A former Spruce Grove Whitesox pitcher from Slovakia made his first Major League Baseball start for the Toronto Blue Jays on May 29, 2026. Adam Macko, a 25-year-old left-hander, got the call against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings in what the team calls an opener role.
Macko was discovered by local coach Kevin Inch at a winter baseball camp in Edmonton. Inch was with the Spruce Grove Bantam AAA White Sox at the time. Macko had just moved to Alberta from Ireland. He was born in Bratislava, Slovakia and lived there until he was 11. His family then went to Ireland before coming to Canada.
He later attended the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball near Taber. There, he posted a 1.27 earned run average with 76 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings in his final season under head coach Les McTavish. The Seattle Mariners drafted him in the seventh round in 2019. He was traded to the Blue Jays in November 2022 as part of the deal that sent Teoscar Hernández to Seattle.
Macko made his big league debut on May 18 against the New York Yankees. He became the first player born in Slovakia to appear in an MLB game. Before his start, he had thrown 4 1/3 innings without giving up a run over six relief outings. The Blue Jays needed a starter because Dylan Cease went on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.
The Blue Jays won the game 6-5 after trailing by five runs. Macko did not get the decision, but his rise through the local baseball system has brought pride to Spruce Grove’s community sports programs.
