Conversations with the Herd: Adam Macko

By: Brian Frank

Adam Macko had a unique upbringing for a professional baseball player. He was born in Slovakia, moved to Ireland when he was 12 years old, and then to Canada a couple years later. The left-handed hurler was introduced to the game of baseball while he was a youngster in Slovakia.  

“It was definitely not popular in Slovakia to play baseball,” Macko remembered in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles. “My parents had no idea what it was. I had no idea what it was. But grade one, on the first day of grade school, there was a small little tryout, kind of like showing what baseball is. My friend signed up, and I was like, I want to be part of that group, so I signed up with them. When I told my parents, they had no idea what it was. But it was exciting for them and for me to be doing a sport for the first time outside of just playing soccer for fun. It just kind of took off from there.”

“I played a lot of tee-ball initially, so mostly, as a lefty, I was playing first base and batting,” he continued. “I was playing shortstop as well – I guess the handedness didn't matter as much back then, but it was fun. I didn't pitch until maybe my third year of playing baseball. So around maybe nine or 10 years old, right before we left Slovakia, is when I started to kind of get into it a little bit. I really enjoyed it because it kept me busy the whole game. I didn't just sit in the outfield and chew on my glove, I was involved. So that was fun.”

Macko was born in Bratislava, Slovakia. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Macko played baseball in Slovakia until he was about 12 years old, when his family moved to Ireland.

“That was another great experience,” he said of living in Ireland. “I played for the Greystones Mariners there. Baseball was a little bit more known. I wouldn't say there were that many more kids that were playing it. It was still kind of a seven-man game or eight-man game sometimes. We just played for fun mostly. But I definitely got involved with baseball there right away. My parents signed me up for a team, and that's when my love for pitching definitely started growing a lot more.”

There might not have been a lot of people playing baseball in Ireland, but Macko managed to discover a legendary pitcher to emulate while he lived there.

“In 2012 I found out there was such thing as MLB – that was when we moved to Ireland,” Macko explained. “I saw it on one of the TVs, and I was like, I want to know who the best pitcher is. At that point, that was right after Justin Verlander won the Triple Crown. He was dealing in 2012, and obviously it was him. I just fell in love with the way he threw, how smooth it looked, how aggressive he was in the zone with everything, and he had nasty stuff. That's where I learned that I want to be a big leaguer someday, and if I want to be a really good big leaguer, I better do what he does. I just loved imagining that I am Justin Verlander pitching in Ireland at 12 years old. That helped me a lot to get into mechanics and get into all the different nitty gritties of baseball.”

In 2014, Macko’s family made another big transition, when they moved from Ireland to Alberta, Canada.

“My family actually wanted to be in Canada when we were in Slovakia a long time ago,” he said. “That was kind of their dream. That was the promised land overseas. Although we loved Slovakia, loved everything about it, my parents really liked that lifestyle of what Canada brought. But then I was born, and they didn't really act on it. So, we stayed in Slovakia until my brother moved out to Ireland, and he said, oh my god, guys, it's amazing here. Everybody's so great and welcoming here. So, that's when my parents’ wheels started spinning. We applied for our visa to Canada, kind of thinking, if it happens, it happens, but if not, then Ireland is our place to be. And we absolutely loved it there. Then after 16 months of being in Ireland, the visa came back that we could go to Canada, and that's what we wanted to do. That's what my parents wanted to do. So that's when we moved to Alberta, where the job opportunity was for my dad.”

After moving to Alberta, Macko attended Vauxhall Academy of Baseball, an elite high school baseball program that brings elite baseball players from across Canada to Vauxhall, Alberta, to focus on both athletics and academics.

“We went to school, obviously, and then we got cut off from school a little bit sooner because our last couple blocks were baseball,” Macko said. “So, from about, I believe it was like 1:30, it was all about baseball until five, six o'clock. We had dorms there. Twenty-two guys living in dorms, and that was a really cool experience for me to become more independent, more mature, as I went on in those three years of my time there. The coaches there helped me a ton. They helped guide me in the right direction. I always had a good work ethic, but sometimes I did a little bit too much time in the gym, spent like five hours in the gym, and they're like – hey, you've got to tone it down. You're going to break down your body. So, they definitely showed me the ropes. That experience, I can't say enough good things about it.”

Incredibly, while at Vauxhall, Macko was teammates with another current Bison.

“I was there with Damiano (Palmegiani),” Macko smiled. “He was my roommate for a year. So that was great. And it's great reuniting with him here.”

