Zach McAllister

Zachary Taylor McAllister (born December 8, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

McAllister was named Gatorade Illinois Baseball Player of the Year for 2005–2006.

He was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees in 2006.

IVC lost to Seneca, 47–44 in the state championship game on March 11, 2006.

He scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in the state title game.

McAllister averaged 16.8 points and 7.9 rebounds on 61 percent (205–335) shooting from the field and 71 percent accuracy on free throws for the season.

The 6-foot-5 center was named Peoria Journal Star first-team All-Area, honorable mention all-state with The Associated Press, third-team Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and first-team all-Mid-Illini Conference.

Three months later, McAllister helped guide the Grey Ghosts to the Class A baseball state finals – for the first time in program history.

IVC beat Trenton Wesclin, 8–3, to win the 2006 A state championship on June 3, 2006.

He pitched 1/3 inning of relief in the title game – hitting a batter and giving up an RBI single before striking out the final batter to secure the win.

IVC finished the season with a 40–2 record and ranked No. 40 in the final 2006 Baseball America High School Top 50 rankings.

McAllister finished his senior season with a 12–1 record, sporting a 1.04 ERA, 116 strikeouts and 13 walks.

He also hit .486 with 13 doubles, six home runs and 38 RBIs.

He was named the 2006 Peoria Journal Star Baseball Player of the Year along with first-team all-state honors from Illinois Prep Baseball Report, Chicago Tribune and Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association.

McAllister was drafted by the New York Yankees in the third round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft out of Illinois Valley Central High School.

He went 5–2 with a 3.09 ERA in 11 appearances during the 2006 season for the Yankees' Gulf Coast League squad.

In 2007, McAllister was in Short Season-A State Island.

He posted a 4–6 record with a 5.17 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 71.1 innings.

McAllister was ranked the Yankees' sixth best prospect prior to the 2009 season, according to Baseball America, and their fifth best prospect prior to the 2010 season.

He was named the Yankees' Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2009 for his performance with the Double-A Trenton Thunder.

After several seasons in the Yankees minor league system, he was traded to the Indians in 2010.

However, he struggled in 2010 with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

At the 2010 MLB trade deadline, the Yankees and Seattle Mariners almost completed a deal that would have sent McAllister, Jesús Montero, and David Adams to the Seattle Mariners for Cliff Lee.

When the teams shared medical reports, the Mariners determined that Adams' ankle was broken, not sprained.

As a result, they chose to trade Lee to the Texas Rangers in a package centered on Justin Smoak.

On August 20, McAllister was revealed to be the player to be named later in the July 30 trade between the Yankees and Cleveland Indians for Austin Kearns.

After the 2010 season, McAllister was added to the Indians' 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

McAllister made his major league debut in July 2011 and earned his first major league win in May 2012.

In high school, McAllister played soccer, football, basketball and baseball for Illinois Valley Central High School in Chillicothe, Illinois.

In basketball, McAllister was the starting center for IVC during his senior season.

He helped lead the Ghosts to their first and only IHSA Class A boys basketball state finals.

After teammate Fausto Carmona was sent to the disabled list, McAllister was activated and made his major league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 7, 2011 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

McAllister earned his first MLB victory on May 7, 2012 against the Chicago White Sox.

In a May 13, 2012 road game against the Boston Red Sox, McAllister started in place of injured pitcher Josh Tomlin and recorded a career-high 8 strikeouts in a 4–1 loss.

McAllister pitched 7 innings and gave up 4 runs on 8 hits.

McAllister recorded the shortest outing of his career on August 6, pitching 1.2 innings.

He gave up 9 runs, 2 earned.

He was designated for assignment on August 1, 2014, and optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers on August 3.

In 2015, he had an ERA of 3 in 61 appearances.