Detroit Tigers Offseason Awards Are Piling Up

With MLB awards season kicking off today, let’s take some time to recap which Detroit Tigers have had their names etched in award history so far this offseason.

Despite the Tigers’ season going south almost instantaneously, Detroit still had several players power through and establish themselves as some of the best around the league.

Detroit’s woes came at the hands of an abundance of injuries to start the season, shaky bullpen pitching and a boom-or-bust offense. The backbone of Detroit in recent years had been its pitching, headlined by two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

Even Skubal became part of the woes to hit Detroit after elbow surgery was needed soon after the season began. This came after his arbitration deal sparked some controversy and speculation. Later, Skubal would be dealt to Los Angeles, with the Tigers knowing there was little chance of retaining the dominating pitcher.

With the tumultuous season, as well as the garage sale of Skubal and Casey Mize at the trade deadline, there was just too much to overcome, and the Tigers fell short of the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.

In this season, though, there were highs.

Kevin McGonigle was a sight for sore eyes all season long, posting some of the best numbers among major leaguers in just his age-21 season. McGonigle even made his way into the history books with the numbers he put up.

Due to his unbelievable ability to locate the ball at the plate, he finished ninth in MLB in walks and broke Aaron Judge’s record for the most games reaching base twice before the All-Star break by a rookie.

McGonigle took home both Baseball America’s Rookie of the Year award and Sporting News’ Rookie of the Year award. MLB’s Rookie of the Year award will be announced Nov. 9, with McGonigle considered a strong favorite to take home the American League honors.

Zach McKinstry was nominated for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award. These awards will be announced Nov. 6, but McKinstry has already gotten his hands on an offseason award.

McKinstry won the Utility Player Fielding Bible Award, which is given to the league’s top defenders at their respective positions.

Along with McKinstry, Dillon Dingler was also nominated for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award and won the Fielding Bible Award for the catcher position. That marked the first Tigers catcher to win the award since its inaugural season in 2006, when Pudge Rodriguez took home the honors for Detroit.

Dingler was also named to the Sporting News All-Star team alongside teammate Riley Greene.

Greene made his third consecutive MLB All-Star Game appearance this summer and earned his second Sporting News All-Star award of his career.

The MLB awards season is just kicking off, and the Tigers have already taken home some preliminary honors. Now, we will wait and see who takes home the biggest awards in baseball.