Zach McKinstry

Zach McKinstry

27-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
Chicago Cubs
2023 Fantasy Outlook
After beginning his career with two seasons and change in a Dodgers uniform, McKinstry finished 2022 with the Cubs after a midseason trade from Los Angeles. He showed good defensive versatility by appearing at five different positions, though he continued to do very little at the plate. He slashed .199/.273/.361 and contributed five home runs across 57 games. While those numbers don't jump off the page, McKinstry was at least able to record a career-high seven stolen bases on seven attempts. Heading into his age-28 season, McKinstry looks like a backup to Nick Madrigal and Nico Hoerner up the middle, and he could see some time in the outfield as well. His uncertain playing time and probable low batting average limits his appeal, though McKinstry could have a little value in deeper leagues if he somehow sees an expanded role and also continues to steal bases at a regular clip. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#598
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Cubs in March of 2023.
Gets look in left field
2BChicago Cubs
March 11, 2023
McKinstry will get looks in the outfield for the rest of the Cactus League season, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
McKinstry got a look in left field on Saturday, and it's something the Cubs will have him do again during the exhibition season. The former Dodgers prospect is out of options, so Chicago would risk losing him on waivers if he doesn't make the Opening Day roster. Showing the versatility to handle the outfield would go a long way towards McKinstry being a part of the opening group.
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Batting Stats
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2022
2021
2020
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
24
1
5
5
5
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+10%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+40%
OPS vs RHP
2021
 
 
+4%
OPS vs RHP
2020
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020vs Left .605 73 7 1 10 1 .215 .282 .323
Since 2020vs Right .664 291 34 11 34 7 .207 .266 .398
2022vs Left .465 20 3 0 1 1 .188 .278 .188
2022vs Right .653 165 18 5 14 6 .200 .273 .380
2021vs Left .650 53 4 1 9 0 .224 .283 .367
2021vs Right .676 119 15 6 20 1 .211 .254 .422
2020vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Right .714 7 1 0 0 0 .286 .286 .429
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+29%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+30%
OPS at Home
2021
 
 
+30%
OPS at Home
2020
 
 
-100%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020Home .743 165 21 8 24 2 .230 .282 .461
Since 2020Away .576 199 20 4 19 6 .190 .258 .318
2022Home .733 75 10 3 6 1 .232 .284 .449
2022Away .565 110 11 2 8 6 .175 .266 .299
2021Home .751 90 11 5 18 1 .229 .281 .470
2021Away .577 82 8 2 11 0 .200 .244 .333
2020Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Away .714 7 1 0 0 0 .286 .286 .429
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Zach McKinstry compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.31
 
BB Rate
8.6%
 
K Rate
28.1%
 
BABIP
.257
 
ISO
.163
 
AVG
.199
 
OBP
.273
 
SLG
.361
 
OPS
.635
 
wOBA
.282
 
Exit Velocity
86.4 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
25.0%
 
Barrels/PA
2.7%
 
Expected BA
.229
 
Expected SLG
.342
 
Sprint Speed
24.7 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
37.2%
 
Line Drive %
24.8%
 
Fly Ball %
38.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
McKinstry came out of nowhere to appear on the Dodgers' radar by logging a 177 wRC+ in his first Triple-A stint in 2019. The 25-year-old followed with a strong spring training last season, logging a 1.314 OPS and drilling three homers over 31 plate appearances. Simply receiving a big-league call-up was an against-the-odds achievement in itself -- McKinstry was a slap-hitting 33rd-round pick in the 2016 first-year playoff draft -- and he ran with the opportunity, collecting a pair of hits in seven at-bats. McKinstry's minor-league track record reveals favorable walk and strikeout rates, which often translates to similar characteristics in the majors. The big question is whether the power that began to emerge in 2019 will continue to blossom as McKinstry further evolves as a hitter. If so, his ability to play all over the field could help McKinstry fill the type of super-utility role the Dodgers tend to covet.
He doesn't have much pedigree (33rd-round pick in 2016), but McKinstry earned a spot on the Dodgers' 40-man roster with a breakout 2019 at Double-A and Triple-A. He had excelled at some previous stops but was old for those levels, so his production didn't really register. However, he was 26% better than the average Texas League hitter and used the juiced ball and hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League to log a 177 wRC+ after his promotion. His strikeout rate was below 20% at both stops, and he utilized an all-fields line drive and flyball-oriented approach. McKinstry played double-digit games at second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield, which is critical, as he will probably have to break in as a super-utility option. He hits left-handed but had reverse splits last year (.873 OPS vs. RHP, .924 OPS vs. LHP). McKinstry has a chance to hit for a high average with 20-homer pop.
More Fantasy News
May see time at DH
2BChicago Cubs
February 21, 2023
McKinstry is a candidate to see some time at DH or as a utility player for the Cubs in 2023, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic report.
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Homers, drives in three
2BChicago Cubs
October 5, 2022
McKinstry went 2-for-6 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 15-2 victory over the Reds.
ANALYSIS
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On bench Tuesday
2BChicago Cubs
October 4, 2022
McKinstry will sit Tuesday against the Reds.
ANALYSIS
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Sits against southpaw
2BChicago Cubs
October 1, 2022
McKinstry isn't in the lineup Saturday against the Reds.
ANALYSIS
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Still on bench Friday
2BChicago Cubs
September 30, 2022
McKinstry isn't in the lineup Friday against Cincinnati.
ANALYSIS
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