Keeping It Simple: Kevin McGonigle’s Approach to the Arizona Fall League

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — For Kevin McGonigle, infield drills are nothing new.

Read a lazy, two-hopper.

Step, step, step, step, scoop and throw.

At this point, these are drills the 21-year-old could do in his sleep, but with the Scottsdale Scorpions, for the first time in his professional career, Kevin McGonigle is playing third base.

How McGonigle sees it, versatility breeds opportunity, and the move to third base is just one more chance for him to contribute in the field. 

“Growing up, my dad always told me when it came to baseball, to just be prepared for every opportunity, no matter what position it is,” McGonigle said.

“So, I think it’s a great thing that I’m bouncing from different positions, because that means I’m just going to have more tools in my tool bag when my career goes further and further.

“I’m enjoying third base,” McGonigle said. “I had some practice at second base as well, and it’s been a while. I played shortstop every game (during the season) and was the designated hitter. I’m just being prepared, and wherever the manager needs me, I’ll be ready.”

Throughout the start of his career, McGonigle worked exclusively between shortstop and second base between 2023 and 2024.

In 2025, the Tigers adjusted and moved the Pennsylvania native to working strictly at shortstop, excluding one game played at second base during a rehab assignment.

While the move to third is a new experience, McGonigle has relied on muscle memory and instinct since arriving in Arizona.

“The big thing with third base is that the ball gets on you a little quicker,” McGonigle said.

“It’s more side-to-side movement instead of crashing downhill, like it would at shortstop. I feel like that’s the only thing I’m really working on at third base is just getting used to working laterally and just being ready for hard-hit baseballs right at you.

“I won’t lie, it’s kind of scary when you’ve got guys up there like Max Anderson just hitting balls 120 MPH at you,” McGonigle laughed. “You’ve just got to be prepared to make the play. I think that’s the biggest adjustment.”

As any infielder will tell you, each infield position is intrinsically connected to timing.

In McGonigle’s conditioning for third base, the “pre-pitch” that all infielders are wired to feel looks a little different at third base, and McGonigle is using his defensive work in Arizona to polish the timing before taking each pitch.

McGonigle compares it to a tennis player and how they prepare for a serve.

“We watch videos of tennis players and how they pre-pitch for a serve, and it’s kind of like the same thing,” McGonigle said. “They land basically right after contact, right after it. That’s their best reaction time to go get to the ball.”

In baseball, the goal of a fluid pre-pitch is to land right after contact. 

“There’s a little different pre-pitch at third base when I’m in,” McGonigle said. “It’s more of the traditional two-foot hop. I usually drag my foot at shortstop, and if I’m playing back at third base, it’s like a drag, and then pre-pitch.”

Defensively, McGonigle told me his focus has been on perfecting his “pre-pitch,” which defenders use as a timing mechanism at the point of offensive contact. McGonigle said his pre-pitch is a subtle foot drag to get him set up. Here’s an example of that at third base. pic.twitter.com/pAfEH8aiFb

— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) October 31, 2025

During a Fall League visit with Tigers’ roving infield instructor, Alan Trammell, McGonigle took full advantage of addressing his timing, his footwork, and, more specifically, how to throw more effectively from third base.

“At shortstop, you have a little bit more time,” McGonigle said.

“And then, at third base, you have the throw. When Tram was here, we were working on throwing from third base and balls to my backhand down the line. Using the grass, and long-hop it in there, little things like that. And of course, covering the bunts. I’ve yet to have a bunt hit to me, so hopefully that comes at some point while I’m out here. It’s been going really well.”

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At the conclusion of a typical season, McGonigle will take a solid month off from baseball activity, and with his assignment to the Fall League this year, he plans to take that month off once he returns home to Pennsylvania.

The return home means a return to Ascent Athlete, a baseball and softball development facility in Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, where McGonigle plans to focus on bat speed training, along with his normal routine.

Alex Kramer, the director of hitting for Ascent Athlete, first began working with McGonigle between 2023 and 2024, and his plan to prepare McGonigle for the 2026 regular season has already taken shape.

“When he gets back from Fall League, we’ll hit the ground running to build on his massive campaign this year,” Kramer said. “The very first thing you notice about Kev in the cage is obviously the unbelievable talent level.

“We had a machine shooting foam balls 95+ MPH from full game distance, and Kev was challenged to take a swing with a 22” toy bat,” Kramer said. “He fouled off the first pitch, said, “Oh, I got it”, and next pitch, hit a laser to the top corner of the cage.”

Offensively, McGonigle’s 2025 regular season was monstrous.

With High-A West Michigan, the 21-year-old slashed .372/.462/.648 with a 1.110 OPS, combined with commanding nearly every Midwest League offensive category for the majority of his High-A campaign.

Since then, he’s added MLB Futures Game representative, regular season All-Star, Midwest League Top Prospect, and now, an Arizona Fall League Fall Star.

Since arriving in Arizona, McGonigle’s offense, to no one’s surprise, simply continues to dominate.

With Scottsdale, McGonigle is slashing .385/.494/.754 with a 1.248 OPS, while sitting in the top three in the league for runs scored, hits, triples, home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS.

“The more days you spend working with (McGonigle), the more you realize there’s some serious intentionality to his process,” Kramer said. “He knows how his swing works; it’s gotten him this far, so we don’t spend time tinkering with things or filling him with internal cues.

“We do some overload/underload training to keep him fast and powerful, but the bulk of what we set up is either game-like shapes and velocities or multi-pitch mixes,” Kramer added.

“Kev is the ultimate competitor in game, but also in practice, and that’s what I think truly separates him from the crowd.”