LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Former Louisville baseball ace Brendan McKay has pitched himself within a few powerful outings of getting The Call.
The Tampa Bay Rays promoted McKay from Montgomery to Durham on May 25, and he has pitched better at Class AAA than he did at AA.
In five AAA starts (all five innings), McKay has allowed three runs.
Not per game.
Total.
Three of his five starts have been scoreless.
The only blemish for McKay came Tuesday night. He was hit by a pitch in his right leg while serving as the Bulls’ designated hitter, because he’s still pursuing the possibility of being a two-way player as he was for U of L.
Funny thing. When I visited the website of the Durham Sun to check on McKay’s injury, I found a video about another former Louisville star: quarterback Lamar Jackson. The clip, about two weeks old, featured Ravens’ safety Earl Thomas, the six-time Pro Bowler who moved from Seattle to Baltimore as a free agent in March.
It turns out the Ravens put Thomas’ locker near the area where Jackson dresses. Guess who is already a super-sized Lamar Jackson fan?
“He’s a star in the making,” Thomas told a group of reporters after one of Baltimore’s off-season workouts earlier this month. “Box office.”
That’s good, especially for a charismatic, dynamic NFL quarterback.
The next question is a natural:
Which former Cardinal is on track to be a bigger star: McKay or Jackson? If you only had enough money to buy one stock, which stock would you purchase?
Jackson has already earned a starting position at the highest level of the game. The Ravens dumped Joe Flacco and are making him the face of the franchise. I’m a baseball guy, but it’s the NFL, and Lamar has already earned first-name only recognition.
Advantage, Lamar.
But any time the phone rings, McKay has to wonder if it is the big leagues calling. The Rays have a two-game lead in the American League wild-card race. There is always room for a left-handed pitcher who averages one-strikeout per inning, especially if he is also capable of contributing as a pinch hitter.
Do that in a division that also features the Yankees and Red Sox, and America will know your name.
Advantage, McKay.
Jackson is already a national figure. The Heisman Trophy took care of that. Let him throw for three touchdowns and run for three more against the Steelers, Chiefs or Patriots, and Jackson’s No. 8 jersey will become one of hottest sellers in the game.
“He’s a very funny guy,” Thomas said during that media session. “I don’t know if you guys know that, but he’s very funny. My locker is like right next to him, so I see him every day. We laugh. We joke.”
Advantage, Lamar.
I don’t have a baseball player saying that McKay is a very funny guy, but there’s nothing funny about moving into the batter’s box against him either.
McKay has allowed more than one run in two of his 13 starts this season. That’s absurd.
His strikeouts to walks ratio is nearly 6 to 1. Equally absurd. Throw in the novelty of McKay pursuing his dream of being a two-way player. If that happens at the major-league level, and the Rays follow through on their chatter of splitting their future seasons between Tampa and Montreal, McKay can become a box office guy, too.
Advantage, McKay.
(P.S. The word is McKay has a bruised leg but should not miss any time.)
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