Kevin McGonigle is one of the toughest players to strike out, and he’s one of the rare players that walks more than he strikes out.
McGonigle will not stand out with his size, but rather his refusal to give away an at-bat, swing outside of the zone, and strikeout. This translated to the Arizona Fall League with five home runs, 19 RBIs, three stolen bases, an OPS of 1.210 in 69 at-bats with 19 walks and 12 strikeouts.
McGonigle, 21, played for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the AFL following the 2025 regular season and won the league’s Joe Black MVP Award on Nov. 14.
Congratulations to this years Joe Black MVP Award winner, Kevin McGonigle! pic.twitter.com/T1Mv8WTBk7
— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) November 14, 2025
“That’s actually my favorite stat when it comes to hitting is walks to strikeout. I just try to, you know, hit the mistakes as much as possible. And, every pitch that they throw in that zone, I’m trying to get my A swing off on it, and so far it’s been working,” McGonigle told World Baseball Network prior to a game against the Salt River Rafters on Nov. 10.
The Detroit Tigers’ top prospect enhanced his case to be a big part of their plans in 2026. McGonigle is 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds, and the left-handed hitter is an extremely tough at-bat for pitchers and he extended several at-bats with two strikes that resulted in hits in the AFL.
McGonigle has been in the Tigers farm system since 2013 and has 84 strikeouts and 123 walks in 676 at-bats in his minor league career. McGonigle has also taken notice of the success with the back-to-back postseason appearances by the Tigers.
“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.
McGonigle mentioned “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley as a potential walkup song selection for his Major League debut. Last year in spring training, McGonigle also got the chance to talk to several of the Tigers regulars.
“I talked to Spencer Torkelson, Cole Keith, and all those guys, and, you know, it’s the same thing, just work hard and keep your head down, keep pushing and use your failures to make you better and better each day,” he said.
His favorite interaction came recently with back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. Skubal was on hand for McGonigle’s best performance of the AFL on Nov.4, when he went 4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBIs, and a walk.
“That was awesome. It sucks that we didn’t get that win, but, you know, it was good to go out and get to connect with two, and especially with Tarik being there. It was pretty cool for him to watch that, so it was pretty special to me,” McGonigle said. “You know, he’s a great guy. Seeing him in spring training, the way he works and, just the way he locks in to get better and better each day, it really drives me to do the same thing.”
McGonigle credits his parents with a lot of his success for getting him into the game of baseball at such a young age.
“When it came to hitting, it was always just me and him talking. You know, growing up in the living room, we’d have little Nerf balls. I would have a little souvenir bat, and he would just be shooting the Nerf balls at me, and I’ve been trying to hit him when I was younger. So just little things like that,” McGonigle said.
“You know, my mom, same thing with her. She was always in the backyard throwing me balls and just, you know, just helping me out with my swing and stuff like that. So it’s just really, really nice to know they have my back, and, you know, I can’t thank them enough for all they’ve done for me.”
McGonigle had a breakout season in 2025 across three levels of the Tigers organization. He started his season with their Low-A affiliate, the Lakeland Tigers, and ended it with their Double-A affiliate, the Erie SeaWolves.
He had 19 home runs, 80 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, 59 walks, and 46 strikeouts in 331 at-bats across all three levels. His slash line was .305/.408/.583 in the 2025 minor league regular season.
