CLE
Triston McKenzie, P
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Scouting report
McKenzie's big league debut was his first competitive game since 2018 due to multiple injuries (he missed the spring of 2018 with upper back issues, then did not pitch in 2019 due to lat and pec strains) and the global pandemic. Not only was he healthy, but he was throwing harder, at least for a little while. His fastball sat in the 90-93 range in 2018 and was 90-94 this spring as he prepared for the season. Then McKenzie was living in the 93-96 range in his first start and leaned on the fastball in big spots, often shaking off Roberto Pérez to get to it. Over the next few weeks, McKenzie's velocity dropped in each subsequent start before it spiked again in a long relief role at the very end of the season. You could argue the injuries and fluctuating velocity are indications that the long-held industry apprehension regarding McKenzie's durability has turned out to be correct. But it also would have been unreasonable to expect any pitcher to hold their velocity as they got deeper into their first extended action in quite a while. The action on McKenzie's fastball also gives it some margin for error, velo-wise. And both his slider and changeup have evolved to complement the fastball/curveball combo that had headlined his arsenal as a younger prospect. Even though it's still unclear exactly where his fastball velocity band will sit during the course of a whole season, I think McKenzie has the necessary other components to pitch in the middle of a rotation. (Alternate site, MLB)