Carolina notes: McKenzie stays in the zone

Triston McKenzie arrived in Lynchburg in early April with an open mind.
The wide-eyed 19-year-old pitching prospect was embarking on his first season at the Class A Advanced level, and he knew there was plenty he needed to learn over the course of the season. He was a sponge at times, absorbing as much information as possible and taking advice from those who have played at a higher level.

The more McKenzie learned, the more his development would benefit.
McKenzie has been shaped by the likes of Thomas Pannone, Matt Esparza, Martin Cervenka and Hillcats pitching coach Rigo Beltran, and he has reaped the rewards of his studies. Now 20 years old, the No. 2 Indians prospect is second in Minor League Baseball in strikeouts and has gone 6-2 over his last 11 starts for the Hillcats.
"I attribute my success to being open to learning from the people who are around me, people who have been here before, people who I know have experience in the areas that I don't, and just kind of applying that to my game," McKenzie said.

McKenzie's 176 strikeouts trail only White Sox prospect Alec Hansen and Wilmer Font of Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Font and McKenzie also have something else in common -- a lack of walks allowed. McKenzie has issued 45 free passes in a career-high 136 innings this season, while Font has walked 35 batters in 134 1/3 innings.
"My goal when I go out there isn't to get strikeouts. My goal out there is to pitch to contact and get as deep into the game as possible for my team," McKenzie said. "That's been the goal the whole year.
"Limiting walks is something I strive to do every outing, and the fact that I can have the strikeouts was just kind of an added bonus."
The 6-foot-5, 165-pound McKenzie has also benefited from being allowed to be himself on the mound, even when he struggled in two consecutive starts against Frederick and Potomac in late July and early August. In those two outings, he allowed 13 earned runs on 11 hits in 10 innings.
He rebounded with back-to-back solid outings, then threw six one-hit innings with 11 strikeouts Aug. 25 against Down East as Lynchburg secured a second-half title.
"They haven't really tinkered with my mechanics," McKenzie said, "mainly just me using my body a little bit more and then just learning how to pitch a little more, just staying in the strike zone when I need to, just different little things."
McKenzie's development has hinged on his ability to work his fastball on both sides of the plate, getting his curveball to stay low in the zone and using his changeup in the right situations. Those three facets have been essential to him working through innings quickly and being able to keep his pitch count low deeper into games.
McKenzie has yet to cross the 100-pitch threshold in a game this season, but he's pitched at least into the sixth inning in 15 of his 24 starts.
His most effective outing was his last appearance against the Wood Ducks, when he needed 78 pitches to get through six innings. Sixty-one of those pitches were strikes.
"Location was a big thing, especially going to a new level, a higher level where the hitters are a little bit more advanced," McKenzie said. "You have to understand that some of the swings and misses you'll get on pitches out of the zone in Short Season and low A won't happen at this level, and just kind of learning how to pitch within the strike zone and just outside the strike zone a little bit more, a little bit better."

In brief

Same power, fewer Ks: Potomac right fielder Rhett Wiseman made a splash last year with Class A Hagerstown, hitting 13 homers and driving in 75 runs. However, he struck out 104 times in 478 at-bats. The third-round pick from the 2015 Draft is in line to improve on those numbers this season. Wiseman belted his 13th homer in Sunday's 4-1 victory over Frederick and has fanned 91 times in 413 at-bats. He's struck out more than once only twice this month.
Slump buster? Myrtle Beach center fielder Connor Myers was mired in an offensive drought in August. In his first 22 games of the month, he had recorded three multi-hit games and driven in four runs. The 27th-round selection from the 2016 Draft needed something to go right. He delivered Sunday night with a walk-off single in the 10th inning against Carolina. It was the Pelicans' first walk-off victory in the second half.
Good impression: Buies Creek, one of two new teams in the Carolina League this season, is one victory or one Winston-Salem loss away from securing a postseason berth. The Astros have enjoyed a stellar second half thanks to a pitching staff that leads the league in strikeouts and is second in ERA. Hector Perez, Matt Bower and Justin Ferrell have each recorded more than 80 K's this season.