McKinstry – Ex-Zach-ly Knocking on the Door

Posted By on March 2, 2020

I have followed Zach McKinstry since he was selected by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. I especially took notice when he was advanced to the Loons in 2016 and became an important cog in their championship run by moving to the third base position, a position he had not previously played. The  6’/180 -pound McKinstry solidified the position and the infield helping out his teenage infield partners, shortstop Brendon Davis and second baseman Omar Estevez. I have followed Estevez just as closely while Davis was traded to the Rangers at the trade deadline in 2017 in the trade that brought Yu Darvish to the Dodgers.

McKinstry grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended North Side High School in Fort Wayne. Following his graduation from high school, he moved east to Central Michigan University to take up a regular spot as their shortstop.

As a sophomore, he led the Chippewas in several categories in 2016, including batting average (.325), on-base percentage (.415), hits (79) and stolen bases (12), earning team Co-MVP honors. He started at shortstop in all 61 games during the 2016 season.

On July 21, 2016, he made his debut with the Loons and on the season he hit .261 in 41 games while playing shortstop, second base and third base.

During the 2017 season, he played 17 games with the Loons, 82 with the Quakes and 15 with the Drillers, hitting a combined uncharacteristically low .239 and seeing his OBP slip below .300 with the Quakes.  In the field, he split his time equally between second base and third base while also making starts at shortstop.

McKinstry’s problems in 2017 began during the off-season when he sprained his wrist while lifting weights. It wasn’t a serious injury, but it took time away from his off-season work and was reflected in his 2017 campaign.

In a somewhat disappointing fashion for McKinstry, he started the 2018 season back with the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League. However, amid his disappointment, he took a positive out of the setback.

“The good part is that I know my way around here, and I’m familiar with everything,” McKinstry said.

“And I have a lot of friends from around here and in Mount Pleasant. It’s not hard for them to come see me play.”

The better part for McKinstry is that after 18 games in 2018 with the Loons in which he hit .377 he was promoted to the Quakes. The best part is that after 33 games with the Quakes in which he hit .308 with an OBP of .447 he advanced once again to the Drillers. He did miss a full month on the DL in May and June.

His 2018 Driller appearance did not attract much attention but he came out healthy and firing with the Drillers in 2019. Over 95 games he posted a .279/.352/.455 triple slash and saw a power surge hitting 12 home runs while surpassing his previous minor league total of 11 home runs over three seasons.

He was selected as a mid-season all-star in the Texas League before moving on to the Oklahoma City Dodgers for his final 26 games of the season in which he had a slash line of  .382/.421/.753 along with an OPS of 1.174. He hit another seven home runs and drove in 26 runs.

McKinstry was selected by MiLB as a 2019 Dodgers Organizational All-Star at second base. This is the summary provided by MiLB.

McKinstry set career highs in batting (.300) and dingers (19) while tying for third in the system in hits (129) and placing in the top 10 in doubles (T-ninth, 24) extra-base hits (eighth, 49) and total bases (seventh, 222). Although he spent the bulk (440 2/3 frames) of his defensive innings at second, the Dodgers consider him “above average” there and “a legitimate defender” elsewhere. The Central Michigan product could primarily play shortstop in 2020.

“He had a really good offseason last year. He stayed at [Camelback Ranch]. He filled out his body and got a lot stronger, and as soon as the calendar turned, a lot of us noticed how much better his bat path was,” Will Rhymes said. “He was able to access more of the field and show more power, and he retained the ability to make contact.”

McKinstry was on fire in his 26 games with the Oklahoma City Dodgers and on August 9th he hit a pair of three-run home runs capping off a 4-for-4 day at the plate. It may well have been his defining moments in his professional career. He had a bit of a slow start with the OKC Dodgers and was admittedly a bit nervous but dialed it back after a few games and everything fell into place. He certainly had not hit a pair of three-run home runs in a game previously in his career and had to smile during his home run trot following his second dinger.

“Thinking back through my career, I don’t think I’ve ever done that,” he said. “It was pretty awesome to get it fair and squeeze it in there over the fence. It was really a great feeling. Just getting called up to Triple-A makes it that much bigger.”

