CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) — No other high school pitcher drafted in the 2015 draft signed for more money than Triston McKenzie. The 23-year-old made his major league debut Saturday night in Cleveland while living up the hype of being one of the top prospects in the Tribe farm system since he was drafted out of Royal Palm Beach, Florida.
McKenzie came out ready.
After getting the first two Tiger hitters to roll over on changups, McKenzie struck out Miguel Cabrera on a slider down and away, capping off a 13-pitch, perfect first inning.
The only hiccup on the night came in the fourth on the first pitch he threw to Willi Castro. After grounding out his first time at the plate, Castro jumped all over the first pitch he saw and smacked a home run off of his former teammate from his time in the Indians organization before being traded to Detroit. During postgame McKenzie mentioned they are friends who still talk regularly and joked about the irony of Castro being the first to homer off him in the bigs.
McKenzie finished his debut with six strong innings, allowing just that one run on two hits and a walk while striking out 10. Only Luis Tiant struck out more in his debut for the Indians when he struck out 11 in 1964. Domingo Santana’s three run double in the sixth put him in line to pick up his first big league win in the process.
The journey to the show certainly hasn’t been easy for the young righty. He missed a chunk of time in 2018 with forearm soreness and all of last season with a back injury. His major league debut marked the first game action for McKenzie since August 30, 2018 when he took the mound for Akron in the Eastern League playoffs.
Saturday night spoke to the fight and determination of McKenzie just as much as anything. Yes, the stuff is there, but concerns remain of his ability to stay injury free with his long, lanky frame.
During his time in the minors, McKenzie flew through the system, arriving in Akron before his 21st birthday. Over 60 games he complied a 26-16 record, carrying an ERA of 2.68 while striking out 394 of the batters he faced in 329 innings.
It is to no surprise that the Indians look to have developed another young arm into a regular major league starter. Without the mishap of Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac, McKenzie likely fails to make an appearance this season. Timing is everything and McKenzie capitalized on the opportunity he was given.
What does his performance mean moving forward? It is hard to tell.
Clevinger and Plesac are names that have come up around the league in many possible trade scenarios. After reports of the animosity their actions brought in the clubhouse, it would not be shocking to see one or both moved before the deadline on August 31. It is more than likely that the Indians have received multiple calls one the two young controllable arms after what has transpired.
It is not a given that either is dealt but was Saturday night a test run to see what they have if they were to move in that direction? The rotation had an opening that needed filled and they didn’t just turn to Logan Allen who looked solid in his long relief appearance against the Cubs on August 11. Allen has major league experience, but the club turned to McKenzie who had not faced a game environment in two seasons, let alone had never threw a big league pitch.
Whatever the case, McKenzie showed he was up for the challenge after working so hard to get back healthy and put himself in this position. The next question is will he fill that void in the rotation moving forward or was this just a spot start?
Sandy Alomar Jr. who was filling in again for Terry Francona said after the game, “With that performance I don’t see why he shouldn’t get another opportunity.” He added that the organization is still talking through what happens next.
If not this time around, it will not be long until he is cemented into one of the Tribe’s top five spots.
After the game McKenzie was asked about Nolan Jones watching his debut from the top of the garage behind the scoreboard. He said, “Me and Nolan are good friends, he didn’t have to do that. He wasn’t even allowed in the stadium. I’m going to do everything I can to be there for [his debut] because I’m going to feel pretty bad if I’m not.”
From the looks of it, McKenzie won’t have to worry too much about being around when Jones has his number called. There’s a good chance he’ll be right there on the bench to congratulate hime because today, McKenzie proved he’s ready for the show.