A Look at Adam Macko

He may one day become the first Slovak-Irish-Albertan in the big leagues, but one thing is for certain: Adam Macko, the lefty prospect acquired by the Blue Jays from the Mariners as part of the return for Teoscar Hernanadez, has taken a circuitous route to pro ball.

Born in Slovakia, Macko took instantly to baseball one day when his gym teacher brought out some baseballs and a hitting tee. From there, the Macko family moved to Ireland, and then to Alberta in order to get Adam some quality baseball experience. Macko pitched for the powerhouse Vuxhall Academy, and caught the eyes of the Mariners scouting staff in the spring of 2019 on a trip to spring training in Arizona. On an off day, Macko pitched to some M’s minor league hitters (Vauxhall head coach Les McTavish is an M’s area scout), and the club was impressed, taking Macko in the 7th round of 2019.

Since that time, Macko has alternated some impressive outings with ones in which he’s had command problems, as well as time on the IL both of the last two seasons - before heading the Arizona Fall League this year, Macko had not pitched since an elbow strain and a knee injury put him out on May 21st.

Macko throws four pitches, with his Curve and Slider among his best offerings. Macko has dialled his Fastball up to 97 this season, though he sits more in the 92-95 range. He pares that FB well with an effective Change, but he can have trouble commanding the former pitch. Not 22 until the end of December, there’s still some room for added velo.

 Baseball America, which ranked Macko the Mariner’s 8th top prospect in their mid-season rankings, mentioned how the big inning has been his undoing:

 Macko has progressed rapidly given his unconventional background. After sitting in the upper 80s in high school, he now averages 93-94 mph and touches 97-98 with his fastball. His primary weapon is a sweeping, high-spin curveball in the low 70s with late tilt and bite that gets both swings and misses and called strikes on both sides of the plate. He has advanced feel to alter the shape and length of his curveball, making it a consensus plus-plus offering. Macko also has an average low-80s slider and fringy low-80s changeup, although he mostly just dominates with his fastball and curveball. Macko flashes average control but struggles with consistency. He often cruises for a few innings before suddenly unraveling.

Speaking of that Curve, here it is:

No less an authority than Keith Law had high praise for Macko in 2021, although he didn’t have him ranked as highly, and with his build (6’/175) sees more of a relief role for him:

Sent to High A to begin the season, Macko had a lights out April, but struggled likely due to those knee and elbow issues before being shut down:

The Mariners sent Macko to Arizona to make up for lost innings this fall, and after struggling in his first few outings, looked solid down the stretch, tossing three scoreless innings to help Peoria get to the AFL Championship game:

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So, 3 out of 4 ain’t bad. In my last newsletter, I had predicted that Yosver Zulueta, Addison Barger, Orelvis Martinez, and Gabriel Martinez would be added to the 40. I had, of course, the first 3, but G. Martinez was left off the 40 in favour of Spencer Horwitz.

I was confused by the move, to be honest.

The Blue Jays have protected guys who had only reached High A before, and I had taken Martinez’ promotion to Vancouver for the second half of the season as an indication they were going to protect him. Horwitz, as I wrote, did not set the world on fire at AAA, does not have the kind of pop you want from a 1st Baseman, and at the moment is a very marginal LF.

Taken in isolation it was a strange move, but the Hernandez deal put things into perspective. As a backup, the Jays need a close-to-ready OF on their roster as an insurance policy until a replacement for Teo is signed. I think that was the motivation as much as any fear over losing Horwitz in the Rule 5.

Do I think a tanking team would select Martinez and at least have a look at him in spring training? That seems unlikely. What seems more likely is that reliever Adrian Hernandez, who I had on the bubble along with Horwitz, might get selected.

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Old friend alert: I talked with Joey Murray, who underwent Tommy John in May. I first had eyes on Murray when he was at Lansing in April, 2019, the first of three levels he pitched at that year. With his low arm slot and high spin rate “invisiball,” Murray was the talk of the system. Then came Covid and elbow issues after a velo jump that limited him to two-thirds of an inning last year. This year, he made a half dozen starts for New Hampshire before being shut down.

Murray is into month six of his rehab now, and says things are going well. He recently started throwing again, and is looking forward to ramping up as spring training approaches. Murray is 26 now, and his MLB window is open perhaps only be the slimmest of cracks, but if he can get back to his former self along with added velocity, that’s good news for the system.

As always, if you were willing to contribute to the minor expenses I compile in writing these posts, I would be most appreciative: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dmfoxF