He continued:  “I’ve hit the ball hard all year. Things are just falling right now. You know how baseball goes. I’m hitting it hard and good things are happening for me.”

McKinstry is a humble, grateful young man to be in the position in which he now finds himself. That is, knocking on the door of MLB. His humility is evident in that he never speaks about what he has done but always references what he has been given as an unlikely candidate to reach that last rung on the ladder on his climb from college ball. Dodger fans have to love his comment regarding the organization.

“[The Dodgers] give me all the tools to perform every day,” he said. “There’s great coaches here in OKC and throughout the organization. I love playing for the Dodgers. They’ve given a guy from a lower-level college a chance in the 33rd round and pushed me through the system.”

Does McKinstry have the opportunity to break from spring training with the parent club? One would expect not to barring a trade of Kike Hernandez or Chris Taylor. However, the opportunity is there as McKinstry can play third base and to date, he has made good use of every opportunity he has had. What does Dave Roberts think?

He describes him as a guy who doesn’t “Wow you.”, when you first see him but remarked on his baseball instincts, understanding how to manage an at-bat and where to be in the right spot in the field. Roberts gave McKinstry the ultimate compliment when he described him as a baseball player:

“Certain players, you have to see play for an extended period of time to really appreciate what they can do. He just doesn’t make mistakes as far as mental mistakes. We put him on the roster to get to learn more about Zach.”

“Zach is an interesting player and has performed himself into being a real guy as far as being on the roster. I really pull for guys like that. He can play anywhere on the diamond. He’s kind of the model for what we like to do as far as moving guys around the diamond,” said Roberts. “He conducts good at-bats. There’s some sneaky power in there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him with us this year at some point.”

Certainly being able to also play the outfield and hit an early home run and triple to the opposite field doesn’t hurt.

Spring Training Game 9 Notes – by Mark Timmons

  • Like DC writes above, McKinstry is worthy of a spot.
  • Adam Kolarek was lit up like Tommy Lasorda pitching batting practice… TODAY! He won’t be on the team and I never thought he had a chance.
  • Pitchers who have no chance of making the team gave up all the runs.
  • Victor Gonzalez, Kenley Jansen, Pedro Baez, and even Casey Crosby looked good.
  • The Dodgers catchers look great… at catching. Unfortunately, Ruiz and Smith can’t jump out of a boat and hit water. Based upon performance so far, Austin Barnes and Rocky Gale are the catchers.
  • In The Athletic, Keith Law ranks the Farm Systems. Here’s where he puts the Dodgers:

3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers’ chain of elite prospects remains unbroken, to the point where perhaps we should no longer be surprised. Corey Seager was followed by Cody Bellinger, who is now followed by Gavin Lux. Julio Urías was followed by Walker Buehler, who was followed by Dustin May, who may now be followed by Josiah Gray. They’ve drafted well, they’ve fared exceptionally well internationally, and they’ve even added some prospects in trades while still contending, a neat trick few teams pull off more than once. They even have enough catching depth to put their third-best catching prospect, Keibert Ruiz, on the trade block. The Dodgers get credit for the money they spend but not enough for the players they develop on their own.

  • Kike has 3 bombs and is beloved… B-E-L-O-V-E-D by his teammates. Can they really trade him?
  • Raley and Reks are amazing. Beaty ain’t so bad either!
  • Rios has prodigious power… along with Peters… and Thomas!
  • By the way, DC mentioned that Zach McKinstry was from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, home to one of the very best minor league ballparks, Parkview Field. The Ft. Wayne Tim Caps are the San Diego Padres Minor A affiliate.

Today’s Music

This article has 62 Comments

  1. Speaking of Fort Wayne, Zach became the first Loon (2016) to ever be interviewed on Sports Rush by Brett Rump on ESPN Radio in Fort Wayne. During the interview, he acknowledged his Dad, his Loons’ teammates and his former teammates from CMU who came to Great Lakes to take in some of his games.

    Being from Fort Wayne McKinstry had a true homecoming when the Loons visited the TinCaps in Fort Wayne on August 31. McKinstry was both nervous and excited but played well in front of 4,593 fans at Parkview Field, a field he had visited many times as a youngster in Fort Wayne.

