Zach Messinger Looking To Deliver In Double-A
Bridgewater, New Jersey – Attention and expectations on the prospect circuit are often driven by the highly touted rankings from heralded outlets like Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus. The Yankees have a bunch of good ones that are consensus “can’t miss” blue chip players that sit comfortably atop
Bridgewater, New Jersey – Attention and expectations on the prospect circuit are often driven by the highly touted rankings from heralded outlets like Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus. The Yankees have a bunch of good ones that are consensus “can’t miss” blue chip players that sit comfortably atop most of those lists. There are a few of them on this Somerset roster to open the 2024 season, but one guy that not enough people are paying attention to is right-hander Zach Messinger. He hopes his opportunity in the Patriots rotation this season will change that.
Messinger is the 24th ranked Yankees prospect on MLB Pipeline, but after being drafted in the 13th round out of Virginia in 2021, the 2-18 career record on the back of his baseball card entering his third season in the organization seems to have some outside pundits overlooking and dismissing the tall 6’6” hurler.
“I see every start as an opportunity,” Messinger explained. “I see it as a way to develop and having a win-loss record, regardless of what it is, is an honor as a starting pitcher. It is part of it, and it comes with the job description. I truly do not think much of it – there’s lot of really good things that I can pull from those losses and some bad things that I can pull from the wins. I just try to build myself as a pitcher and as a man.”
Manager Raul Dominguez awarded Messinger with the Opening Day nod, a selection which he calls an “honor and a blessing.” In just his second Double-A appearance, the 24-year-old hurler allowed just one earned run (three unearned) on four hits over 5.2 strong frames in the team’s 5-4 season opening victory over Richmond on Friday night at TD Bank Ballpark. The Indiana-native fanned five batters and walked just one in his season debut.
Zach Messinger strikes out the first batter he faces and we are underway in 2024! pic.twitter.com/NfMGakeOm2
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 5, 2024
“I was happy - I think it is a good starting point,” admitted Messinger. “I think there are still a couple of at-bats, including the walk, that I could go back on and learn some things. Just being out there and being comfortable with my stuff even behind in the count was a big thing for me this offseason.”
Messinger added, “I think we mixed it [stuff] around a lot tonight,” said Messinger. “I’ve got a bigger slider and a shorter slider that are both playing really well right now. The biggest thing that I worked on all offseason was my change-up and I got a couple of swings-and-misses on that, too. I moved the fastball around pretty well, just stayed in the zone and it was a good one to build off of.”
The organization drafted Messinger as a reliever, and he made the first 15 appearances of his professional career out of the pen and pitched to a 3.57 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 22.2 innings of work for Low-A Tampa. He then finished that season in the rotation ,and despite posting a 4.57 ERA over 16 starts, his batting average against actually improved to .219.
The 2023 season marked Messenger’s first full-season as a full-time start for High-A Hudson Valley and he could not have gotten off to a better start for the Renegades. In 11 first half starts, Messinger fanned 68 batters in 55.1 innings of work and posted a strong 2.44 ERA. The second half was not as kind to his stat line, though – Messinger pitched to a 6.91 ERA despite the opposition hitting just .215 against him. The underlying metrics were still favorable, but the numbers were not pretty as Messinger hit a wall in getting to the finish line of a long and grueling season with a new routine and workload.
“Last year was my first full year as a starter in this organization and It’s something I really hadn’t done since high school,” Messinger said. “So, getting that body built up to throw 100 plus, 125, 150 innings in a year and with that comes some inconsistencies with the body breaking down and stuff like that. That was the biggest thing this offseason, was just building that strength and finding something that is going to be consistent for me.”
Messinger added, “Honestly, this is the healthiest I have felt coming out of spring training and the most excited I’ve been coming out of spring training. I’m really excited for this opportunity to be up here in such a great clubhouse with a lot of veteran guys and a lot of very talented guys…I’m ready to have the opportunity this year to attack guys with my best stuff every outing and go from there.”
Yankees No. 23 prospect Zach Messinger discusses his Opening Day start. pic.twitter.com/kf5nMlGEec
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 6, 2024
Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Senior Writer
Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 12th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.