Sunday Notes: A Versatile Tiger, Zach McKinstry Deserved His Silver Slugger

Many had been stunned when Zach McKinstry outpolled Kansas Metropolis’s Maikel Garcia and New York’s Ben Rice to win this yr’s American League Silver Slugger Award on the utility place. That’s comprehensible — McKinstry’s numbers weren’t nearly as good as these put up by his co-finalists — however the honor was nonetheless deserved. For one factor, he was a real utility participant. Not solely did McKinstry begin 20 or extra video games for Detroit at every of third base (69), shortstop (27), and proper subject (20), he was stationed in all places in addition to heart subject and catcher. Conversely, Garcia began simply 21 video games at positions apart from third base, whereas Rice’s solely motion got here as a catcher and a primary baseman.

And it’s not as if the Tiger didn’t have stable numbers of his personal. Over 511 plate appearances, McKinstry slashed .259/.333/.438 with a 114 wRC+. Furthermore, he logged 23 doubles, 11 triples, 12 house runs, and 19 stolen bases. Amid little fanfare, the 30-year-old erstwhile Central Michigan College Chippewa was one of many extra precious gamers on a group that went on to play October baseball.

By most accounts, McKinstry is an overachiever. Precisely one thousand gamers had been chosen earlier than him within the 2016 draft, and he ranked as simply the Twenty eighth-best prospect within the Los Angeles Dodgers group when he made his MLB debut in 2020. When the Tigers subsequently traded for him in March 2023 — he was by then a Chicago Cub — he had appeared in 121 big-league video games to the tune of a 79 wRC+ and 0.8 WAR.

McKinstry has gotten considerably extra enjoying time since becoming a member of the Tabbies, however it wasn’t till this yr that he actually earned his stripes. Coming into the marketing campaign, he’d totaled simply 13 house runs and a 78 wRC+ over 843 plate appearances with the membership.

What was behind his breakout with the bat? After I requested McKinstry that query over the summer time, he informed me that it wasn’t one thing that occurred abruptly, however moderately the end result of “stepping stones alongside the way in which.” He started making these strides throughout his early days within the Dodgers system.

“I form of opened issues up just a little bit to the place I wasn’t afraid to attempt to do injury,” defined McKinstry, who batted .321 however didn’t go deep whereas a Chippewa. “In school it was extra like ‘hit the ball on the bottom the opposite method and simply get on base.’ So, my first steps in professional ball had been to drive the ball and get into the gaps just a little extra. Clearly, with that it is advisable to be just a little bit stronger. I wasn’t the most important man at Central — I used to be round 165-170 kilos — and now I’m sitting round 190 -195. A whole lot of that has come from staying constant within the weight room. The Dodgers gave me a basis to try this, they usually additionally helped me get into my legs extra. Each time I’m struggling, I attempt to get again to feeling the bottom, utilizing that to supply extra line drives and hit the ball just a little more durable.”

Bat velocity and exit velocities aren’t amongst McKinstry’s robust fits — he ranks within the decrease percentiles in each classes — however neither is a serious concern. Whereas the Tigers have helped him additional enhance as a hitter, they’ve primarily wished him to remain inside the parameters of his skillset.

“We have a look at my bat airplane,” McKinstry mentioned of working with Detroit’s hitting coaches. “My vertical assault angle is an enormous one, form of making an attempt to remain inside that 4 vary. That’s what we discuss largely, staying round there and flattening out the bat just a little bit. Actually, it’s all about staying true to who I’m.”

That may be somebody who can present offensive worth whereas enjoying everywhere in the subject on the big-league degree. McKinstry deserved his Silver Slugger.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Ozzie Guillen went 15 for 33 towards Tom Gordon.

Jose Guillen went 13 for 25 towards Mike Hampton.

Carlos Guillén went 11 for 16 towards Esteban Loaiza.

Manny Sanguillen went 11 for 21 towards Nolan Ryan.

Guillermo Heredia went 11 for 25 towards Martín Pérez.

