Zachary McKinstry (born April 29, 1995) is an American professional baseball

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Amateur career

McKinstry graduated from North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was a three-time all-conference selection and hit .595 as a junior to be selected to the all-area team. He was rated as the eighth-best

prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

in the state of Indiana. McKinstry played college baseball for the Central Michigan University Chippewas. He was named to the 2015 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team and in 2016 he was the team co-MVP, while leading the team in batting average, on base percentage and stolen bases. He played for the

Waterloo Bucks The Waterloo Bucks are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. Their home games are played at the Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, Iowa. They were founded in 1995. They originally played in the Sou ...

of the Northwoods League after the 2015 season and the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the Cape Cod League after the 2016 season. While playing for Waterloo in 2015, he learned that his parents house had burned to the ground in a fire.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected McKinstry in the 33rd round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, and signed with the team on July 8. After beginning his career by playing four games with the

Arizona League Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is compos ...

, he was promoted to the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League, near where he attended college. He hit .261 in 41 games for the Loons and helped them win the league championship. In 2017, he played 17 games for Great Lakes, 82 for the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

and 15 for the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

. Overall, he had a .239 batting average. He returned to the Loons to start 2018, but maintained a positive attitude about the demotion and improved his batting average and his walk ratio. He played in only 76 games in 2018, across the same three levels, with a .282 average while spending time on the disabled list. McKinstry began 2019 with Tulsa, where he increased his power numbers and was selected to the mid-season all-star team. After hitting .279 with 12 homers and 52 RBI in 95 games for Tulsa he was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

on August 3. With Oklahoma City, he played in 26 games with a .382 average. The Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2019 season. McKinstry was called up to the majors for the first time on August 5, 2020. However, he was optioned the following day without appearing in a game. He was called up again on September 16, where he made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter against the San Diego Padres, striking out in his first at-bat. His first major league hit was a double to left field off of

Antonio Senzatela Antonio Senzatela Rondón (born January 21, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017. Career Minor leagues The Colorado Rockies signed Senzatela ...

of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

on September 20. He appeared in four games, with two hits in seven at-bats in 2020. On April 3, 2021, McKinstry hit his first career major league home run, in the top of the eighth inning off of Rockies pitcher Mychal Givens. It was an inside-the-park homer when the ball deflected off the glove of Raimel Tapia as he kept the ball from going over the fence, but thought the ball went over the fence letting McKinstry circle the bases. He appeared in 60 games for Los Angeles, with a .215 batting average, seven homers and 29 RBI. He also played in 40 games for Oklahoma City, hitting .272. In 2022, McKinstry appeared in 10 games for the Dodgers, with one hit (a home run) in 11 at-bats and also hit .335 in 48 games for Oklahoma City.

Chicago Cubs

On July 30, 2022, McKinstry was traded to the

in exchange for Chris Martin. McKinstry appeared in 47 games for the Cubs down the stretch, slashing .207/.272/.361 with 4 home runs, 12 RBI, and 7 stolen bases.

Detroit Tigers

On March 27, 2023, McKinstry was traded to the

in exchange for Carlos Guzman.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinstry, Zach Living people 1995 births Baseball players from Toledo, Ohio Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball third basemen Los Angeles Dodgers players Chicago Cubs players Detroit Tigers players Central Michigan Chippewas baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Great Lakes Loons players Arizona League Dodgers players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Waterloo Bucks players