    “It was pretty cool. The nerves went away pretty quickly after the first pitch. Then, it was like any other game. I just went in there and tried to get good at-bats and I thought I had pretty good ones,” said McKinstry, whose father, Alex, used to coach at North Side and is an usher at Parkview Field.

    In his early days as a Loon his character shone through.

    Matt DeVries, Loons assistant GM of marketing and communication – again in 2016 – confirmed that McKinstry was a solid team player. “Zach was a great locker room guy and quickly inserted himself into the fabric of the team. Having the local connection, there were frequent media requests for him, specifically. He never complained and fulfilled them admirably.”

  2. Very nice DC. Thanks for the great article on Zach MCKinstry, one of the latest minor league players that garnish my attention, a product of that terrific 2016 MLB draft. I love his attitude and the fact that he never gave up when he got sent back down to the Loons and instead strived to advance up again. Maybe he will be on the big team this year.

  3. Nice write up DC.

    They forgot Joc on that list of Elite Prospects – and he’s still wearing Blue.

    Welcome back Pete – you have been missed.

    Now we just need Vegas to show up!!

      1. Agreed!!! The Dodgers appear to devote as much time evaluating character as they do skills and it’s paying off in spades

      2. Does it seem to you that in st the dodger hitters are swinging earlier in the count? Last year the philosophy seemed to be to work at bats, make pitchers throw lots of pitches, see all his pitches. I can’t watch many games but it seems there is a lot of first pitch swinging. New hitting coaches new philosophy?

  6. Do any of the minor league teams that are up for contraction have nice ballparks? I’m curious if the condition of the stadiums are taken into account in the decision process.

      2. Agree, DC. on Ogden. Have not been there in years but when I went it was a first-class minor league stadium as was the one in Salt Lake City.

  7. I posted the following yesterday but it was pretty late in the day and too late to get much discussion. Maybe it didn’t receive much commentary because you folks don’t want to talk about such negative stuff. If so, feel free to tell me to crawl back into my hole. This is what I said yesterday:

    I don’t think anyone has mentioned this yet and I apologize sincerely for being such a killjoy, but I wonder what contingency plans MLB has made for the spread of the coronavirus. At some point some major leaguer is going to come down with it. What do they do then? Quarantine the entire team for 2-4 weeks? What about the teams they played for the prior one or two weeks? What happens when you get to the end of the season and some teams have played 15-30 games less than the others?
    I hope you can point out that I was being a fear monger in November, but this could turn into a very strange year very quickly.

    1. Scary thought. Hopefully the suits have contingency plans.

      Maybe the Asstericks will contract it?

        1. Astros or Asteriks as they are called will get plenty of theirs once season starts and I for one will be checking in on their 1st game , which will be in Oakland so I can personally witness or watch them get a 55 LB barrel full of ass whopping from those fans that they most assuredly will deserve!

          1. Still think it should Asstros because everything they’ve done smell awful.

            On a different po[nt, does anyone on this site know if de Gaus was ever a catcher because every time he throws the ball, his release point is right behind his right ear?

    2. I was thinking about it in a different way. Things seem to be lining up for the Dodgers this year. They won’t be facing a cheating team, they are healthy(knock on wood), and they are loaded and deep. Wouldn’t it be something if the season was stopped just when the Dodgers were about to win it all? First the team was cheated out a title and now a possible pandemic. Someone with a lot of power seems to hate them.
      Of course non of this is really important when compered to what has happened to people who got the virus and what possibly could happen to many more. In the end, it’s just a game.
      I’m sure the league has a contingency plan for all possibilities.

    3. It has already started to affect our business:

      1. Key supplier from SoCal canceled a planned trip here this week so as not to have to fly;
      2. We canceled flights to Trade Shows in Orlando and San Antonio and are driving.

      Airlines are the worst (or best, depending upon your point-of-view) waysto spread the virus.

      1. Just flown to Spain and back for a long weekend of golf.

        Hope you’re wrong.