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Liam Hicks displayed good plate self-discipline and call abilities in his 2025 rookie season with the Miami Marlins. The 26-year-old catcher/first baseman swung at simply 20.1% of pitches out of the strike zone — the third-lowest charge in MLB (min. 300 PAs) behind Juan Soto and Trent Grisham — and fanned in simply 14.4% of his 390 plate appearances. His stroll charge was a stable 14.4%, whereas his 98 wRC+ was higher than anticipated for a participant who was taken in final December’s Rule 5 draft. Hicks had been left unprotected by the Tigers, who had acquired the 2021 ninth-round choose from the Texas Rangers as a part of the July 2024 Carson Kelly commerce.

His .247/.346/.346 slash line is indicative of his need to do extra injury going ahead. The Toronto native left the yard simply six occasions, whereas his 84.6-mph exit velocity ranked within the first percentile amongst his contemporaries. He constantly put the bat on the baseball, however all too seldom with authority.

Hicks acknowledges the necessity to enhance in that space, however he additionally isn’t trying to develop into a bona fide thumper. Relating to clearing fences, he views route, and never simply distance, as an impediment to beat.

“I really feel like I hit lots of balls to heart subject,” Hicks informed me through the latter half of the season. “You have a look at that within the cage and also you’re like, ‘Oh. That’s up the center. It’s a very good swing.’ However that’s the deepest a part of the ballpark, so I’m making an attempt to tug the baseball higher. There are guys within the huge leagues who don’t have craziest exit velos, but they’re elite at pulling the baseball and might hit house runs by placing it down the road.

“It’s about selecting your spots the place you’re making an attempt to get right into a ball just a little extra,” he added. “However it’s additionally about changing into extra explosive, rotating sooner and making contact just a little farther out in entrance to the pull facet, and never worrying about swinging and lacking. That mentioned, I do take pleasure in my capacity to make contact.”

The low exit velocities?

“We’ve been engaged on that, too,” mentioned Hicks. “I hit a ball more durable this yr than I ever have earlier than. I believe it was 108.5 [mph], and my finest [in 2024] was one thing like 107. It was a house run. I’m making an attempt to discover ways to do this just a little extra.”

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A quiz:

The identical participant has essentially the most hits, house runs, and stolen bases by a catcher in Pittsburgh Pirates franchise historical past. Who’s it? [A hint: All but one of his Pirates home runs came as a catcher, the other as a left fielder.)

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor has been named the winner of this year’s Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Tip O’Neill Award, which honors the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals. Naylor hails from Mississauga, Ontario.

In related news, Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae has been honored with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2025 Jack Graney Award, which is given out annually to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada. Per the release, Mae’s professional career in the Toronto sports media began in 2001 and she now serves as an in-game reporter during Toronto Blue Jays telecasts.

Tim Harkness, a first baseman who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961-1962, and for the New York Mets in 1963-1964, died on December 1 at age 87. A native of Lachine, Quebec, Harkness hammered 10 of his 14 big-league home runs in 1963 for a 111-loss Mets team that was managed by Casey Stengel. He had a two-homer game that season, the second of his bombs walking off the Milwaukee Braves in the16th inning at the Polo Grounds.

Jim Duckworth, a right-hander who played primarily for the Washington Senators in an MLB career that spanned the 1963-1966 seasons, died last month at age 86 (per Baseball Player Passings). The National City, California native went 7-25 with four saves and a 5.26 ERA over 267 innings. He was especially dismal at the dish. Duckworth recorded two hits (one of them a bunt single) and fanned 39 times in 59 at-bats.

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The answer to the quiz is Jason Kendall, who had 1,409 hits, 67 home runs (66 as a catcher), and 140 stolen bases while playing for the Pirates from 1996-2004. Ryan Doumit also homered 67 times for Pittsburgh, but while his primary position was catcher, he hit several of his bombs while stationed elsewhere.

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The Orioles signed Ryan Helsley as a free agent on Monday — my colleague Michael Rosen wrote about the deal here — after which the 31-year-old flamethrower took questions from the Baltimore media over Zoom. Partaking in the session, I asked Helsely about his increased slider usage. Whereas he once relied heavily on his high-90s fastball, he has thrown his go-to secondary more often than his heater in each of the past two seasons.

Why is that, and has the slider gotten better?

