The Blue Jays have added Adam Macko to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.
As you may know, the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster for Rule 5 protection is on Tuesday, November 14 at 6:00 PM EST. The Blue Jays announced this move nearly an hour and a half before, and Macko appears to be the only prospect they’ll add.
The lefty was selected in the seventh round of the 2019 draft by the Seattle Mariners out of Albertan prep school Vauxhall. After pitching 95 innings with the Mariners organization between 2019 and 2022, Macko was traded along with Erik Swanson to the Blue Jays for Teoscar Hernández last November.
In his first season with the Blue Jays organization, Macko posted a 4.81 ERA and a 3.97 FIP over 86 innings with the High-A Vancouver Canadians, by far the most innings he’s pitched in one season. While his K% of 28.5% was a drop off from his 35.9% in High-A the season prior, Macko saw his BB% drop from 12% in 2022 to 10.8% in 2023.
Macko had a strong end to his season, as well. From July 26 onward, he posted a 2.51 ERA and a 2.50 FIP in 32.1 innings pitched, along with a 39.7 K% and an 11.9 BB%. His strong pitching down the stretch helped the C’s win the Northwest League Championship.
The 23-year-old left-handed pitcher features a hard fastball that sits anywhere from 92-97 mph, along with a plus curveball and an average slider and changeup. Although a 4.81 ERA doesn’t look great on paper, Macko has all the tools to become a solid middle-rotation starter or a dominant reliever.
The 2024 season will be a big one for him, as he’ll get his first test of the upper minors with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. That’s more of a hitter-friendly environment than Vancouver, so next season will be a test for Macko.
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