Indians fans appear very excited about the debut of Triston McKenzie this Saturday evening. The first thing that strikes me about him is that he’s eleven inches taller than me, but weighs just five pounds more. He may be one of those pitchers whose pitches appear faster than than the radar gun indicates. His arms appear to be very long, so like Randy Johnson, his release point may be a bit closer to the plate than one might expect. There is less time for a fastball to lose velocity.

Let’s Go Tribe likes his make up as well, given that he has not pitched much in the last two seasons due to injury. The post wonders about the Indians long-term plans for this pitcher, given that the opening was caused by a suspension, not an injury:

Getting a start here also means that the Indians are starting McKenzie’s clock, setting him up to be a free agent after the 2027 season if my napkin math is correct. It’s likely this is more than just a one-and-done for the young right-hander. Either it’s some kind of audition for a trade, a chance to prove he can stick in the rotation, or one outing before he’s sent to be another dangerous option out of the Tribe bullpen. But simply bringing him up for one start and sending him back down would be an odd move. The Indians are notoriously cagey with their roster management, so it could be a bit of everything and we won’t know until he’s already in his fourth start or out the door on his way to another team.

LetsGoTribe.com

This should be fun to watch tonight.

Note that 100 years ago, Tristam speaker led the Indians to their first World Championship. Cleveland should hope this Tris helps them to a century repeat.