Triston Andrew McKenzie (born August 2, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

organization. He was drafted by Cleveland with the 42nd overall selection of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2020.

Amateur career

McKenzie attended

Royal Palm Beach High School Royal Palm Beach High School (RPBHS) also known as Royal Palm High is a public high school in Royal Palm Beach, Florida with an enrollment of over 2,000 students. The school is a part of the School District of Palm Beach County. Notable alumni * ...

in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. In 2015, his senior year, he had a 9–5

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 0.79

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He was drafted by the Indians with the 42nd overall selection of the

. He signed for $2.3 million, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Professional career

McKenzie spent 2015, his first professional season, with the Arizona League Indians (rookie winter league) where he posted a 0.75 ERA in 12

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. In 2016, McKenzie began the season with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

(rookie summer league) before being promoted to the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

(high A league); he posted a combined 1.62 ERA with 104 strikeouts in

between the two teams. In 2017, McKenzie played for the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinn ...

(A league) where he posted a 12–6 record with a 3.46 ERA in 25 games started. That same year, he pitched in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. In 2018, he spent the season with the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park (Akron, Ohio) ...

(Double A), going 7–4 with a 2.68 ERA over innings. MLB Pipeline ranked McKenzie as Cleveland's first ranked prospect entering into the 2019 season. In 2019, he missed the season due to lat and pectoral muscle strains. Following the season, McKenzie was added to the Indians

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. On August 22, 2020, McKenzie made his major league debut against 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, striking out ten batters in six innings; McKenzie's 10 strikeouts in his debut performance is the second most by an Indians pitcher in their first major league start. With the 2020 Cleveland Indians, McKenzie appeared in 8 games, compiling a 2–1 record with 3.24 ERA and 42 strikeouts in innings pitched. McKenzie began the 2021 season as a member of Cleveland's starting rotation. On May 22, 2021, McKenzie was optioned to the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

after compiling a 1–3 record, a 6.89 ERA, and 30 walks over innings. McKenzie was recalled on May 26, and on May 31 against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, he set the Indians franchise record for most consecutive strikeouts, punching out 8 White Sox hitters in a row. McKenzie was demoted again after a poor outing on June 12, due in great part to his high rate of walking batters. He was recalled for a spot start on July 9, in which he pitched seven shutout innings, giving up just one hit and one walk, while striking out nine

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

batters. McKenzie also threw 7+ innings against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

on August 21, allowing only two hits and striking out

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and in Nippon Professional Basebal ...

three times. Prior to the 2022 season, Marcus Stroman publicly promised on

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that he would buy McKenzie a

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

watch if he pitched more than 160 innings that season and finished with an ERA below 3.70. He finished the year with an 11–11 record and 2.96 ERA in 191.1 innings. It was described in ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'' as a "breakout season." McKenzie called it "refreshing." McKenzie began the 2023 season on the 60-day injured list with a right

teres major muscle The teres major muscle is a muscle of the upper limb. It attaches to the scapula and the humerus and is one of the seven scapulohumeral muscles. It is a thick but somewhat flattened muscle. The teres major muscle (from Latin ''teres'', meanin ...

strain. He was activated to make his season debut on June 4, 2023. After just two starts, McKenzie was scratched from a scheduled June 16 start against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

due to right elbow discomfort. The next day, he was placed on the injured list after an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

revealed a sprain in his

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL) may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 6. McKenzie was activated from the injured list on September 24. McKenzie made 16 starts for Cleveland during the 2024 campaign, posting a 3-5 record and 5.11 ERA with 74 strikeouts across innings pitched. McKenzie began the 2025 season as a member of the Guardians' bullpen. He made four relief appearances for the Guardians in 2025, struggling to an 11.12 ERA with four strikeouts across innings pitched. On April 21, 2025, McKenzie was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Cleveland. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Columbus on April 28.

Personal

McKenzie's younger brother, T.J., was drafted by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in the 39th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft but enrolled at

to play

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Triston 1997 births Living people African-American baseball players Akron RubberDucks players Arizona League Indians players Cleveland Indians players Cleveland Guardians players Columbus Clippers players Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Brooklyn 21st-century African-American sportsmen