2025 Player Outlook
McKenzie was great in 2022, but since then, it's been a downhill slide for the Cleveland right-hander. A teres major strain delayed his 2023 season, and an elbow sprain forced him to miss time later in the year. In 2024, he had such a rough go of things that he was optioned to the minors, and posted a 5.23 ERA with a 1.63 WHIP across 13 appearances at Triple-A. His velo and spin rates have been down each of the last two seasons, and especially last season, he couldn't get swings out of the zone, nor could he miss bats. The righty has shown he can be effective at the MLB level, but he'll need to reestablish some confidence before fantasy managers can feel comfortable drafting him at his current ADP.
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Triston McKenzie will open the season in the Guardians’ bullpen.
McKenzie was in competition for the last spot in the Guardians’ rotation with Logan Allen. After the 27-year-old right-hander tossed a scoreless seventh inning in relief on Friday against the Giants, it became clear that McKenzie didn’t win that competition. The Guardians made that official Sunday with Allen part of the Opening Day rotation and McKenzie in the bullpen. McKenzie wasn’t on the fantasy radar for mixed leagues this season anyway, but a bullpen role takes him off the table for AL-Only leagues as well.
Triston McKenzie and Joey Cantillo both pitched lone innings in relief Friday against the Giants, with McKenzie turning in a scoreless seventh.
Cantillo followed by giving up a three-run homer in the eighth to take a blown save and a loss. It’s currently unclear whether these two have been eliminated from the Guardians’ rotation competition. We were assuming McKenzie would have a spot in spite of his spring struggles, especially given that he’s throwing with the best velocity of his career. Luis L. Ortiz and Logan Allen are (or were) competing with McKenzie and Cantillo for the last two spots. McKenzie
Triston McKenzie surrendered four runs in 4 2/3 innings Saturday against the Royals.
An extra 2-3 mph of velocity still isn’t doing anything for McKenzie’s effectiveness, as he’s allowed 10 runs in 11 innings. On the plus side, he does have a 7/0 K/BB in his last two starts. All five of his walks this spring came in one outing against the White Sox on Feb. 27. McKenzie remains in line for a rotation spot, and he has a nice ceiling if he can remain healthy.
Triston McKenzie allowed two runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings Monday against the Cubs.
McKenzie is showing the best velocity of his career this spring, but it’s not getting him outs so far; he has an 8.53 ERA and a 4/5 K/BB in 6 1/3 innings over three outings. One imagines he’ll figure something out and get back to being a useful starter if he can keep throwing 91-95 mph, but he’s not a mixed-league guy at this point.
DFS Last 5
Date | Opponent | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 6th | @Angels | -0.5 |
| Apr 1st | @Padres | 5.3 |
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