After graduating from Vauxhall, Macko was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round of the 2019 draft.

“I was in Vauxhall,” he remembered of the moment he was drafted. “My parents came out. I lived about six hours away from there, so my parents did a road trip, and my family did a road trip to see me. We watched it on the big screen in the living room in our dorms. My girlfriend at the time was there, now my fiancé. It was just great to be around all the guys that supported me, all the coaches, the players when I was there that I called my brothers, my family. It was really an amazing feeling. That was my dream up until that point. I mean, my big-time dream is to be in MLB, but the first step is getting drafted, so to be able to have that be done and by a great organization, it was always either the Blue Jays or the Mariners, and now I got to experience both. So, I couldn't be happier about how my journey is going.”

He was only 18 years old during his first professional season with the Mariners. He had a 3.38 ERA in eight games (two starts) for the Mariners' Arizona Complex League team, before being promoted to Low-A Everett in the Northwest League, where he fired two scoreless innings to complete his fist professional season.

“It was an easier transition, I think, than most players have,” he said. “Just due to me being in the dorms and being at Vauxhall. I think that prepared me a lot to be able to handle that season. The practice and games on the same day was something that I hadn't experienced. It takes a toll on your body a little bit. Like shagging every day and then playing a game. It was a lot of fun. I made a lot of great relationships and connections there with people that I still talk to... It was just a great way to soak in pro ball. I absolutely loved it there. It was taxing on the body a little bit more than high school, but you adjust to it eventually.”

Delivering on the Sahlen Field mound. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Macko advanced through the Mariners’ system through the 2022 season, when he was part of a big transaction at the Major-League trade deadline. He was sent to the Blue Jays along with relief pitcher Erik Swanson in return for outfielder Teoscar Hernández.

“I mean disbelief, initially,” Macko said of his reaction to the trade. “I was very honored that the Blue Jays wanted me as part of that trade. I was very happy about that and grateful. It was also a little bit shocking, because as an 18-year-old coming to the Mariners – you know, as a kid, you believe you're going to spend your whole career with one team, which is usually never the case. So that was hard to leave all those relationships behind – not necessarily behind, but kind of step away from that organization. After four years, you kind of create those relationships and memories. But coming to the Blue Jays, day one it just felt just like home. It felt amazing. Everybody was super great to me. Everybody was really excited, which made me really excited. And that transition was very smooth and I'm very happy.”

It helped that Macko would be playing for the team he followed while growing up in Alberta.

“Especially when David Price went to the Blue Jays, that's when I really heavily started following them,” he said. “Even though before that I was still a fan. I was watching most of the games and that's when things really took off for me as a Blue Jays fan. So, to be able to do that and play for the team that I was cheering for was absolutely a dream come true.”

In 2023, Macko spent his first season in the Blue Jays organization. He had a 4.81 ERA in 20 starts (86 IP) at High-A Vancouver. Although he wasn’t happy with the overall results, he looks back on that season as a learning experience.

“I think in Vancouver, that was my first time really struggling, initially, like the first half of the year,” he said. “So, what stands out to me is I found out what I was made of and really kind of bore down, even though I wasn't getting the results I wanted. It was stressful, no doubt about it. But I was able to hone in on my craft and continue working, continue doing the things that I believed would make me a really good player – and I think it showed towards the end of the season. Those things started really to click together and a lot of growth happened that year for me, which is going to be so valuable moving (forward).”

He spent most of last season at Double-A New Hampshire. He had a 4.42 ERA through 15 starts for the Fisher Cats, before suffering a left-forearm injury in early July. He was able to recover and, after three rehab starts for Low-A Dunedin, return to the mound for New Hampshire for a mid-September start. He was then promoted to Buffalo to make his Triple-A debut.

“I was very excited when I got the call (to Triple-A), because that's where I had my sights set the whole year I was in in New Hampshire,” he explained. “Although I was very present and focused on what I was doing there, there was always that itching in the back of my head where I really wanted to get to Buffalo. So, to be able to do that, get that out of the way, and focus on being in Triple-A for the rest of the offseason, and really have that peace of mind, like that's where I'll be going, this is what's happening. I guess you never really know in baseball, but at least I told myself that to keep my mind sane – that's where I'm going. And that was huge for me, for sure. And to get to kind of get dip my toes in and get to know all the staff and the players that are up here made the transition definitely a lot smoother coming up here now.”

This spring, Macko injured the meniscus in his left knee early in spring training. The injury required surgery, keeping him out of game action until early May, when he began a rehab assignment with the FCL Blue Jays. He didn’t make it back to the Bisons until June 8.

