NYPL notes: McKenna coming on strong

After being drafted by the Orioles in the fourth round last year, Ryan McKenna had his debut in the Gulf Coast League cut short by an ankle injury after 10 games.

A year later, and a level up, Baltimore's No. 20 prospect is enjoying the opportunity to play every day as he adjusts to the game on many different levels.

"It's been a good season," McKenna said. "I've been having a lot of fun getting to know everybody. We're having a good time bonding and I'm starting to play a little bit better."

The 19-year-old had appeared in 26 games through Wednesday for the Aberdeen IronBirds, and though he hit just .167 in June, he has gradually improved at the plate. He was hitting .310 through 15 July games.

He credits the organization's training staff with helping him get back to work as quickly as possible and admits to making a few adjustments since arriving at the new level.

"Mentally you've got to stay sharp," McKenna said. "You just play and know that you are here for a reason. Know your abilities and what you're capable of. There's a few things here and there that I've had to adjust hitting-wise. It's been good, but just a couple of adjustments here and there."

That has allowed McKenna to put together a couple of six-game hitting streaks and pick up the first four-hit and four-RBI game of his career versus Batavia last Saturday.

Through Wednesday, McKenna was tied for 19th in the league with 14 RBIs and tied for sixth in the league with eight stolen bases, proof that his ankle has fully recovered.

Drafted out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in New Hampshire, the young outfielder is finding comfort with his new teammates, led by a couple of fellow New Englanders in Frank Crinella and Mike Odenwaelder, who help bridge any gaps of home sickness that may develop between trips to Lowell and Connecticut, where family members and friends have been able to watch McKenna play this year.

Having all of this come together for McKenna this season has also allowed him to absorb all of the things being taught to him along the way and enjoy the opportunity to get to play the game he loves on a daily basis.

"We're all in the same boat," McKenna said. "We've all got to play our hardest -- we all love the game. That drives you to want to get better and learn and really focus on individually what you can do to make yourself better to help the team win games.

"I'm just playing the game hard and staying healthy and trying to get a bunch of wins. I'm just having fun also. You can't let this game eat you up. You can't live and die on every at-bat because this game is mostly failures. You've just got to minimize that and try and stay consistent as much as you can."

In brief

Zero hour: Travis Ott must have learned a thing or two in his debut with Hudson Valley a year ago, and he's now putting it all to work for him. The 2013 25th-round pick has yet to allow an earned run over 25 2/3 innings, doing so at both ends of a game. The 21-year-old left-hander's first three outings came out of the bullpen, where he allowed three hits and a walk and struck out nine over 8 1/3 innings. His next three outings were starts, the first a five-inning no-decision followed by back-to-back wins in which he lasted six frames. Ott, who boasts a league-best 0.00 ERA and 0.51 WHIP, also made 10 NYPL appearances with Auburn in 2014 before being packaged in a three-team deal that brought him to the Rays.

Lake success: A.J. Puk is the highest selection from last month's Draft to debut in the league this season, having appeared in two games for the Vermont Lake Monsters. The A's made the University of Florida hurler the sixth overall selection last month, and he debuted July 12 with a spotless two innings versus Auburn, throwing 17 pitches (12 for strikes) while forcing six groundouts. His second effort wasn't as smooth as he allowed two unearned runs, two hits and a walk over 1 1/3 innings. The 6-foot-7 southpaw tossed 73 2/3 innings for the Gators before arriving in Vermont, which will limit his work for the Lake Monsters.

Stuck in the muck: After starting the season with a nine-game losing streak, the Batavia Muckdogs closed out June on a 4-1 run. Then came July, which started with a five-game losing streak before a brief 2-2 respite. That was followed by another lengthy losing streak, this time an eight-game one before it ended with a win in Tri-City. This season the Muckdogs have been swept in six series and owned the league's worst home (3-9) and away (4-16) records through Wednesday. Of Batavia's 25 losses, 20 had been by three or more runs.