Dodgers Most Improved Minor Leaguer for 2019

Who is your favorite minor league player in the Dodger pipeline? I suppose we shouldn’t have favorites as every player has the same goal and is doing all he can to reach the highest level he can, hopefully, MLB. I have a lot of players I follow but I expect my number one favorite is Zach McKinstry. I also expect my perception of Zach is out of the mainstream and has been strongly influenced with his arrival in Great Lakes in the summer of 2016. He was a surprise arrival and did not set the world on fire but played a pivotal role in the Loons unlikely 2016 league championship run. The absolute highlight of that year was the grand slam by Omar Estevez on August 11 against the Lake County Captains. The Loons had gone into the bottom of the ninth inning down 10-4 and in extra-innings emerged with an 11-10 victory. From then on there was no stopping the Great Lakes squad.

McKinstry, a second baseman/shortstop seemed to solidify the infield following his promotion to the Loons on July 21, 2016 moving to an unfamiliar third base in an infield that featured two teenagers – Omar Estevez and Brendan Davis. He was the unheralded guy who made the play or got the hit. I have outlined his early baseball life on LADT before so will skip ahead to the present with just a bit of his history. 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.

Following his 2016 season, he had a bit of a down year in 2017 compounded by a wrist injury lifting weights in the offseason. He again started the 2018 season back in Great Lakes which I expect was below his expectations but after 18 games he was promoted to Rancho Cucamonga. Following a successful 33 games with the Quakes, he moved on to Tulsa where he found the sledding a little tough.

We are all pretty much familiar with the current season for the Fort Wayne native. The 24-year-old McKinstry has posted a .300/.365/.516 triple slash with 75 RBI over two levels – AA and AAA. In 235 minor league games prior to this season, he had 11 home runs. This year he has 19 in 121 games ( Tulsa 12, OKC 7).

2Demeter2 has indicated he is planning to write an article on player development. Can’t wait to read it. Zach McKinstry might just be the poster boy for player development. His has been a work in progress and progress he has made in a lockstep fashion. That progress is a testament to his work ethic and confidence in himself and to the player development program of the Dodgers. His batting average at each level improved significantly the second time around.

   2016 Great Lakes -.261(41 games)

   2017 Great Lakes – .308 (17 games)

    2017 Rancho Cucamonga – .226 (82 games)

    2018 Rancho Cucamonga – .308 (33 games)

    2018 Tulsa – .193 (25 games)

    2019 Tulsa – .279 (95 games)

    2019 OKC – .382 (26 games)

It would a bit unrealistic to expect Zach McKinstry to continue to hit .382 at the AAA level. That would be in Gavin Lux territory. However, it is realistic in my opinion, to expect him to continue to be a productive offensive player with the tools to make it to MLB. It may not be with the Dodgers and may not be as a full-time player but I wouldn’t put the full-time part past him. He is a determined young man grateful for the opportunity he has been given. Exactly 1000 players were selected in the draft before him in 2016.  How is it that the 1001st selection has found success at the AA and AAA level before many of his fellow draftees?

How is it that the left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing infielder had a 6-RBI game with the OKC Dodgers with two 3-run homers on August 9th? To his recollection he had never had a 2-home run game before in his career, professional or otherwise. His explanation was simple.

“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.”

Beyond that, he attributes his success, and especially his power surge, to two influences in his professional career. First, he acknowledged the player development program of the Dodgers. One would expect that the influence of the Dodgers hitting coach, Robert Van Scoyoc, has filtered down through the system and McKinstry has bought into the approach. He doesn’t talk specifically about that but credits the development program with giving him the tools to compete at each level as he advances through the system.

“[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.”

Secondly, McKinstry wanted to change his offseason routine and did so by deviating away from the usual winter conditioning program. He chose CrossFit and it seems it was a good choice. McKinstry stayed with the program until about two weeks before spring training.

Very briefly, a one-line description of CrossFit indicates it is high intensity with a tough workout pushing the participant to the limit and stresses core development which is so important for an athlete.

 “Started by a former gymnast and gymnastics coach, CrossFit lets you pick from different “workouts of the day,” or WOD. You might run, row, or climb ropes and do lunges, squats, and other moves.”

I don’t know if the workout program was approved by the Dodgers but the results were evident when he reported to spring training. McKinstry especially liked the running part of the program.

“You could tell in spring training that he’d added some strength and some bulk,” Tulsa manager Scott Hennessey said. “I’d say, I don’t know the exact number, but 10-15 pounds. Definitely stronger than he was last year physically. The ball’s coming off his bat much better. I think that he realizes now that he can do this. He has the confidence to do this and play this game at a high level for a very long time. The sky’s the limit.”

Hennessey saw  McKinstry battling pitchers more this season than last, fouling off pitches he might not have in 2018. These battles have made opposing pitchers make more mistakes in the zone, which McKinstry has pounced on. His manager added that his 12 homers could easily be 20 were it not for the wind at OneOk Field, the Drillers’ home field in downtown Tulsa, not usually blowing in.

Unfortunately, the OKC Dodgers did not make the playoffs so Zach McKinstry will have to wait until the 2020 season begins to test his tools again at the AAA level looking for a call-up to the Dodgers at some point in the season.  His route to the Dodgers looks a bit blocked so maybe he becomes a Rule 5 candidate in 2020.

DC’s 10th Inning

Tuesday’s  Score:

Ogden Raptors 12 – Orem Owlz (LAA) 0

Nineteen-year-old Antonio Hernandez pitched 5 shutout innings on 2 hits with no walks and 7 strikeouts. Relievers Adolfo Ramirez, Drew Finley, Jeisson Cabrera and Jcob Cantleberry each spun a scoreless inning.

Eighteen-year-old Jorbit Vivas (2B) went 4/4 and outfielder Ismael Alcantara went 3/4. Each had 4 RBI. With the 12-0 home win over the Owlz, the Raptors won their 51st game and are the first Pioneer League team since 2009 to get to the half-century win mark.

Outfielder Andy Pages and pitchers Jeronimo Castro and Alfredo Tavarez were selected as postseason all-stars.

Pages – .287/.391/.610, 16 HR, 50 RBI in 50 games

Castro – 3.41 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 66 IP, 68 K, 13 BB

Tavarez – 3.79 ERA,1.22 WHIP, 61.2 IP, 63 K, 25 BB

The Raptors finish out their regular season with 4 more games against the Owlz and meet the Grand Junction Rockies in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.

Minor League Play-off Games Today:

Great Lakes Loons  at Lake County Captains  (Cleveland)

The Loons finished the season at  81-55 and the best winning percentage in the Midwest League.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes  at Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego)

The Quakes at 81-57 complete the regular season with the second-highest win total in franchise history.

Tulsa Drillers at Arkansas travelers (Seattle)

The Drillers finished the regular season with a 78-61 record. The 78 regular-season wins marked the most in franchise history, matching the 1998 Drillers Texas League Championship squad.  The Travelers are the only team in the league that Tulsa does not have a winning record against this year finishing with a 9-21 mark against Arkansas.