“That was really tough,” he said. “I had a lot of big hopes for myself in big-league spring training. Making a name for myself and really coming out in Triple-A, hitting the ground running with that. And, you know, things like that happen. It's kind of like a freakish thing that you can beat your head about, like you could have done something different, maybe. But I did the best that I could. I prepared my body, especially throughout the offseason. My arm was in a really amazing state, and still is in an amazing state. But for that to happen at a time where I felt really great about my state of being on the mound, pitching in my craft, and how I've worked on so many things, and wanting to show them off in a game, it put a pause to that. And that was just another one of those tests that you know you’ve got to keep going, put your head down, and you’ve got to focus on what's happening now. And what was happening was that I’ve got to get my knee right, and me and the staff in rehab did a great job getting that to a spot where I don't even think about it. Nothing ever comes across my mind. I'm fully focused and ready and feel back to where I was coming into spring training – and I get to show all these things off now.”

Macko uses a four-pitch mix on the mound. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Currently the Blue Jays’ fourteenth ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Macko uses a four-pitch mix to flummox hitters. It starts with his fastball, which sits at 91-93 mph.

“A four-seam fastball,” he said. “It has some ride at the top of the zone. Here in Triple-A the top of the zone being a little bit shorter, it's going to make me adjust a little bit, which I enjoy learning. I love that part of baseball for sure. So, moving the fastball in and out – but it plays really well at the top of the zone.”

His slider helps change speeds on batters, clocking in at around 82-83 mph.

“I have a slider that's kind of like a short, maybe cutter-slider ball,” he said. “It is kind of my go-to whenever I'm behind in the count, ahead in the count, whenever. I feel so much more comfortable throwing that than I have in the past, where I can just put it in there whenever I want. So, I'm really happy with that one.”

His changeup is a pitch he feels has developed well recently.

“I’ve got a changeup that I'm refining right now that's feeling really good,” he said. “I can't wait to start using it in games more. It has good depth and some run and I try to use that, whether that's in put-away counts or kind of middle of the count, as a swing and miss pitch, soft groundball, double play pitch that's been really useful for that, when it's in the zone and working well.”

He also uses his curveball to keep hitters off balance. It averages around 75 mph.

“I have a big curveball that I've always had, since I was in high school, that I've always loved,” he said. “It's a bigger, slower pitch that kind of gets the timing off of the hitters a little bit better than my slider or changeup would. I mean the changeup does a good job with that, but that curveball just changing eye levels with that and maybe burying it for two strikes, throwing a little bit harder with that. I'm still finessing where I need to put that in the zone and where it plays best, how it plays best.”

He feels like his breaking ball has come more naturally to him than his changeup.

“I'm more of a supinator when it comes to throwing pitches, meaning anything breaking to my glove side is going to be easier for me to throw,” he explained. “So, in a way, yes, it came a little bit more natural than my changeup, but it's definitely been a pitch that I've been refining and working on and making sure I can throw over the plate, throw it so that it has a chance of getting a swing or a take. That's basically where my focus has been with my breaking pitches, is being able to land them in the zone consistently and good for quality strikes as well. But the movement on them I worked really hard initially on, but it's been able to stay where it's pretty consistent and pretty good.”

It’s 6,991 kilometers (4,344 miles) from Bratislava, Slovakia to Rogers Centre in Toronto – but now that he’s in Triple-A, Macko is just one step away from realizing his dream. Pitching on a big-league mound is a destination he’s been focused on reaching for years.

“I mean, I've been envisioning that since I was 13 years old, and that's something that's always in the back of my mind, regardless if I'm in Low-A, High-A, Double-A, Triple-A, wherever I’m at,” he said. “But at the same time, I'm very aware of where I've gotten into trouble in the past, trying to be at a higher level than where I'm at, and I really want to be where my feet are.” 

“I'm honestly, really just soaking in being here in Triple-A and enjoying the games, enjoying how I go about my business, and the day to days – that's where the real joy happens. You know, you pitch once a once a week. You can't just have fun once a week. You’ve got to have fun all the time. I’m really doing a good job of enjoying where my feet are and where I'm at and the level that I'm at. It's been feeling amazing. I've been here not too long, it's been a week, but it's something that I was looking forward to all year.”

“So, I'm really happy embracing that I'm here and being ready for whatever happens. I think that puts me in the best situation – and I envision that (being on a big-league mound) every single night. Every single night before I go to bed, that's on my mind – but when I'm here, I'm here. I’m fully present.”