It’s easy to forget that reliever Chris Martin was ever a Dodger (which he was, for a half a season in 2022 before hitting free agency and leaving for the Red Sox), but it’s even harder to forget about the guy the Dodgers dealt to get him. Zach McKinstry had made his way onto the Dodgers’ top prospects list in 2020 and 2021 at No. 20 and then No. 15 after an unlikely ascent through the minors, but in 74 major league games from 2020-2022, he failed to impress.
It was easy not to think about McKinstry after the trade. Martin did his job for the Dodgers down the stretch, pitching 24 2/3 innings for a sub-1.50 ERA and then two scoreless innings in the postseason before being bumped in the NLDS by the Padres. McKinstry played in 47 games for the Cubs and continued at his current, underwhelming pace.
He moved on to the Tigers in 2023 in a trade that sent Carlos Guzman to Chicago and proceeded to be the bane of Tigers’ fans existences over the next two seasons, batting .225 with a .638 OPS.
Something happened to him in the offseason between 2024 and 2025, though. He turned into a machine. The Tigers are sitting on top of the AL Central right now with a record almost identical to the Dodgers’, and McKinstry is not only their most valuable player by FanGraphs and Baseball Reference’s WAR calculations, but he’s also topping Shohei Ohtani according to both.
Zach McKinstry has been one of the best hitters in the American League so far this season.
1.3 fWAR (T-5th)
.908 OPS (9th)
.433 OBP (2nd)
.325 AVG (6th)
16.3 BB% (5th)
Former Dodgers top prospect Zach McKinstry has somehow turned into a linchpin of Tigers’ lineup
Although the seeds were planted when he was with the Dodgers, the Tigers have turned McKinstry into a full-on utility player, using him primarily in right field with occasional trips to third and second base. The Tigers love their ability to throw guys all around the field — have you seen what they’re doing with Javy Báez? — and McKinstry is their shining paragon of that philosophy.
He’s batting .321 with a .902 OPS through 26 games, and he’s a co-lead with the Red Sox’s Jarren Duran in triples with three so far this season.
The Dodgers never could’ve known what McKinstry was going to turn into (he was drafted in the 33rd round, a round which no longer exists, and was the 1,001st overall pick), but it’s certainly strange to watch a product of the Dodgers’ system, who the Dodgers rightly wrote off, flourish to this extent years after his departure.
