Indians Believe McKenzie Mature Beyond Years
CLEVELAND—For a pitcher so long and lean, Triston McKenzie casts quite a shadow.
The 6-foot-5, 165-pound righthander signed for a tick more than $2.3 million after the Indians selected him as a supplemental first-round pick in 2015. The 42nd overall pick received the second-largest bonus for a player selected after the first round in his draft class.
In pitching Royal Palm Beach High to the Florida state semifinals, McKenzie recorded a 0.79 ERA and struck out 157 batters in 91 innings. Still just 17, he logged 12 innings for the Rookie-level Arizona League club in his pro debut, striking out 17 and walking three.
McKenzie attracts attention for his performance—and also his frame. He obviously has a lot of filling out to do, and Indians officials are optimistic that will happen.
“Our scouts identified him as a pitcher mature beyond his years,” farm director Carter Hawkins said, “with the capacity to grow, not only because of his ‘now’ talent, but because of his mindset, work ethic and physical projection.”
That there are more question marks about his physique than his ability to pitch is a testament to how advanced McKenzie was as a pitcher coming out of high school.
“He pitched last summer at 17,” Hawkins said, “and as he moves through the system, his added strength will only serve to reinforce the foundation he’s already built.”
McKenzie could follow the same path as lefthander Justus Sheffield, a high school pitcher selected by the Indians in the first round of the 2014 draft.
At 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, Sheffield does not resemble McKenzie physically. But after a summer in the AZL, Sheffield advanced to low Class A Lake County in 2015 and flourished in his full-season debut.
SMOKE SIGNALS
• The Indians selected first baseman Bobby Bradley as the winner of the Lou Boudreau award, which goes to the top position player in the organization. Righthander Mike Clevinger won the Bob Feller award, which goes to the organization’s top minor league pitcher.
• Former Indians reliever Scott Atchison and Mike Barnett, who has been a major league hitting coach with three different teams, have been added to the major league coaching staff, Atchison as a major league advance scout and Barnett as major league replay coordinator.
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