Blue Jays prospect earns first look at Triple-A level as he nears big league action

A Blue Jays pitching prospect is a step away from the majors after making his Triple-A debut Tuesday in Buffalo.

Adam Macko, Jays Journal's No. 6 ranked prospect, was promoted and took the mound for the Toronto affiliate against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Macko's start was a mixed bag, as he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks over three innings. The left-hander struck out three, but threw two wild pitches and allowed two home runs that accounted for all of the runs. He also threw just 38 of his 70 pitches for strikes.

But there were positives. Macko had a three-up, three-down, 11-pitch second inning, a good rebound after a 30-pitch first inning. All three of Macko's strikeouts were finished off with his curveball and slider. Macko earned a no-decision in the Bisons' 10-5, 12-inning loss to the RailRiders.

This season, Macko made 16 starts for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in Double A, finishing with a record of 5-5. He posted a 4.87 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 81.1 innings with 90 strikeouts and 30 walks. Macko has consistently posted good strikeout numbers while in the minors, but he does struggle with command at times. For his career, Macko has an average of 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings, but his walk-per-nine-innings mark is 4.1.

Baseball Savant says of the young lefty, "Macko typically reaches up to touch the mid-90s, but he’s showing more consistently that he has an extra gear. He'll show a 12-to-6 curveball in the mid-70s that has acted as his best whiff-heavy pitch, and he's also mixed in more of a 81-84 mph slider with some sweep. His 79-81 mph changeup has developed enough to become at least an average pitch." There are reasons to be excited about Macko, especially if his control improves.

Macko was placed on the Injured List in July with left arm soreness. He made three rehab starts at the end of August with Single-A Dunedin, allowing a run, two walks, and five hits over nine innings of work, while striking out 12. Macko returned to New Hampshire for a single start on Sept. 11, and it didn't go well as the lefty allowed four runs in the first inning.

He did settle down for a couple of innings, striking out the side in the second, then was touched up for two more runs in the fourth inning. Altogether, Macko allowed six runs on six hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out four and threw 40 of 69 pitches for strikes.

Macko, 23, was drafted in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of high school in Vauxhall, Alberta by the Seattle Mariners. And as Blue Jays fans are likely aware, Macko came to the Toronto organization with RHP Erik Swanson for outfielder Teoscar Hernandez in a November 2022 trade. The Blue Jays added Macko to the 40-man roster this past November just before the Rule 5 Draft.

Macko is a native of Bratislava, Slovakia, which is also where he discovered baseball. When his family moved to Canada, Macko continued to learn the game and even caught a few Blue Jays games. Macko watched YouTube videos and followed Justin Verlander and former Blue Jay David Price to teach himself how to pitch.

Three Slovakians have played in the majors. Elmer Valo was the last Slovakia native to play in Major League Baseball in 1961. The list also includes Carl Linhart and Jack Quinn, a pitcher who won 247 games and two World Series titles in 1929 and 1930 with the Philadelphia Athletics.