“Yeah, I actually think it has,” the righty replied, answering the second part of my question first. “Oddly enough, this last year was probably the worst of my career statistically, but from models and personal feel, everything was as good as it’s ever been. Maybe better. Hopefully I can keep progressing. I can’t wait to get to spring [training] to attempt to fine-tune issues, and presumably add one other pitch, working with the coaches.

“I believe throwing extra sliders was only a product of the sport,” continued Helsley, who was traded to the New York Mets ultimately summer time’s deadline after pitching completely for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2019. “Guys actually practice on hitting velo and are actually good at hitting stuff that’s straight. It doesn’t matter how arduous it’s, particularly in fastball counts…. This final yr, I threw these fastballs in these hitter’s counts, and that form of led to the ballooned ERA and a troublesome yr general.”

My colleague addressed the relevant numbers in his article, so there isn’t any have to repeat them right here. However there’s extra so as to add from Helsley. MASN reporter Annie Kalff requested him about his arm angle which, as Rosen defined, had climbed 10 inches when throwing his fastball.

“My arm elevating that top was not by design,” defined Helsey, who attributed the change to “a little bit of a foot situation” that crept up in spring coaching and carried over into the season. “So, I’m making an attempt to get again to the place my stuff has performed at its finest. We have now lots of instruments in Baltimore and throughout the league to have the ability to do this form of stuff. The folks in New York, they noticed it immediately too… I used to be making an attempt to battle that, and my hand posture, however if you’re pitching in shut video games, or making an attempt to shut out a recreation within the huge leagues in entrance of 45,000 folks, you’re not considering of an excessive amount of stuff on the market. It was arduous to try this through the season so I’m actually making an attempt to deal with that stuff proper now… I’m making an attempt to get that excellent arm slot, no matter diploma that’s [and] be capable to reinforce that.”

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A random obscure former participant snapshot:

4 pitchers had double-digit wins on a 2002 Minnesota Twins group that completed atop the AL Central with a file of 94-67. Three of them — Rick Reed (15 wins), Kyle Lohse (13), and Eric Milton (13) — are names you in all probability acknowledge. All of them toed the rubber in a minimum of 11 MLB seasons and had a number of noteworthy campaigns. The fourth identify is much much less acquainted. For those who’re not a Twins fan of a sure age, you possible haven’t heard of Tony Fiore.

A right-handed reliever from River Grove, Illinois, Fiore appeared in simply 87 major-league video games throughout the 2000-2003 seasons, 14 with the Tampa Bay Satan Rays and 73 with the Twins. All informed, he went 12-6 with a 4.39 ERA over 151-and-two-thirds frames. The majority of his big-league motion got here in 2002. Fiore got here out of the Minnesota bullpen 46 occasions that yr (he additionally made two begins) and completed with a 3.16 ERA over 91 innings. Furthermore, he was 10-3 within the win-loss column.

A couple of quick years later, forgotten by all however a couple of, Fiore was taking the mound in Taiwan for the CPBL’s La New Bears. He additionally had a late-career stint with the Atlantic League’s Lengthy Island Geese and pitched for Italy within the 2007 Baseball World Cup.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The KBO’s Hanwha Eagles have signed 26-year-old right-hander Wilkel Hernandez, who has been within the Detroit Tigers system since 2018, most not too long ago at Triple-A Toledo. Hernandez is the second Tiger to take his skills to Korea in latest weeks, Matt Manning have inked a one-year take care of the Samsung Lions.

Shed Lengthy Jr. is slashing .382/.463/.603 over 80 plate appearances for the Puerto Rican Winter League’s Cangrejeros de Santurce. The 30-year-old infielder — final in MLB with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 — has spent the final two seasons with the impartial American Affiliation’s Cleburne Railroaders, who’re managed by erstwhile big-league slugger Pete Incaviglia.

J.C. Mejía has six saves and has allowed only one earned run over 17-and-two-thirds innings with the Dominican Winter League’s Tigres del Licey. The 29-year-old right-hander — final in MLB with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 — pitched in impartial ball this previous season with Diablos Rojos del Mexico.

Jirvin Morillo is 13-for-38 with two doubles, a triple, and a house run for the Australian Baseball League’s Sydney Blue Sox. The 18-year-old switch-hitting catcher within the Cincinnati Reds group had a 111 wRC+ within the Dominican Summer time League.

