By Gabriel Fidler.
A long journey that took Adam Macko from Bratislava to Greystones (Ireland) to Vauxhall (Alta.) has paid off, as the 25-year-old left-hander has been called to the major leagues by the Toronto Blue Jays. It has been a whirlwhind year for the pitching prospect, as he excelled for quarterfinal-bound Canada in the World Baseball Classic and now becomes the first Slovakian in the big leagues since 1961.
Macko cut his teeth in school after a chance trial on sports day, entering the Apollo Bratislava club. After moving to Ireland not long after, he joined the (then) Greystones Mariners’ club, playing for its Little League team. After two seasons, the Mackos were on the move again, this time ending up in Alberta, Canada, where he was offered a place at the elite Vauxhall Academy, which has produced 18 MLB draft picks.
The 6-0 southpaw has featured on team prospect lists for the Mariners, who drafted Macko from Vauxhall Baseball Academy (Alta.) in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB Draft, and for the Jays. This year, Baseball America, Fangraphs, and MLB.com all have him within the Top 25 Toronto farmhands, with Fangraphs placing him most highly at No. 17. His stock had been even higher in the past two years, as Macko made it to Triple-A in his age-23 season (2024), spending most of 2025 with the Buffalo Bisons. Injuries has prevented him from topping 100 innings in a season; thus, in an effort to keep him healthy, the Jays have had him working in relief this year.
So far, in 13 games, Macko has tossed 18 innings, striking out 19 (9.5 per nine innings) and allowing only 13 hits. Eight walks (4.0 per nine), but no hit batters, has led to a strong 1.17 WHIP, while his ERA is 4.50. These numbers are in line with his career statistics of a 4.53 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 11.3 strikeouts per nine, and 4.2 walks per nine.
Read more on Macko’s callup here [link]. There are currently 27 Europeans in MLB organizations. You can see our latest update on their progress this season here [link].