MILWAUKEE — Detroit Tigers infielder Zach McKinstry, a left-handed hitter who has played for three teams in parts of four seasons, watched Rafael Devers and José Ramírez take batting practice at Comerica Park.
Devers, a left-handed hitter, is a two-time All-Star for the Boston Red Sox. Ramírez, a switch-hitter, is a four-time All-Star for the Cleveland Guardians. McKinstry noticed something about their swing mechanics.
“Their front shoulders are so on plane (with the ball),” McKinstry said. “That’s my thought process. Maybe if I get my hands above the ball, my shoulders will stay more level. They kind of crush baseballs, so why can’t I?”
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After watching Devers and Ramírez, McKinstry decided to adjust his mechanics with an emphasis on his hands. The goal is to hit the ball with the optimal exit velocity and launch angle, and so far, he has seen the results of his tweaks.
“I’m trying to get my hands above the ball,” McKinstry said. “I feel like I was missing late and underneath the ball a lot, so I’m now looking at the top of the ball when it’s coming in and trying to hit the top of the ball. It’s kind of clicking.”
McKinstry, who turns 28 this week, is hitting .256 with two home runs, three walks and 13 strikeouts in 16 games. His .769 on-base-plus-slugging percentage ranks second on the team, behind Jake Rogers’ .911 OPS.
McKinstry also has four barrels — exit velocity of at least 98 mph and launch angle around 26-30 degrees — in 31 batted balls. (He had five barrels in 116 batted balls in the 2022 season and nine barrels in 111 batted balls in the 2021 season.)
Simply put, McKinstry is crushing baseballs like never before.
“It’s not really where I start my hands,” McKinstry said. “It’s when I’m going, I’m trying to move them up before I’m going down on the ball. That’s the thought process. It might not look like that, but that’s what it feels like.”
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A mindset shift contributed to the improved production, too.
“My first week still felt like spring training at-bats,” McKinstry said. “And then I see (Nick) Maton having great at-bats and buying in. He’s like, ‘I’m going to beat that guy.’ It doesn’t matter what I do, I’m just going to try to beat the pitcher.”
McKinstry hit .158 (3-for-19) with one walk and five strikeouts in his first seven games. Since then, he is hitting .333 (8-for-24) with three doubles, two home runs, two walks and eight strikeouts in nine games.
He has extra-base hits in five of his past nine games.
Manager A.J. Hinch boosted McKinstry to the fifth spot in the batting order for Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. Facing right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, he hit a double in the second inning and worked a walk in the third inning.
The Tigers acquired McKinstry, who doesn’t have any minor-league options remaining, in a trade with the Chicago Cubs — three days before Opening Day — to round out their 26-man roster to start the season.
“The results have obviously picked up, and that’s good, but his at-bats have steadily gotten better and better,” Hinch said. “I love how he has started to settle in and conduct at-bats the way we expected him to when we acquired him. When you have a little bit of success, it decompresses you immediately that you’re a contributor and part of what we’re doing. I’m happy with him.”
A personal preference
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez missed a perfect game by seven outs in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
The 30-year-old didn’t use PitchCom.
“He just likes the fingers,” said catcher Jake Rogers. “We’re on the same page pretty good. He likes the fingers until a runner gets on second (base), and then we’ll use pitch count. I think it’s just what he likes.”
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Rodriguez faced Ryan Mountcastle with two outs in the seventh inning, and Mountcastle fouled off four pitches in a row before hitting an eighth-pitch changeup for a single into left-center field.
The base hit broke up the perfect game.
Rodriguez, who likes to work quickly from pitch-to-pitch on the mound, tossed seven innings of one-hit ball with zero walks and six strikeouts. He threw 65 of 95 pitches for strikes.
“I would assume it’s personal preference and speed to give Eduardo a chance to process through what he wants to pitch,” Hinch said of Rodriguez not using PitchCom, the electronic pitch-calling system. “But it’s still OK. For 100 years, we used regular signs and came out OK. The communication is fine, and that’s still a very effective way to get
Prospect wins award
Double-A Erie third baseman Colt Keith, the Tigers’ best hitting prospect, won Eastern League Player of the Week for hitting .542 (13-for-24) with two home runs, two walks and seven strikeouts in six games. He posted a 1.468 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in the six-game stretch.
The 21-year-old is hitting .356 with three homers, six walks and 15 strikeouts in 14 games this season.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.