A Top Prospect Makes His Debut With the Renegades
has joined the Hudson Valley Renegades.
The Tampa Bay Rays realize they’re in uncharted territory trying to tap the full potential of multitalented top prospect Brendan McKay, the 21-year-old University of Louisville star recently chosen with the fourth selection in the 2017 MLB draft.
“This is unprecedented,” said Mitch Lukevics, the Rays’ director of minor league operations, during an introductory McKay press conference at Dutchess Stadium late Saturday afternoon in advance of the college player of the year’s pro debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades 24 hours later. “What Brendan’s gonna go through here in the Hudson Valley, it’s really unprecedented with him. You know, being a first baseman, DH and pitch, it’s gonna happen. We’re excited.”
The reason for that excitement is that McKay, who hits and throws left-handed, just completed one of the most spectacular single seasons in NCAA baseball history, blasting 18 home runs and batting .341 while also winning 11 games as the ace of the Cardinals’ pitching staff. With his abilities at the plate and on the mound, he has been called by scouts the best two-way player since Dave Winfield starred for the University of Minnesota more than four decades ago.
According to Renegades manager Craig Albernaz, tasked with overseeing the first steps in McKay’s unique ascension to the big leagues, he’ll have plenty of help along the way.
“This is a group effort from the whole organization, not just on my part,” he said. “With Mitch and all our coordinators and scouting department, there’s a very detailed and structured plan for Brendan to see how it goes with him. He’s been doing it his whole life, so there’s been a lot of input from him — how he did things — and we took that into consideration. And as the days go on, how he’s feeling, we’re gonna sort of play it by ear and go from there.”
For his part, McKay, a soft-spoken, low-key young man who seems far more content to let his bat and arm do the talking, is anxious to return to the playing field for the first time in nearly a month.
“Just overall excited to be in the Hudson Valley and to get back into the swing of things,” he said as he addressed the local media for the first time. “Expectations for the season are just get in the swing of things and focus on being able to perform at this level and figuring out how to handle your body with the different change of schedule. Just getting used to the type of baseball played in the minor leagues.”
Only a couple of weeks removed from receiving a record-high seven-million-dollar signing bonus from the Rays, McKay now finds himself about to embark on the next chapter of his baseball career, wearing a Renegades uniform in a very unfamiliar location.
“Getting to the park and seeing it and everything, and getting to drive around a little bit, going places, I thought it’s a great place,” said McKay, a Pennsylvania native who once pitched 71 consecutive shutout innings in high school. “It feels small, but I realize that it’s pretty big. It’s like a comforting smallness to it. But I like the area and it’s gonna be a fun time.”
McKay had homered in his final game for Louisville, a 4-3 loss to TCU in the College World Series that brought an end to a record-setting 53-12 season for the Cardinals, who began the year with 19 straight wins. He arrived in Dutchess County on Thursday and watched three games from the dugout before getting a chance Sunday to face live pitching for the first time in three and a half weeks.
Facing the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Albernaz penciled in McKay as the designated hitter and had him batting third in the lineup for a Hudson Valley team that had a strong start to its season before an 11-game losing streak sent the Renegades plummeting in the standings.
In the first at-bat of his professional career, McKay swung at a 3-0 pitch and rapped into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. He came up in the bottom of the fourth with another runner on base and promptly fouled out to third. His disappointing debut concluded with strikeouts in his final two plate appearances.
But it won’t be long before the rust wears off and he starts displaying the skills that led to speculation the Minnesota Twins might select him with the first pick in the draft. His availability at No. 4 was reason to rejoice for Tampa Bay.
“As a representative of the Rays,” said Lukevics, “we’re proud to have Brendan with our organization, our No. 1 pick this year. A No. 1 pick in a long line of really good No. 1 picks, from Josh Hamilton to Evan Longoria to David Price, to mention a few. Obviously he has a promising future based on the potential that he showed at the University of Louisville. That’s why he’s the No. 1 pick. It’s slow and steady, and that’s the best course of action. We’ll evaluate every day and see how this year will turn out for Brendan.”
“It’s great to be mentioned with all those names. They’re all great players that I’ve seen growing up watching on TV,” said McKay, who isn’t really sure how long he’ll need to reach the majors. “In my mind, I’m ready whenever that time comes. At that moment, I’ll be accepting of it and be ready for it whenever the organization feels fit for it.”
Andy is a sports editor at Examiner Media, covering seven high schools in the mid-Westchester region with a notebook and camera. He began there in the fall of 2007 following 15 years as a candid photographer for the largest school picture company in the tri-state area.
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