Are Guardians Concerned With Triston McKenzie’s Velocity?

Stephen Vogt says the Cleveland Guardians "aren't concerned quite yet" with Triston McKenzie's velocity.

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws during the first inning of the Cleveland Guardians' home opener against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Triston McKenzie wrapped up his third start of the season on Saturday evening. The New York Yankees shelled the Cleveland Guardians starter for five earned runs in 4.0 innings of work leaving a lot of fans asking questions.

While yes, McKenzie giving up this many runs was concerning, the point of focus on Sticks early in the season has been velocity. Or lack of velocity.

In 2022, McKenzie’s last full season, his average velocity on his fastball sat at 92.5 mph. But now that average has dropped to 91.1 mph in 2024. On top of the velocity being down, Triston has struggled with his command which has led to walks and him falling behind in counts.

The question now is whether or not the organization is concerned with this drop. Stephen Vogt offered his perspective on the dilemma following McKenzie’s start against the Yankees. 

“I don’t know we are concerned quite yet. He shows signs of it, he’ll flash 92s up there quite often. I think for him it’s just finding the consistency in his delivery and the consistency in his release point. Again, it’s not necessarily every pitch, it’s the big misses that ‘where’s that coming from?’ Carl [Willis] and the pitching team are working very closely with him every day just trying to find Triston that rhythm and get him back to being himself.”

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws during the first inning of the Cleveland Guardians' home opener against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Vogt may not be ready to say that there is a concern with the velocity, but the writing is certainly on the wall. McKenzie’s swing and miss rate has been considerably down with each of his pitches this season. Even though we're just looking at the fastball here, the rest of his pitches lose their value without establishing the zone with the heater first. 

McKenzie said after the start that he feels his velocity is still there, but he just needs to figure out how to have it consistently. “I feel like it’s there, " said Sticks. "I feel like you saw it more towards the end of the start. But just trying to figure out how to keep that a little more consistently” 

Whatever the case is, everyone will have their eyes on the radar gun over Triston’s next few starts.