Kevin McGonigle Should Be on the Tigers’ Opening Day Roster
The star prospect has already proven he belongs with Detroit on Opening Day.
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You didn’t have to wait long on Tuesday night before Kevin McGonigle caught your eye. On the first pitch of the game, McGonigle jumped on a middle-middle pitch and drove the ball deep into the dark sky. A 110.4 mph exit velocity home run off Luis Severino.
That wasn’t it. McGonigle walked and hit singles while collecting three RBI, capping off a memorable night.
Deciding on whether a player breaks camp based on spring training stats can get convoluted. Especially on March 3. Hell, McGonigle has only had 15 at-bats, which is less than a week’s work.
Sure, the 1.138 OPS looks great, but the reason McGonigle should be on the Opening Day roster isn’t simply because of his stats.
It’s because he has shown he belongs.
Kevin McGonigle Is Too Advanced for the Minors
Spring training is mostly a warm-up for players and an opportunity to tinker with their game. Stats are always funky due to the vastly different levels of competition and tiny sample size. That’s why it’s important to take notice of much more than a box score and dive into how a player is finding success.
When Kevin McGonigle came to camp, the fan base was split on whether he would make the team or not. I, for one, thought he would return to the minors simply because he has 46 games and 206 plate appearances above High-A. Not because of service time manipulation, but because most prospects do not make the jump to the majors at 21, with so few games in the upper minors.
Well, Kevin McGonigle isn’t most prospects.
His advanced hit tool and approach set him apart in the prospect world and are the driving reasons for him being Just Baseball’s No. 2 prospect. Although the sample size is small in spring training, everything we have seen screams major league ready.
The home run on Tuesday night flashed his bat speed, fluid swing, and power potential. But, don’t forget the other at-bats. In his second at-bat, he worked a 2-1 count and drove a high fastball to right center, scoring two. He followed that with a five-pitch walk before reaching a full count against Camilo Doval and lining a single to right.
It might only be one game, but it is really what he’s been doing all spring. Laying off tough pitches to get into a hitter’s count and spray line drives to all fields. Every at-bat looks difficult for the pitcher, no matter who’s on the mound.
McGonigle’s quick hands and barrel control allow him to make solid contact in all parts of the zone. His pitch recognition and eye for the zone are at a level we rarely see from someone his age. The swing is as polished as the approach.
He’s also impacting the game on the base paths. He’s stolen a base but also gone first to third a few times and caused some havoc with his speed and aggressiveness.
Many had concerns about his defense, but so far, so good. I don’t think his range is quite what you want from a shortstop, at least not long-term, but what we have seen this spring confirms what I have believed all offseason: McGonigle is a perfectly competent defender at short.
Again, small sample, but we have seen the slower roller off balanced throws and difficult angles turning two completed with ease. Not only does he look comfortable, he looks confident. Like a guy who isn’t here to flash his potential but instead cement himself in the lineup going forward.
I know this sounds like hyperbole or living in the moment, but I promise I do not talk about many prospects in this light. Everything you want to see from a veteran McGonigle is showing you at 21. He’s not trying to do too much and is checking every box along the way.
This does not look like a rookie. This looks like a player who will impact the Tigers’ lineup. From day one.
How McGonigle Fits on the Roster
The Tigers will need to make a roster move not only to get him on the Opening Day roster, but on the 40-man roster. Any injury could land someone on the 60-day IL, opening a spot, or the Tigers would have to DFA a player to clear a 40-man spot. They could also trade someone like Jace Jung, who may not be in the long-term plans.
For the active roster, it would either be sending Wenceel Perez to Triple-A or DFA’ing Jahmai Jones, although I think the Tigers would prefer to keep him. Sending down Perez, who played decently last season, would be a tough pill to swallow, but the type of difficult move good teams have to make.
We aren’t talking about the rebuilding Tigers. This is a team with World Series aspirations, and moving Perez to a minor league depth role would be great insurance to have.
McGonigle starting at short would push Javier Báez and Zach McKinstry into a utility role. Perhaps McKinstry, or Matt Vierling, would fill right field, allowing Kerry Carpenter to DH. If Parker Meadows does not play well enough, Báez could fill center, which he might in a platoon capacity, regardless.
We have already seen Báez getting plenty of run in center this spring, and he looked like a natural there last season. As much as I like what McKinstry and Baez brought last season, having them as utility bench pieces gives this team great depth and lineup flexibility, especially late in games.
McGonigle on the Opening Day roster also opens the possibility of him leading off, at least against righties. Colt Keith, Meadows, and Carpenter have also led off, but adding McGonigle’s plus approach and speed to the top of the order only helps the power bats behind him.
Even if the Tigers start him lower in the order, his lefty bat will still balance the lineup and break up back-to-back righties.
Sure, Báez and McKinstry are veterans who each earned awards last season, but I don’t think they are the types of players that should block what could end up being one of Detroit’s best offensive pieces. Rookie or not, McGonigle’s ceiling is too good to be held down by either of them.
Final Thoughts
What more could you ask from McGonigle so far? You bring him to camp to try and win a starting spot, and he has done everything you could have expected and more. Not in a fluky way, either. Instead, by showing the talent that made him a top prospect.
Detroit is playing in a different tier than in years prior. The wait and see, slow and steady, bigger push next year stance is over. I think the Tigers know that, too. The roster moves tell me that much.
Just how good will McGonigle be? I don’t know. What I do know is that he’s one of the more talented players in camp and gives the Tigers a better chance to win from day one.
The flaws are few, so the excuses should be too. Starting at shortstop, for your Detroit Tigers, Kevin McGonigle!
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