fenway Park on July 19, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

A former MLB prospect has been arrested after law enforcement alleged he had 55 untraceable AR-15 semi-automatic rifles at his home in Canton, Ohio.

According to The Canton Rep, Christopher Machamer was charged “with unlawful possession of dangerous ordinance — illegally manufacturing or processing explosives, a felony.”

Cleveland 19 reported that a criminal complaint was filed in the Stark County Courts in which evidence was discovered showing Machamer was “ghost guns” and selling them to unknown subjects.

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be purchased online and assembled at home. Most of the time, they are devised as “kits,” and are relatively easy to obtain.

In this case, the guns were legal so law enforcement was able to trace them.

They also could be created by using a 3D printer.

Machamer, 26, was a 16th-round draft pick in 2018 by the Boston Red Sox out of Kentucky where he majored in Communications. The pitching prospect made the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll in 2017.

He was Ohio’s 2016 Gatorade High School Player of the Year.

Machamer made it to the Red Sox’ High-A affiliate Greenville Drive until his release in 2020. Across the 2018 and ’19 seasons, he accumulated a 5.15 ERA, striking out 81 in 127 2/3 innings.

Machamer will be arraigned at 9 a.m. on Jan. 8, Cleveland19 reports.

[Cleveland19; Canton Rep]

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About Jessica Kleinschmidt

Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.