Ex-Blackhawk baseball star Brendan McKay making major league debut
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Friday, June 28, 2019 | 1:17 AM
Blackhawk pitcher Brendan McKay delivers to the plate against Montour at Chippewa Park.
As the Trib’s player of the year in 2014, Blackhawk’s Brendan McKay was asked to predict where he saw himself in five years.
“Hopefully playing baseball somewhere,” he answered. “In the minor leagues, probably. Maybe even close to the major leagues.”
Accuracy always was a strength for the talented left-hander.
Five years after leading the Cougars to the WPIAL finals, McKay will make his major league debut Saturday for the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The 23-year-old will take the mound for a 4:10 p.m. start against the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field.
McKay, the fourth-overall pick in the 2017 draft, was a two-way college standout at Louisville, but it’s his pitching that sent him soaring through the minor leagues.
He’s 6-0 with a 1.22 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings this season split between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham.
McKay went 30-2 as a high school pitcher for Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia.
As a senior in 2014, McKay went 8-1 with a 0.56 ERA and drew national attention with a scoreless streak of 72 1/3 consecutive innings that tied the second longest in the National Federation of State High School Associations record book.
Rays calling up Brendan McKay to start Saturday vs. Texas https://t.co/jSs7CgK3GW
— Tampa Bay Times (@TB_Times) June 28, 2019
Top prospect Brendan McKay will start Saturday for the Rays. His numbers this year are otherworldly.
AA: 1.30 ERA, 41.2 IP, 25 H, 9 BB, 62 Ks
AAA: 1.08 ERA, 25 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 26 Ks
Oh, and he also hits. After scuffling at AA, McKay is slashing .265/.400/.551 with 4 HR at AAA.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 28, 2019
Our very own Brendan Mckay made it to the big leagues! Congratulations and good luck we are all cheering for you. https://t.co/y2PL0axVfZ
— Blackhawk Cougars Baseball (@BlackhawkCouga1) June 28, 2019
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Blackhawk
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