{"id":645286,"date":"2026-03-26T21:23:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/645286\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T21:23:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:23:02","slug":"detroit-tigers-reveal-opening-day-lineup-where-is-kevin-mcgonigle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/645286\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Tigers reveal Opening Day lineup: Where is Kevin McGonigle?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SAN DIEGO \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/sports\/tigers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Detroit Tigers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Detroit Tigers&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Detroit Tigers<\/a> manager <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/detroit-tigers-j-hinch-peers-100343321.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:A.J. Hinch;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;A.J. Hinch&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">A.J. Hinch<\/a> had to make two decisions about top prospect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=mcgoni000kev\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Kevin McGonigle;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Kevin McGonigle&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Kevin McGonigle<\/a> when filling out the lineup card for 2026 Opening Day.<\/p>\n<p>The first: Where to play him in the field?<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The second: Where to put him in the lineup?<\/p>\n<p>For Opening Day on Thursday, March 26 (4:10 p.m., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/tigers\/2026\/03\/25\/detroit-sportsnet-cable-tv-channels-announced-for-tigers-opening-day\/89323557007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Detroit SportsNet;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Detroit SportsNet&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Detroit SportsNet<\/a>), McGonigle is playing third base and batting sixth for the Tigers in his MLB debut against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, facing right-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/pivetni01.shtml\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Nick Pivetta;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Nick Pivetta&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Nick Pivetta<\/a>. The 21-year-old is the consensus No. 2 prospect in baseball.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">PREVIEW: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/ready-win-experienced-tigers-eye-090518685.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ready to win: Experienced Tigers eye World Series championship in 2026;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Ready to win&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ready to win: Experienced Tigers eye World Series championship in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle throws towards the first base against New York Yankees during the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774560180_394_16c800d781fe4ce867966bc3522c3ec3.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle throws towards the first base against New York Yankees during the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Left-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/skubata01.shtml\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tarik Skubal;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Tarik Skubal&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Tarik Skubal<\/a> \u2013 the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner \u2013\u00a0is making his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Tigers.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the starting lineup for Game 1 of 162:<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">PLAY BALL! <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/channel-tigers-opening-day-game-092044826.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:What channel is Tigers Opening Day game vs Padres? How to watch Detroit SportsNet;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;What channel is Tigers Opening Day game vs Padres? How to watch Detroit SportsNet&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">What channel is Tigers Opening Day game vs Padres? How to watch Detroit SportsNet<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Tigers have four other position players on their bench:<\/p>\n<p>Contact Evan Petzold at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/mailto:epetzold@freepress.com\" data-ylk=\"slk:epetzold@freepress.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;epetzold@freepress.com&quot;}\" class=\"link \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">epetzold@freepress.com<\/a>\u00a0or follow him\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EvanPetzold\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:@EvanPetzold;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;@EvanPetzold&quot;}\" class=\"link \">@EvanPetzold<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/tigers\/2026\/03\/26\/detroit-tigers-opening-day-lineup-kevin-mcgonigle-tarik-skubal\/89330842007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Detroit Tigers Opening Day lineup: Kevin McGonigle behind Tarik Skubal;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Detroit Tigers Opening Day lineup&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Detroit Tigers Opening Day lineup: Kevin McGonigle behind Tarik Skubal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO \u2013 Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch had to make two decisions about top prospect Kevin McGonigle&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2386],"tags":[5,147,53,2583,1390,95,12017,1386,1329,391,4140,1387,4,45,1406,624,18,314,382,1323,594,398],"class_list":{"0":"post-645286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-tigers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-detroit","10":"tag-detroit-tigers","11":"tag-detroittigers","12":"tag-dillon-dingler","13":"tag-gleyber-torres","14":"tag-jahmai-jones","15":"tag-jake-rogers","16":"tag-javier-baez","17":"tag-kerry-carpenter","18":"tag-kevin-mcgonigle","19":"tag-matt-vierling","20":"tag-mlb","21":"tag-nick-pivetta","22":"tag-opening-day","23":"tag-riley-greene","24":"tag-san-diego-padres","25":"tag-spencer-torkelson","26":"tag-tarik-skubal","27":"tag-the-tigers","28":"tag-tigers","29":"tag-zach-mckinstry"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116297584847927528","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}