The Detroit Tigers’ top prospect, Kevin McGonigle, has won the starting shortstop job and will start the season in the Major Leagues according to the Tigers X account.
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— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 24, 2026
McGonigle spoke with World Baseball Network during spring training in Lakeland, Florida, on Feb. 20.
“I’m just here to get better. I’m here to learn from the older guys and, you know, I feel like everything will fall into place at the right time. So I’m not really looking that far ahead right now. I worried about spring, just getting better and better each day. So, just being prepared for whatever they need me to do next year coming up,” McGonigle said of competing for an MLB roster spot.
It would seem he did everything he had to do and was able to learn from his big league teammates, such as Gleyber Torres and Javier Báez.
“Just sitting back and watching how they attack each day and how they work out in the infield and their approach and the batter’s box is really special to learn from them,” McGonigle added. “And, you know, like I said, trying to get as much info out of all those guys as I can.”
He had two home runs, six RBIs, 11 walks, and nine strikeouts, with an OPS of .888 in 44 spring training at-bats.
It wasn’t always an easy road for McGonigle, who, at 5-foot-9, is an undersized played at the professional level, not to mention in MLB. McGonigle even had some doubts himself when he struggled with Double-A Erie last season.
“Um, I think I’d say when I first got called up to AA last year. I struggled a little bit, but I got out of that little slump ahead and, you know, I just keep getting better, better each day, you know, get through those slumps and it all falls in place,” McGonigle said.
He started off his Double-A career 2-for-15 and was 7-for-38 – that’s a .184 batting average – before he hit his first Double-A home run. He ended up locking in and finished his Double-A season with 12 home runs, 41 RBIs, seven stolen bases, and an OPS of .919 in 169 at-bats.
“Getting here every day and giving it my all, uh, being prepared for the season and, uh, you know, building relationships with all these guys I think, is uh, the main thing I’m most proud of this spring,” McGonigle said.
McGonigle was born in Media, Pa., and grew up a Philadelphia Phillies fan, idolizing Chase Utley, to whom he has been compared to by some baseball analysts, including ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“Chase, he was always my favorite player, so watching him growing up. How he played the game and how, you know, he just went out and played it hard every inning, every pitch. So just kind of trying to play it like him,” McGonigle said.
McGonigle played in the Arizona Fall League and won the AFL MVP this past November. He also started playing other positions out there, such as third base and second base.
“I was very, very happy with the opportunity to go out there and play. With a few of the other guys from the organization, and yeah, it was a great time. More baseball, I was practicing at other infield spots, So yeah, it was definitely a good experience,” McGonigle told World Baseball Network.
“That would mean everything. You know, that’s a dream of mine to go help a team win a World Series, and I think the Tigers are in a great spot with that, and I’m looking forward to hopefully one day being able to help them out,” McGonigle said when asked what a call-up to the Tigers would mean for him in the AFL last November.
McGonigle mentioned “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley as a potential walk-up song selection for his Major League debut.
The lights will turn on for McGonigle and the Tigers against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on March 26 when their regular season officially begins.
Photo: Detroit Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle runs during workouts at spring training baseball, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Lakeland. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
