I’m as excited for Kevin McGonigle as anyone. I don’t like to push the idea that anyone is a can’t-miss prospect, but given McGonigle's feel for the barrel and elite knowledge of the strike zone, I feel like his chances of at least being a good Major League hitter are extremely high. He’s been dominant at every level he’s played in the minor leagues and will find himself on a Major League field at some point in 2026. The question is whether or not he starts the year on the team. This will be one of the key storylines of spring training.
This is new territory for the Tigers. Since I’ve been alive, they’ve either found themselves being an organization with a lot of talent at the big league level and not much to write home about with their farm system, or they’ve been dreadful at the top with a lot of good minor-league pieces. Currently, Detroit is more competitive in the big leagues than they’ve been in a long time, and it has one of the game's best farm systems. That’s an ideal position to be in, but it does beg the question about when you call up some of your top guys.
If this were 2019, and the Tigers were losing 100 games, there would be no rush to get any of the Tigers' young prospects to the big leagues. But this is a different story. The expectation is that guys like Kevin McGonigle can help the team next year. Given the fact that the shortstop situation in Detroit is currently unstable, it feels like McGonigle being this team’s opening day shortstop isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Still, some of Jeff Greenberg’s recent comments make me think we might have to wait a little bit longer to see McGonigle in a Tiger uniform.
In general, I like the idea of healthy competition in spring training. To have your mind made up about what your Major League roster is going to look like come Opening Day is counterintuitive. I think that McGonigle should have the opportunity to earn his spot as this team’s shortstop. If they come out of spring training and feel like he still has steps to take, you start them off in AAA, but I think you can focus on his development regardless of what level he’s at.
This situation is comparable to what the Chicago Cubs went through in 2015 with Kris Bryant. Bryant was the Cubs' best hitter before his rookie season in spring training of 2015, but because of service-time manipulation, he didn’t make the team out of camp. While the Cubs and Bryant ended up being just fine, I do remember Kris Bryant not being too happy about that at the time. This organization needs bats, and if McGonigle can show that promise against major league pitching in spring, then I think you should slide right into the lineup.
As of now, the Tigers will not be trading Tarik Skubal. OK, I think that’s fantastic. I’m never going to turn down the opportunity to watch Tarik Skubal in a Tiger uniform. But even if you don’t believe in windows, you do believe that every game at this level matters. In 2024, we saw this team come from 9.5 games back. Last year, we saw them lose a 15 1/2 game lead and cough up the division. With one more year of Tarik, this shouldn’t be about development; it should be about winning. If McGonigle isn't ready, then the alternative is you running it back with a shortstop platoon made up of Javier Baez and Zach McKinstry, two guys who I have a hard time believing are going to be able to maintain what they did in 2025. If they fall through, then we’re looking forward to a few months of Trey Sweeney, who has very clearly shown that he’s not a major league hitter.
There’s a lot of talk about whether or not McGonigle will stick at shortstop. I would say he’ll probably get moved and play a different position at some point, but for the time being, let him earn the opportunity at short. We can try to prognosticate, but nobody really knows how these guys are going to develop. Nolan Arenado is one of the greatest defensive third basemen of all time, and yet his minor league scouting report said that he wouldn’t last at third base. If it doesn’t work, they’ll pivot, but even if he’s below average at shortstop, an above-average bat is what’s most important to this organization. Being ready to play and being ready to contribute our different things. Scott Harris and company are aware of that, which is why they’re going to take their time