The Great Lakes Loons had a season for all seasons in 2016 coming away with the Midwest League Championship in convincing fashion by winning seven of ten play-off games. Many factors played into the championship run with perhaps the most significant being that a number of players got hot at the right time and that the team simply jelled and became a unit rather than a collection of individuals. From game to game different players made the great play, got the timely hit, or recorded the important out.

One player who didn’t get hot but played strong, consistent baseball throughout and was a significant part of that jelling, perhaps went overlooked in his contribution to the team in its play-off drive. In following the Loons during the play-off drive, at crucial times in the game when a ground ball out was needed, I found myself thinking or even saying out loud, ‘Hit it to Zach!’

That Zach would be Zach McKinstry who was selected by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

McKinstry grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended North Side High School in Fort Wayne. Following his graduation from high school he moved east to Central Michigan University to take up a regular spot as their shortstop.

As a sophomore, he led the Chippewas in several categories in 2016, including batting average (.325), on base percentage (.415), hits (79) and stolen bases (12), earning team Co-MVP honors. He started at shortstop in all 61 games during the 2016 season.

Although he was anxious to pursue a career in baseball, McKinstry still found the decision to be a difficult one when he learned he had been selected by the Dodgers in the 2016 June draft. He certainly enjoyed playing with CMU and was somewhat of a local favorite.

“It was so hard (deciding),” McKinstry told WANE-TV in Indiana. “I had my coaches on one side telling me one thing and they were trying to get me to come back. Then the Dodgers on the other hand offering me money to come play for them — I mean that was kind of hard.”

McKinstry says his decision to leave college after being selected by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2016 draft was a difficult one. (Photo credit – Richard Drummond Jr.)

In the end, he chose to follow his dream of playing professional baseball especially since he had turned 21 during his sophomore year.

“It was a pretty hard [decision], it was a long process. My school was offering me, but I just wanted to chase my dream as a professional baseball player.”

Following the draft, McKinstry, who bats left but throws right, reported to the Rookie level Arizona League Dodgers. He had hoped at some point in the season to make it to the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League. He felt the path would be from the Arizona League Dodgers to the rookie level Ogden Raptors and on to the Loons. After four games in the Arizona League he received word he was going directly to Midland without a stop in Ogden.

On July 21, he made his debut with the Loons and on the season he hit .261 in 41 games while playing shortstop, second base and third base.

McKinstry had quite a following during his season with the Loons as his alma mater, Central Michigan University, is about a 30-minute drive from Midland. As a result, he has had a number of visitors to his games at Dow Diamond.

“It’s pretty cool,” he says. “All my family and friends and everyone I’ve played without at school are so excited for me. A few coaches are coming out and seeing me even though I didn’t go back to school and that’s pretty cool.”

In his 41 games with the Midwest League champion Great Lakes Loons, McKinstry posted a slash-line of .261 / .350 / .324 for an OPS of .674. (Video capture courtesy of WANE.com)

Being from Fort Wayne McKinstry had a true homecoming when the Loons visited the TinCaps in Fort Wayne on August 31. McKinstry was both nervous and excited but played well in front of 4,593 fans at Parkview Field, a field he had visited many times as a youngster in Fort Wayne.

“It was pretty cool. The nerves went away pretty quickly after the first pitch. Then, it was like any other game. I just went in there and tried to get good at-bats and I thought I had pretty good ones,” said McKinstry, whose father, Alex, used to coach at North Side and is an usher at Parkview Field.

Although the Loons lost 6-4 to the TinCaps, McKinstry had a good game with a hit and run batted in, a walk and an infield out that could easily have been ruled a hit. He was satisfied with his game but not the outcome of the game.

“I thought I had pretty good at-bats. I was just battling. With two strikes in one at-bat, I fouled off like six or seven pitches and that was pretty cool,” he said, adding his work in pro baseball is just beginning.

McKinstry became the first Loon to ever be interviewed on Sports Rush by Brett Rump on ESPN Radio in Fort Wayne. During the interview, he acknowledged his Dad, his Loons’ teammates and his former teammates from CMU who came to Great Lakes to take in some of his games.

During the 2016 season with the Loons he played solid defense spending time at shortstop, second base and third base. His move to third base, a position in which he had not played at any level of ball, was one of the primary contributions he made to the team. During the season, at least 10 different players had been penciled in to start at third base. The 5’11”/165-pound McKinstry solidified the position and the infield helping out his teenage infield partners, shortstop Brendon Davis and second baseman Omar Estevez.

He was not the hub in the Loons championship wheel but certainly was an important spoke who fit in well with the Great Lakes squad. He seemed to be a great team player and was either infected by the team chemistry that grew or helped foster it – most likely both.

Matt DeVries, Loons assistant GM of marketing and communication, confirmed that McKinstry was a solid team player. “Zach was a great locker room guy and quickly inserted himself into the fabric of the team. Having the local connection, there were frequent media requests for him, specifically. He never complained and fulfilled them admirably.”

We should not be surprised if Zach McKinstry debuts with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League sooner than later in 2017.