Eric Rataczak has been much more spectacular in Sydney. The 24-year-old outfielder within the Miami Marlins system is 20-for-57 with 4 doubles and 5 house runs. Rataczak logged a 111 wRC+ and went deep six occasions between Excessive-A Beloit and Double-A Pensacola.

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Termarr Johnson was one of many prospects I requested about once I talked to Ben Cherington ultimately month’s GM Conferences. Drafted fourth general in 2022 by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of an Atlanta highschool, the 22-year-old second baseman spent this previous season at Double-A Altoona the place he slashed .272/.363/.382 with 9 house runs and a 118 wRC+ over 503 plate appearances.

“He had an under-the-radar season from our perspective,” Pittsburgh’s normal supervisor informed me. “He was enjoying in probably the most troublesome parks for left-handed hitters within the minor leagues, was one of many youngest gamers within the [Eastern League], and was someplace round 15-20 p.c above league common. We although it was a really optimistic developmental yr for him. He’s monitoring properly. We count on him to be in Triple-A subsequent yr. Termarr has the makings of a very good hitter.”

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper wrote about how beginning pitchers who throw arduous have for much longer MLB careers than those that don’t throw as arduous.

At CBS Sports activities, R.J. Anderson gave us a historical past of baseball’s CBA negotiations.

At STL Sports activities Central, Bernie Miklasz defined how Chaim Bloom’s aggressive work to remodel the Cardinals will finally repay.

MLB.com’s Michael Clair wrote about 18-year-old Athletics prospect Shotaro Morii, a two-way participant who a decade in the past was a part of the youth group that gained Japan’s MLB Cup.

The Athletic’s Eno Sarris and Chandler Rome teamed as much as go inside how MLB groups consider participant make-up — from high prospects to big-time free brokers.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Roberto Clemente and Tommy Lasorda had been teammates with the Triple-A Montreal Royals in 1954. The Pittsburgh Pirates took Clemente in that winter’s Rule 5 draft after he was left unprotected by the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In 2024 and 2025, there have been simply 15 MLB place gamers age 36 and older — the fewest since 1973, the yr when the designated hitter was launched (per final weekend’s always-excellent Boston Globe Sunday Notes column).

Graig Nettles had a .248 BA, 2,225 hits, 328 doubles, and 90 sacrifice flies.Darrell Evans had a .248 BA, 2,223 hits, 329 doubles, and 90 sacrifice flies.

Miguel Cabrera had 511 house runs, 40 stolen bases, and a 139 wRC+.Gary Sheffield had 509 house runs, 253 stolen bases, and a 141 wRC+.

Dale Murphy performed in 162 video games and had 36 house runs in every of the 1982, 1983, and 1984 seasons. In 1985, he performed in 162 video games and hit 37 house runs.

The Cincinnati Reds signed Dave Parker as a free agent on in the present day’s date in 1983, ending the Corridor of Fame outfielder’s 11-year tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Parker went on to spend 4 seasons in Cincinnati, with 1985 standing out as the very best. Taking part in for Pete Rose, “The Cobra” crushed a career-high 34 house runs and led the senior circuit with 125 RBIs.

The Milwaukee Brewers bought Felipe Alou from the Montreal Expos on in the present day’s date in 1973. The 38-year-old veteran of 17 big-league seasons went hitless in three at-bats in April 1974, then hung up the spikes, ending a enjoying profession that included three All-Star berths and a couple of,101 hits, together with 206 house runs.

Gamers born on in the present day’s date embody Carl Dale, whose 20.25 ERA is the very best in Brewers historical past for pitchers who threw a minimum of 4 innings. Taking part in in his lone big-league season, the right-hander out of Winthrop College made 4 appearances for Milwaukee in 1999 and was charged with 9 runs over 4 frames.

Additionally born on in the present day’s date was Brian Schmack, a right-hander whose major-league profession comprised 11 reduction appearances for a 2013 Detroit Tigers group that completed with a file of 43-119. Schmack’s personal file wasn’t almost as dire, as he went 1-0, with a 3.46 ERA over 13 innings. He’s now the top baseball coach at Valparaiso College.