The Cleveland Guardians know that Triston McKenzie is pitching with UCL damage in his elbow.
The hurler has refused to get surgery and opted to keep pitching.
That caused his performance at the MLB to dip considerably, as he posted a 5.11 ERA in 75.2 frames before the organization took the hard, but necessary decision to send him to Triple-A.
“Sticks” made his third start in Triple-A on Sunday, and it was more of the same: inconsistency, iffy control, and a mediocre line.
“Cleveland #Guardians RHP Triston McKenzie’s final line in his second start with Triple-A Columbus. Line – 4.0(IP) 2H 2R 2ER 7BB 2SO (78 Pitches 36 Strikes),” Guardians Prospective tweeted.
Cleveland #Guardians RHP Triston McKenzie's final line in his second start with Triple-A Columbus.
Line – 4.0(IP) 2H 2R 2ER 7BB 2SO (78 Pitches 36 Strikes)
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) July 22, 2024
When it comes to run prevention, McKenzie actually held his own on Sunday, conceding just two runs over four frames.
However, it could have been much worse, as he also surrendered two hits and a whopping seven walks.
He completely lost control of the strike zone in this one, and it was definitely a step back from where he needs to be in order to reclaim his spot in the MLB rotation.
His Triple-A ERA is up to 6.08 in 13.1 innings of work.
The Guardians badly need pitching ahead of the trade deadline, and one of the reasons they should be all over the pitching market is because McKenzie failed to live up to expectations.
This is a pitcher who is capable of posting a sub-3.00 ERA when healthy, as he did in his breakout 2022 campaign.
The main problem is that he is not healthy; at least not enough to show us his best version.
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