MLB · RF · Detroit Tigers
Zach McKinstry
B/T L/R · 5' 11" · 180 lb · born Toledo, OH, USA · age 31 · draft 2016 rd 33 · played RF 63, 2B 46, SS 35, 3B 9, +3 more · MLB debut 2020-09-16
423 plate appearances & 15 batters faced scored this season His season card →
Scout’s note
Zach McKinstry, a Toledo kid taken in the 33rd round, has played 660 big-league games as a left-handed utility man, but over his last 8 MLB games he went hitless with one walk and three strikeouts.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
Where he stands
throughAgainst the 406 qualified major-league hitters — 100+ balls in play this season, the same field the boards are chosen out of. Right is better on every row.
- EV95101.96
- Deserved (xVal)0.2863
- Got (aVal)0.2593
- Luck gap (park-adjusted)flipped-0.01969
today · 30 days ago, against the 375 men who qualified then · the tick is the midpoint · the number at the right is the percentile, the number beside it the measurement itself.
What he’s paid
ArbitrationA market fact, not an engine read: what a club decided about him, on the season before this one. Figures from Cot’s.
- 2026 salary
- $5.75M
- Tax hit
- $5.75M
- Service time
- 5 yr 99 d
- Options left
- 0 / 3
The deal A3
On the sheet: A3 · agent Northwest Spts Mgt Gp
After this season, as the sheet has it
| Season | 2028 |
|---|---|
| Cash | Free agent |
| Tax hit | — |
Cash and the tax hit are two different rulebooks and are never subtracted from one another — see the payroll board for his club, Detroit Tigers.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $4.20M
- Guaranteed
- $4.20M
- Term
- 1 yr
- His class
- Arb
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Arb 2 | Arb 3 |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
Collect Zach McKinstry
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Zach McKinstry cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Umpire favor
+3.0 net runs over 42 graded games — the zone was kind to the umpire on balance.
The line
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →