Fall League's top prospect McGonigle lets his bat do the talking

To this day, the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball, Kevin McGonigle thinks his best hitting coach was his first.

“It was always just me and my dad going to the local field and just working on some things,” he said on the MLB Pipeline Podcast. “I never listened to anyone else other than my father when it came to hitting. … Nowadays you're on social media seeing everyone teaching different ways to swing a bat, but I think the best way you can swing a bat is just the way you swung it when you were 10 years old.”

Now 21 years of age, the Tigers' top prospect has that same sweet left-handed swing, except it’s faster. And because of it, he’s the most complete hitting prospect in baseball and the top talent in the Arizona Fall League this year.

The 37th overall pick from the 2023 Draft is playing in the showcase circuit to help make up for at-bats lost to a right ankle sprain suffered in his first game of the season with High-A West Michigan. The injury limited him to 88 games, but they were very productive. McGonigle hit .305/.408/.583 across three levels, including Double-A Erie, where he arrived in early July. His 182 wRC+ was tops among Minor League full-season qualifiers.

A career .308 hitter in the Minors, McGonigle has proven he can get the bat on the ball early in his Minor League career, often walking more than he strikes out at each stop. But his slugging ability jumped in his second full campaign, with his homer output popping from five in 2024 to 19 in 2025. Physical maturation as he enters his 20s is only partly the reason for the increase.

“I’d say in the offseason I was working on bat speed, and I think that had a lot to do with it,” McGonigle said. “Bat speed goes up, the exit velos go up, then power starts to come. I feel like if I continue to do that, then more and more power will start coming.”

Taking a player with a 70-grade hit tool and adding the potential for plus power in a 5-foot-10 frame only made the target on McGonigle’s back grow each week, and that will continue to be the case during his time with Scottsdale in the Fall League.

“This year, I could really tell the difference,” McGonigle said. “A lot more offspeed pitches, nothing really in the heart of the zone. I think the adjustment I made for handling that was to make them throw me anything in the heart. Take all their dotted pitches, and they'll leave one in the heart of the plate one of the times and you can't miss it.”

McGonigle’s average did drop to .254 as he was pitched backwards more often in Double-A, but even then, he still slugged .550 with a 12.6 percent K rate in his 46 games with Erie.

Since 2018, only two players aged 20 or younger have posted a strikeout rate below 13 percent while slugging .550 or better over 200-plus plate appearances. The other was Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

While his bat is incredibly advanced, McGonigle’s glovework, by his own admission, needs improvement if he has any chance to stick at shortstop. Many evaluators believe he’s headed to second base long-term, but the Tigers are working with him at third base as well -- two of his first three Fall League starts have come at the hot corner. Detroit is still seeking a long-term solution at the hot corner, and All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres is scheduled to become a free agent this winter.

The temptation to push McGonigle for his hitting will be very real very soon. And in some ways, McGonigle’s 2026 begins this fall in Arizona.

“This is a big offseason for me,” he said. “I'm really excited to lock in this offseason and go out and do everything I can to fight for a job in Spring Training. Again, that's not in my hands for the decision, but I'm going to be prepared for it. If they want to go that route, then I'll be ready.”

Tigers hitters in the Fall League

Max Anderson, 2B/3B (No. 9): Considered a bat-first infielder when he was taken in the second round of the 2023 Draft, Anderson waited until his second full season to deliver a bigger breakout in the Tigers system. He was an Eastern League end-of-season All-Star after slashing .306/.358/.499 with 14 homers in 90 games for Double-A Erie and added five more dingers during a late-season run with Triple-A Toledo, finishing with 19 (tied for third-most among Detroit Minor Leaguers). Add in a 15.8 percent K rate, and he was one of only seven Minor League qualifiers to hit 19 or more homers while fanning in 16 percent or less of their plate appearances, joining McGonigle on that list. Anderson has been third-base-only in the AFL to this early point, and that may be his best chance to find an everyday role given the other options at second.

Jack Penney, 2B/SS: Detroit keeps the infield theme going with the 2024 fifth-rounder out of Notre Dame. Penney was a key piece of West Michigan’s dominance in his first full season, when healthy; he ranked in the Midwest League’s top 12 for walk rate (15.0 percent), on-base percentage (.382) and wRC+ (128) among players with at least 300 plate appearances. Penney lacked significant power with only five homers in 71 games with the Whitecaps as he employed more of an all-fields, line-drive approach. He could feature at either spot up the middle but projects best as a patient left-handed, utility option off the bench.

Tigers pitchers in the Fall League

Dariel Fregio, RHP: A product of Division II Saint Leo, Fregio pitched for the Frontier League’s Washington WildThings in 2023 and 2024, mixing in a stint with Perth of Australian Baseball League as well, before signing with the Tigers back in May. He moved from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Lakeland to High-A West Michigan as a reliever, finishing with a 1.82 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 43 strikeouts in 39 ⅔ innings across all three stops. In his first AFL outing on Oct. 8, the 25-year-old righty showcased a sinker with good armside run and two high-spin options in his slider and curveball on top of a cutter and changeup for a full five-pitch mix.

Carlos Lequerica, RHP: Another West Michigan mainstay from 2025, Lequerica owned a 2.35 ERA and 1.10 WHIP while striking out 42 in 53 ⅔ innings. While he didn’t miss many bats, he still held opposing MWL hitters to a .196 average, and the Fall League’s status as a circuit for bats will put that to the challenge. He works with a four-seamer and sinker (both in the 91-94 mph range) and shorter 83-85 mph cutter/slider, but his best offering is a mid-80s changeup that fades well late and can be just as effective against righties.

Kenny Serwa, RHP: Serwa should certainly perk a few eyebrows as he brings a knuckleball to the desert. A signee out of the American Association last offseason, Serwa took the knuckler to West Michigan and Erie for his age-27 season and notched a 3.58 ERA along with 84 strikeouts in 118 innings. He can also sneak an 89-91 mph fastball past hitters to keep them honest, and the knuckler itself comes with more heat than is typical for the pitch, adding to the intrigue.