“Wisdom is a blaze, kindled by a leaping spark.” -Plato.
Not the kind of quote you expect in an article about Zach McKinstry, but hang with me for a moment, because understanding why A.J. Hinch keeps running McKinstry out there takes more than just a glance at the box score and Greek philosophy. It’s about knowing what that spark looks like in a utility player.
Since August 1st of last year, McKinstry has quietly given Hinch exactly what a manager wants from a utility player: versatility and production. He posted a .756 OPS over the final two months of 2024, then opened 2025 with a .321/.441/.393 slash line through his first 34 plate appearances. That kind of consistent, league-average bat—paired with the ability to play six different positions—is exactly why he’s still on this roster.
| Split | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before Aug 1, 2024 | .177 | .238 | .290 | .528 |
| Since Aug 1, 2024 | .279 | .341 | .414 | .756 |
| 2025 (through April 7) | .321 | .441 | .393 | .834 |
Do we have all the answers? No. But this isn’t just luck. It’s clear something changed late last season—and it has carried over into this year.
Elevation Leads the Way
McKinstry’s ground ball rate has fallen each year, landing at a career-low 32.6% in 2024. His air contact (fly balls, line drives, popups) rose to 67.4%, well above the MLB average.
He’s no longer pounding the ball into the dirt. He’s lifting the ball more.
Even more telling: his pull-side air contact jumped to 20% in 2024, while pull-side grounders dropped to 17.8%. That’s a blueprint for extra-base power without selling out for home runs. After August 1st, McKinstry racked up eight doubles, two triples, and a homer in just 123 plate appearances. Before that? Just six doubles in 202 trips to the plate.
Quality Contact Is Trending Right
McKinstry’s solid contact rate hit 7.8% in 2024 (up from 5.9%). His barrel rate is still below league average (3.1%), but he’s squaring up more and chasing less. So far In 2025 he has walked 6 times in 34 plate appearances, and struck out just 5 times.
That’s a 17.6% walk rate with a .441 OBP. While I mentioned earlier he isn’t selling out for homers, he did go yard on Tuesday against the Yankees as part of a three-homer inning for the Tigers. But he took advantage of a 90 MPH pitch from Carlos Carrasco and smoked it to right, 104 MPH off the bat.
Pitch Type Matchups Are Shifting
In 2024, he got beat by four-seam fastballs (–11 run value), but he handled breaking stuff and off-speed pitches well:
- vs Curveballs: .282 AVG | .328 xSLG | .285 xwOBA
- vs Sliders: .270 AVG | .369 xSLG | .386 xwOBA
- vs Changeups: .231 AVG | .254 xwOBA | 28.6% K%
In 2025, though early, he’s shown comfort against a mix of pitches—slugging .393 with just 5 strikeouts in 28 ABs. The early return? He’s seeing it well.
What This Means
No, Zach McKinstry isn’t suddenly a breakout star. He’s lifting more, chasing less, and impacting the game across multiple positions. Just doing whatever is asked of him on a team that is in first place early on with injuries to Matt Vierling and Parker Meadows.
His late-2024 numbers seem to suggest it wasn’t a fluke. And his early 2025 performance suggests it might be sustainable.
Thanks to former Motor City Bengals contributor Joey K for the idea of looking into Zach’s numbers on X.
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Ashley Couturier 
Jayden Hewitt