For Brendan McKay, breakout has been a long time coming

Tampa Bay Rays’ two-way player Brendan McKay was near perfect in his MLB debut. But for the former Louisville baseball star, the start was a long time coming.

It felt like it took an eternity for Brendan McKay to have a chance to make his MLB debut. 750 days after being selected fourth overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2017 MLB draft, McKay’s dreams were finally realized when he was called up from the minors.

Still, after a few frustrating years that including multiple stints on the DL, McKay made his mark on the professional baseball world with the second-best debut in MLB history.

In his first ever MLB game, McKay retired the first sixteen batters that he faced before having a perfect game broken up in the sixth inning.

After a runner moved over and McKay gave up his first walk out of the stretch, he struck out the Rangers’ Delino DeShields swinging and exited the game to a standing ovation.

For the 23-year-old McKay, his debut comes at a relatively young age. According to a 2013 study by Business Insider, the average first or second round draft pick only has a 15 percent chance of playing a game in the Major Leagues within their first three years.

With forty rounds in the MLB draft and rosters constantly in flux during the course of a 162 game season, it’s easy to get lost in the fold. Making a name for yourself early on requires persistence and high-level, consistent play.

Even through injuries, McKay did just that. In 2019 alone, McKay is 12-0 in 22 starts, never averaging more than a 1.30 ERA during any of his stints in the minors. At the plate, McKay has warranted considerating as a DH for the Rays, tallying 36 RBI’s and 8 home runs in just over 250 at-bats on the season. He boasts a .265 batting average during his time with the AAA Durham Bulls this year.

Anyone who has followed McKay’s career knows that this level of success is nothing new. After all, during his time at Louisville, he became the most decorated college baseball player of all time.

For the Cards, McKay was the ace, and also led the team at the plate and in the field on his days off from pitching as a first baseman. He finished his college playing days with more awards than we have time to count, but among them were the 2017 National Player of the Year, three-time John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year, three-time Baseball America First Team All-American, and D1Baseball First Team All-American.

So, yes, waiting only two years is a rarity in the major leagues, but on McKay’s time, things were moving a little slow. Sitting well over .500, the Rays are in the playoff hunt nearing the All-Star break but they still lag far behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees.

Having a player like McKay join the fold could propel the Rays not only further towards the top of the division but possibly into the playoffs and beyond.

First things first: A test against the aforementioned Yankees on Thursday, who have some of the biggest bats in the majors including Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez. If McKay can pass that test, he could find his way into the rotation for the remainder of the season.

If he does work his way into a consistent spot on the roster, fans can be certain of one thing: it’s been a long time coming.

From top high school prospect to one of the greatest college players of all-time, to a near perfect major league debut, McKay figures to be turning heads for a long, long time.