Padres’ Triston McKenzie accomplishes feat vs. Dodgers he hadn’t reached since 2020

The San Diego Padres signed Triston McKenzie this past offseason in a move that was overlooked for the most part. McKenzie is currently in spring training as a non-roster invitee. The former Cleveland Guardians top prospect made his 2026 spring training debut on Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His final numbers were far from ideal — four earned runs over 0.2 innings of work — but McKenzie accomplished a feat he had not previously reached since 2020, per Codify.

McKenzie approached 99 MPH with his heater on Sunday. According to Codify, he had not thrown a fastball over 96 MPH in a regular season game since the 2020 campaign.

McKenzie is hoping to make the roster. Giving up four runs in less than an inning of work obviously won’t help his goal. The uptick in velocity is something that will surely catch the Padres’ attention, though.

McKenzie needs to develop better command of his pitches. He is looking for all-around consistency on the mound. There is a reason he was once considered to be a top prospect, though. McKenzie has what it takes to find success at the big league level, he just needs to put it all together.

The starting pitcher has displayed his potential in the past. In 2022, he pitched to a 2.96 ERA across 31 appearances with Cleveland. He has been unable to find success since the ’22 season, but perhaps McKenzie’s velocity increase will allow him to get back on track with San Diego.

The Padres won’t give up on him yet, but Triston McKenzie will need to pitch to better overall results moving forward in spring training regardless of how hard he’s throwing his fastball.

The post Padres’ Triston McKenzie accomplishes feat vs. Dodgers he hadn’t reached since 2020 appeared first on ClutchPoints.