David McKay (baseball)


David Armstrong McKay is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners.

Early life and college

McKay attended and played baseball at Viera High School in Viera, Florida. He was selected by the New York Mets in the 30th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft out of high school but opted to attend Florida Atlantic University to play college baseball for the Florida Atlantic Owls instead. McKay played three seasons for the Owls, receiving a medical redshirt as a freshman after an injury cut his season short after two games. As a redshirt sophomore, McKay went 3-6 with 3.74 ERA and a team-leading 66 strikeouts and.222 batting average against in 74.2 innings pitched.

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

McKay was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 14th round, 433rd overall, of the 2016 MLB draft.
He played for the Burlington Royals in his debut season of 2016, accumulating a 3–3 record with a 2.64 ERA in 44 innings. He split 2017 between the Idaho Falls Chukars and the Lexington Legends, accumulating a 6–5 record with a 7.21 ERA in 88.2 innings.

Seattle Mariners

On March 20, 2018, McKay was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for $1 in cash considerations. He split the 2018 season between the Modesto Nuts, the Arkansas Travelers, and the Tacoma Rainiers, accumulating a 6–2 record with a 2.58 ERA in 58 innings. McKay played for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League after the 2018 regular season.
On January 24, 2019, McKay was invited to major league spring training with the Mariners. McKay was called up to the majors for the first time on March 30, 2019. He was optioned to the Tacoma Rainiers on April 2, without appearing in a game. He was recalled to the major league roster on May 19, and made his debut on May 20 versus the Texas Rangers. During the 2019 season with Tacoma, McKay posted a 3–1 record, with a 5.15 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 30 appearances.

Detroit Tigers

On August 6, 2019, McKay was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers. He was called up on August 14 and made his Tigers debut the next day against Seattle, the team he made his MLB debut with earlier in the season. In innings, he struck out 29.