'Tracking Like Wheels Up': A Long Journey Back For Houston Astros Prospect McKee

Missing more than half the season, Houston Astros prospect Colin McKee plans to finish his seventh year strong.

© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Drafted in 2016, Colin McKee has come a long way in the Houston Astros system. In his seventh season with the franchise, the 28-year-old became available Tuesday for Triple-A Sugar Land for the first time this season as an injury has set back his road at a major league opportunity.

McKee battled a minor shoulder impingement last August which held him out for over two weeks. But at age 27, the righty displayed his best sample of 2021 once he returned from the shelf.

Being activated Sept. 10, McKee totaled six innings in relief to close out the season, allowing one run to his eight strikeouts. But as a healthy end to the season should've paved way for a better spring, McKee was told he needed surgery to repair a herniated disk this past January.

McKee had a microdiscectomy to alleviate the pain in his lumbar spine which was making his glute and leg go numb. The recovery halted every progression the hurler hoped to make in a season he felt retooled for a shot at the next level.

"It was kind of a tedious and long process unfortunately," McKee said. "It was not a fun rehab that's for sure."

McKee couldn't lift anything over five pounds for six-to-eight weeks, and once his 60-day window closed, he worked back his mechanics like it was the first time he attempted to lift or even throw.

"I could barely do a push up two months after the surgery," McKee said. "It was really starting from ground zero once that two-month period ended ... Having to start back from a throwing program from day one is a pretty tedious process."

The herniated disk was too far gone to be healed with ejections, setting him back nearly five months compared to other prospects in the system. But as McKee found his form again, obstacles sprung setbacks.

Over the last sixth months, McKee was rehabbing at the Astros' spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla. With a personal matter and COVID-19 protocols each eating at least a week out of his rehab, the 28-year-old saw himself a few weeks behind schedule with his rehab assignment starting July 26.

"Everything's been kind of tracking like wheels up around this time," McKee said.

McKee faced a mental battle with the frustrations he grew in the process of trusting his body with extreme movements from regular throwing to his full delivery. He knew how to map out his mechanics consistently, but his lower half wasn't always cooperating with how he was trying to move.

"I'm sure anybody that has had an injury — that especially has been out for like a long term — probably has had the same feeling," McKee said. "There are a lot of tough days, but then you just have to take your little wins and carry it into the next day. It's definitely a mental battle as much as a physical battle."

McKee's body responded better than planned to the surgery with small instances of fatigue popping up early on. But as he built his trust back in the movement of his delivery, the righty reflected on where he started.

"Once you get with with one of those FCL teams, you're like, 'man, these guys are young,'" McKee chuckled. "But really you're just trying to control what you can control, and for me, I was just trying to fill up the strike zone, get my get my shapes back and hopefully get some velocity back and just kind of execute."

McKee believes the front office trusted his progressions enough for him to avoid a middle step of a rehab stint with another affiliate. The right-hander made the trek from Florida to El Paso to join the Space Cowboys for the series opener Tuesday.

As he returns from roughly nine months away, McKee is still finding his velocity. Touching 98 mph on his fastball last year, the right-hander is sitting south of 95 mph on the pitch that he found success in.

"I think having a full offseason to train coming up here in a couple of months will really be beneficial for me to kind of get some strength back that I lost over the course of that downtime from the surgery," McKee explained. "But I think I can kind of supplement the slight velocity change with my pitch shapes and just execute good location."

But during his early stages of ramping up, McKee worked heavily on his sinker which he developed coming off the injured list last September. His velocity is a couple ticks away from where he knows it could be, but in the mean time, McKee's arsenal has picked up a new tool to keep his career progressing forward.

"I think that's really going to be a weapon for me especially against righties," McKee said. "In those FCL outings, it was really effective for me getting ground balls, and you can just be really aggressive with that pitch and kind of force some weaker contact."

McKee made his first appearance Wednesday for Triple-A Sugar Land since Oct. 3 of last season. Facing five batters, the righty permitted two hits in a scoreless frame. One of those hits left the bat at 71 mph off McKee's retooled sinker.

Obviously, the goal for McKee is to reach the Major Leagues. He officially opens a seventh chapter with the franchise this week, and as he watched others not live out their full contracts, McKee hopes to further his case of a shot in the show.

"I'm just trying to take it one day at a time and try to get a little bit better every day," McKee said. "Just keep hanging on and getting better and hopefully some day the Astros or some other team will give me an opportunity if I keep improving."

More From SI's Inside The Astros:

1. Astros Send Lefty Taylor on Rehab Assignment
2. Astros' Missed Opportunities, Rangers' Big 10th Tie Series
3. Astros Prospect Murray Scheduled for System Debut
4. Report: McCullers to Start Saturday against Athletics
5. Astros Pass New York Yankees as Best Team in the American League
6. Díaz Goes Boom; Astros Plate Seven Runs Off All-Star Pérez
7. Astros Release Barreto, Send Dubin on Minor League Rehab Assignment
8. Report: Manger Baker Hopes to Return to Astros Before Weekend
9. Report: Former Astros Pitcher Fiers' Contract Terminated By CPBL Club
10. McCullers Set to Make the Best Rotation in Baseball Even Better

---

Make sure to follow Inside the Astros on Twitter @InsideAstrosSI!