        Here in the Uk they are talking about cancelling large gatherings of people, like sports events and concerts etc

        I think they are expecting things to get much, much worse here.

        Jon W – I had exactly the same thoughts – that would just be the Dodger’s luck to have this season curtailed.

        I just don’t see how they can stop this thing from spreading.

      2. Well speaking of airlines, that may be just another reason that when I take a vacation in May or thereabouts, I will drive to my destination, and rather it takes more time via car as opposed to any risk of flying.

    4. Didn’t you hear. The warm weather will take care of it and there’s nothing to worry about.

        1. I take Vitamins every day… including C and others.

          Actually, I am a very healthy eater.

          No fast food.

          No pop.

          No sweets.

          No dairy.

          Fish, chicken and some beef.

          Lots of greens and veggies.

          A little Vitamin B (Beer and Bourbon)

          No smoking.

          1. Wow, you’ll live to be 120! And since you’ve eliminated dairy I think I can get you a job with the Dodgers.

          2. Same here:
            No sodas
            No fast food
            Lots of salads, Italian greens and other veggies
            And the most important of all going on 2 years now:
            NO POOOOORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
            But salmon eaten 2 to 3 times a week
            Foods with healthy whole grains and fiber

          3. I can pretty much match that with two exceptions. I do not take any vitamins and milk has been my beverage of choice and still is for almost 80 years. Guess I can’t be a Dodger.

          4. And that is why you are so slim and trim? Mark, I meant, or DC if applicable.

  9. Yadier Alvarez has indeed cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the minor league camp. The saga continues.

      2. He could be released but the Dodgers are now free to keep him on a minor league roster without having to continue keeping him on the 40-man roster. Best of both worlds, assuming they really feel he’s sincere about putting his stupid stuff behind him.

    2. How someone deals with adversity is a good way to measure maturity. This is his chance to prove that he is a changed man. I hope he makes the right decisions.

  10. Vitamin B is very important! Can’t go a day without it! And Popeyes fried chicken!

  11. Was not able to watch today’s game. How did they do? I know they lost and Beaty had a couple of hits, but that is all I know for now.

  13. The Dodgers offense is deep, they have guys that can come up from the minors and fill in for awhile.

    There’s some guys I’m interested to see more of and would like to see a full game or 2 played by these position players:
    1B Luke Raley (He’s played the position before)
    2B Devin Mann
    SS Zack McKinstry
    3B Matt Beaty (To see how he handles 3B some more)
    LF Zack Reks
    CF DJ Peters
    RF Cody Thomas
    C Keibert Ruiz

    Pitchers 3 innings each:
    Marshall Kasowski
    Brett De Geus
    Brusdar Graterol

  15. I have read a lot, lately, about the personality of David Price, they say he is a good teammate and likes to help as much as possible.
    If you could only teach them to throw their change up to Clayton Kershaw and Caleb Fergunson, OMG, look for him !!!

  17. Question…..A lot has been said here about stealing the catcher’s signs to the pitcher. How vulnerable, useful or easy is it to steal the 3rd base coaches signs to the batter? Would it not be an advantage for a pitcher to know that a batter is going to bunt, maybe a safety squeeze or even take a pitch or is it not that important? I was asked that question some time ago.

    1. It would be funny to see the catcher stand up and go through the gyrations the third base coach goes through.

  18. Haha Bumsrap, that would be funny to see. I was thinking of a third baseman relaying the signs to the pitcher. It would not have to be in the same energetic way.

  19. On another note the trade of Maeda gets more costly every time I read something new. 1. Paid 1 million for him being traded. 2. Paid 10 million. 3. La picks up his bonuses 4. La is picking up his 3 million base salary. My gosh this appears ridiculous. A number 3 pitcher we basically paid for the next 2 years plus a catcher. Maybe that 10 million is what covers the salary and bonuses. Does anybody know?

  20. Well the original deal got us Betts and Price and the revised deal may get us our future closer. One thing the Dodgers have is plenty of money.

  22. If anyone has information as to what various players did in the off season to prepare for this year I would love to hear it.

  23. Pingback: Ranking the Dodger Farm System Position Players – LA Dodger Talk

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