SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – The Tigers sent Kevin McGonigle to the fall league presumably to work on defense, and to no one’s surprise he dominated offensively against fall league pitching.
He played about two-thirds of his innings at third base and one-third at shortstop for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
As someone who was in Arizona in October and watched a few Scorpions games, the pitching in the AFL was less than impressive. However, that doesn’t take away from McGonigle’s performance and the fact that his bat has played consistently at every level.
In 90 plate appearances this fall, McGonigle slashed .362/.500/.710 for a 1.210 OPS (On-base + Slugging%) and had more walks (19) than he did strikeouts (12). He was second in the league in runs scored with 22, just two under Chicago White Sox’s Sam Antonacci.
This is the second consecutive year that a Tigers prospect has won the Arizona Fall League MVP, last year being C/1B prospect Josue Briceño.
McGonigle was projected at second base long-term by most scouts, but it’s a possibility his reps at short and third could give him some versatility if needed.
At the beginning of the 2025 season, the Tigers projected McGonigle’s debut to be sometime in 2027, however with his standout offensive performance in 2025 and the peripherals to back it up, we will most likely see him at the big-league level in 2026.
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