In a bit of a surprise, it was announced on Wednesday that Detroit Tigers top prospect and arguably the top prospect in baseball, shortstop Kevin McGonigle, will headline their list of prospects going to play in the Arizona Fall League from October 6 to November 12.
The level of pitching in the Fall League generally ranges from High-A to Double-A level arms. So it’s debatable whether McGonigle will see much of the same quality of pitching he’s currently facing in Double-A in the Eastern League. Still, the shortstop did miss about six weeks to an ankle sprain suffered in the first game of the season. Add to that games missed late in the 2024 regular season due to a hamate fracture, and McGonigle has had significantly less reps than fellow top prospect Max Clark, despite being over five months older. McGonigle should tear those pitchers apart, particularly in good hitting conditions in the desert.
The real benefit to this is probably on the defensive side of the ball. McGonigle’s arm, footwork, and transfer are stretched at the shortstop position. He needs to make some significant improvements and become as efficient and consistent as possible at the position, because his natural gifts, most particularly his arm strength, are a little below average at the position. Getting him as many reps as possible at shortstop this fall should help set him up to improve through the offseason and be closer to major league readiness next spring. Currently, his hitting is racing well ahead of his defense in the race to the major leagues, so getting as much game action as possible right now makes sense. It’s just surprising to see such an advanced hitter go west, and it should be very fun to see him mash for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
The next Tigers prospect headed to Scottsdale is left-hander Jake Miller. The 24-year-old was off to a great start at the Double-A level when injuries bit him at the end of April. He returned to action at the end of August. Armed with a solid fastball, slider, changeup combination and advanced command, Miller was on the fast track this season before the injury. Had things gone well, he would’ve been a candidate for the Tigers bullpen by now. Instead, he’ll catch up on innings missed and look to set himself up for a strong 2026 with an eye to breaking through at the major league level.
Next up is infielder Max Anderson, who has had quite a breakout season after a quiet 2024 pro debut. Anderson hit 14 homers in 90 games at the Double-A level with a 146 wRC+. He made significant progress in driving the ball in the air, and while he’s still too much of a free swinger, it was a serious breakout season for Anderson that saw him handle the jump to Triple-A decently as a 23-year-old though his production has tailed off a lot. Anderson is a mediocre infielder, but did improve this year at second base and is now working to add third base skills to his tool kit. Th extra Fall League reps will help him in that regard, while a bit of a breather from Triple-A pitching will help him reset at the plate.
Infielder Jake Penney, relievers RHP Carlos Lequerica and RHP Daniel Fregio will also take part, while knuckleballer Kenny Serwa will be the only starting pitcher the Tigers send over.
It’s a somewhat surprising group in that position players who missed time to injury like OF Brett Callahan aren’t represented. Meanwhile, Serwa already threw 113 innings. He is 27 and can probably handle some more, but I expected a few more pitchers who missed time to injury like RHP Eric Silva and RHP Carlos Marcano to be Fall League representatives for the Tigers.
The Scorpions will be managed by Low-A Lakeland Flying Tigers manager and former MLB catcher, Rene Rivera. So the Scorpions figure to be a bit of a Tigers party all around. Rangers shortstop prospect Sebastian Walcott will be the highest ranked player on the team after McGonigle. You can find much more on the Fall League, from complete rosters to the schedule right here.