Luke McKenzie barely got a chance to play college ball, but that didn’t stop the power-hitting outfielder from signing a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday.
The Columbia Academy alum took one of the most uncharacteristic routes to pro ball, but until now none of it was under his control. Early on during his freshman season at Jones College when he had only 32 at-bats, two home runs and 5 1/3 innings pitched to his name, McKenzie was shut down with elbow discomfort and soon after had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow.
The injury and subsequent recovery not only cost him the remainder of his freshman campaign, but he was also forced to redshirt during this past season.
But when he was medically released to start playing in the middle of Jones’ season, McKenzie’s advisor and now agent, James O. Covington, began reaching out to pro scouts to let them know he was healthy. That led to McKenzie working out for the Dodgers in January and the San Diego Padres and the Dodgers again in May, a week before the MLB draft.
McKenzie said both clubs told him there was a chance he would get selected, but it didn’t come to fruition. His mindset at that point was that at least he had another year of eligibility at Jones and two more years at a four-year college.
The 21-year-old then made the decision to head to play in the Ohio Valley League, a wooden bat league that plays with college rules, for the Fulton (Ky.) Railroaders to try to knock off some rust and regain his form.
He not only found success but McKenzie thrived, being selected to the all-league team as one of the top 12 players. He hit .340 with eight home runs, 30 RBI, 35 runs and 20 stolen bases in 36 games while manning center field.
When he started producing at a high level for the Railroaders, Dodgers scout Benny Latino made a trip to the Ohio Valley to watch McKenzie and liked what he saw. But when Latino went back and met with Dodgers executives, they decided to wait on McKenzie, let him finish up at Jones and try to acquire him next summer.
But on Sunday McKenzie was out fishing when Covington called him and told him the Atlanta Braves wanted to work him out and were interested in offering him a free agent contract to forego his final year at Jones. Covington then called the Dodgers and informed them of the Braves’ interest, and within 30 minutes the Dodgers called back with a contract offer for McKenzie.
“He called me that night and said they made the offer, and I was like, ‘Heck yeah. Let’s go,’” McKenzie said.
McKenzie received a $125,000 signing bonus, and his contract is equivalent to a 10th-round draft pick.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound outfielder said that while the road has been long and arduous, he’s thankful for the opportunity he now has.
“There were times during my rehab that I was like, ‘Am I really going to play baseball after college?’ I was just questioning everything like, ‘This sucks. I hate it,’” he said. “Everything worked out OK, though. It’s crazy.”
McKenzie ended up in Kentucky because the head coach of the Railroaders coaches at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and is friends with one of McKenzie’s coaches, Wes Thigpen, at Jones. McKenzie was considering playing in a few summer leagues, but Thigpen told him the Ohio Valley League had the right level of competition for him to get his feet back underneath him. The players in the league come from all over the college landscape from Division I to JUCO to the NAIA level.
McKenzie said it was a really good experience and one of the best team cultures he’s been a part of, but he had to overcome an early disconnect with his teammates. He said when he first arrived to practice, he was known as the guy who missed the first day of practice because he was at Petco Park hitting for the Padres. It didn’t take long for him to integrate as one of the guys with his teammates, though, partially because of the living arrangements.
“Where we lived was a FEMA trailer. It was a double-wide, four bedroom with a sink and two refrigerators. We called it the ‘bunk house,’” he said. “It was like a shack right behind right field. I get there, and it wasn’t a week before everybody on that team was best friends.”
McKenzie said Monday afternoon he was anticipating a call from the Dodgers player development staff, and he would be flying to Glendale, Ariz., either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning to play in the Arizona Rookie League.
The league runs through the first week of September, then McKenzie will have two weeks off before going to an instructional league, which he said is like baseball boot camp.
“You wake up, work out, play baseball, go to sleep; wake up, play baseball, go to sleep,” he said.
The instructional league runs through the end of October, then McKenzie will have the winter off before reporting to spring training in February.
McKenzie said the goal now is simple: make it to The Show.
“Everybody starts in the rookie league and obviously some people move up way faster, but realistically I’d like to be in the big leagues in four to five years, hopefully,” he said. “To go from down in the dumps and having to have surgery to a summer later and here we are. It’s crazy.”
McKenzie remains tied with his cousin, Slade Wilks, for the most home runs hit in a single season at Columbia Academy with 15 in 2017. McKenzie helped lead the Cougars to a state title that year by batting .391 with 50 RBI and a team-high 15 stolen bases.
Pictured Above: CA alum Luke McKenzie signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday. | Photo Submitted
