Three days before Opening Day, the Detroit Tigers acquired Zach McKinstry from the Chicago Cubs in an unexpected trade. He hit leadoff for the first time on April 26, one month into his tenure with the organization, and continues to serve as the leadoff hitter against right-handed pitchers.
McKinstry, a left-handed hitter, leads the Tigers in leadoff opportunities with 13 games, ahead of Matt Vierling (11), Nick Maton (10) and Akil Baddoo (5). The consistent quality of his plate appearances has helped him stick.
“Every chance to get on base, get on base,” McKinstry said. “But also, you got to stay aggressive on pitches in the (strike) zone. I feel like I’ve had some success with that, and I’m going to stay with that. I’m going to be aggressive on the fastball, and when I get to two strikes, I’m going to battle and try to find my way to first (base).”
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McKinstry, 28, is hitting .267 with two home runs, 11 walks and 20 strikeouts across 32 games. His .347 on-base percentage leads the Tigers among eight position players with at least 90 plate appearances. As the first batter of the game, he is hitting .456 (5-for-11) with two walks and zero strikeouts in 13 games.
He gets to set the tone for the offense.
“The guys feed off that energy right away,” McKinstry said. “It’s definitely a good feeling when you get that going early on.”
In Wednesday’s 5-0 win, McKinstry swung at a first-pitch fastball from Cleveland Guardians right-hander Peyton Battenfield in the first inning, a product of his selective aggressive approach without trying to do too much. He shot the ball back up the middle, with a 106.3 mph exit velocity, for a leadoff single.
The Tigers ended up scoring two runs.
“He’s been huge because he’s versatile where he helps me make any decision that I want to during the game,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I know he’s an answer somewhere. There’s been a couple of games where he’s played three and four positions in a nine-inning game. His at-bat quality has been really good, his contact has been good, obviously, the hits have come. There’s just been a lot to like about him in how he goes about it and the production that comes with it.”
On defense, McKinstry has played second base (125⅓ innings), third base (19⅓ innings), right field (15⅔ innings), shortstop (15⅓ innings) and left field (15 innings). He also pitched one inning in a blowout loss.
The defensive versatility allows McKinstry to enter games as a pinch-hitter against right-handed relievers. (Vierling is the primary leadoff hitter against left-handed starters, and in those situations, McKinstry sits on the bench until his name is called with a righty reliever on the mound.)
“I’ve jumped around ever since Double-A,” McKinstry said. “I definitely take pride in being comfortable in all the different positions. I’m just trying to play good defense and have good at-bats.”
When the trade happened, the Tigers — led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris — decided to take a chance on McKinstry. He doesn’t have any minor-league options remaining, so if the Tigers want to send him to Triple-A Toledo at any point, he will need to be designated for assignment and clear waivers.
Turns out, McKinstry is a solid leadoff hitter.
He seems to be here to stay.
“One of the things that I told him: Just be yourself,” Hinch said. “We’re not asking you to be a high walk, high pitch per plate appearance guy. We’re not asking you to sell out for power. We’re not asking you to be predominately just a second baseman or just a third baseman. We just want the best version. That seemed to capture a little bit of life in him that he didn’t have to fill a role. We just want you to be a good player, whatever you can do to help us win.”
Nick Maton and the batting order
Infielder Nick Maton, with a .157 batting average in 36 games, started back-to-back games — Saturday and Sunday — against the Seattle Mariners, and in both games, he served as the No. 5 hitter in the batting order.
“Quitting on a guy has never been the answer,” Hinch said. “I’m never going to lose faith in him and what his ability is.”
The 26-year-old hasn’t batted lower than No. 5 in the lineup since serving as the No. 7 hitter April 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Since then, he has received opportunities in the Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 spots. In May, Maton is hitting .115 with one walk and nine strikeouts in 10 games (six starts).
“It doesn’t deter me from believing in him and giving him a chance to hit in the middle,” Hinch said of Maton’s struggles and his lineup decisions. “Some of it is trying to instill confidence in him, some of it is we really need a left-handed bat to break up right-handed bats in the lineup.”
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Opposing pitchers are pouring in non-fastball pitches to Maton at the bottom of the strike zone and below the strike zone. He is hitting .220 against fastballs (13-for-59), .154 against breaking balls (4-for-36) and .000 against offspeed pitches (0-for-13).
Hitting fastballs produced all four of his home runs this season.
“The league will tell you exactly what you need to know,” Hinch said. “If you look at the distribution of balls that are thrown to players, it’ll show you his strengths and weaknesses. The league is really good about staying stubborn about throwing those pitches. It leads to more repetition. You’re going to get more opportunities to hit offspeed pitches until you show that you can handle it.”
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On Tuesday, Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber — who throws 31.4% fastballs and 29.4% sliders — devastated Maton with breaking balls. On Saturday, Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller — who throws 63.3% fastballs and 20.6% sliders — attacked Maton with a heavy dose of breaking and offspeed pitches.
Maton, a left-handed hitter, has struggled to make contact with non-fastballs for his entire career. The trend has continued despite a trade from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Tigers in the offseason.
Fellow left-handed hitters Kerry Carpenter (right shoulder sprain) and Austin Meadows (anxiety) are on the injured list.
“When someone punches you, you have to punch back,” Hinch said, “and the way you do that is by being selective with the pitches and doing some damage. They’ll stop throwing it when you start hitting it.”
Spencer Turnbull update
Right-hander Spencer Turnbull has been on the 15-day injured list since Friday, retroactive to May 7, with neck discomfort. He was optioned to Triple-A Toledo for poor performance, then reported a neck injury to nix the demotion.
The 30-year-old, who has a 4.55 ERA in his 61-game career, will travel Monday and is expected to report to Comerica Park on Tuesday. He will rehab in Detroit and spend time with the team during home games.
“He should be here on Tuesday,” Hinch said.
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In 2023, Turnbull has a 7.26 ERA with 15 walks (10.3% walk rate) and 24 strikeouts (16.6% strikeout rate) in 31 innings across seven starts, averaging 4.4 innings per start. He has a 12-29 record in his career.
He could be shut down from pitching for at least a few weeks.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.