Hot Rods’ McKay again too much for Captains

For an encore, Brendan McKay of the Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods used his powerful, accurate left arm to help lead his team over the Captains.

In the Hot Rods’ 4-3 victory at Classic Park on April 21, McKay was the starting pitcher for the Hot Rods. He breezed through four innings, blanking the Captains on two singles. He notched seven strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk.

The 22-year-old Pennsylvania native was a model of efficiency. Of his 45 pitches, 38 were strikes.

McKay certainly could have continued, but the parent club Tampa Rays are sticking to a development plan that limits the number of pitches thrown by the former University of Louisville standout because he also is a most-everyday position player or designated hitter.

In the series opener on April 20, McKay was 2-for-4 with four RBI as the designated hitter in Bowling Green’s 7-2 victory.

As a pitcher this season, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound southpaw is 0-0 with a 2.00 ERA. In three starts covering nine innings, he has 15 strikeouts and has yet to issue a walk.

At the plate, McKay is batting a team-high .346 with 10 RBI in nine games.

Small wonder that the Rays used the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2017 draft on McKay and then secured his services with a $7.05 million signing bonus. It was by far the largest signing bonus for 2017 draftees and the highest since Major League Baseball went to a slotting system for signing bonuses in 2012.

McKay put himself in position to cash in big-time with a standout junior season at Louisville. He won the Dick Howser Trophy as national college player of the year, the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur player in the United States and his third straight John Olerud Award as the best two-player in college baseball.

One of his teammates at Louisville was pitcher Kade McClure. The former Mentor High School stalwart was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. He currently is with the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators of the full-season Single-A South Atlantic League.

The Hot Rods did just enough business against Lake County starter and eventual loser Grant Hockin (1-2, 4.80). The 22-year-old right-hander surrendered four runs on seven hits in seven innings.

All of Lake County’s runs came courtesy of the long ball. A two-run home run by Jorma Rodriguez in the bottom of the eight inning narrowed the gap to 4-2.. Jose Vicente’s leadoff blast in the bottom of the ninth accounted for the other run.