DETROIT -- The Tigers were never going to trade top prospect Kevin McGonigle at last summer’s Deadline, knowing what kind of impact he could make when he was ready for the big leagues.
Nine months and two standout weeks in the big leagues later, McGonigle was going to make whatever trade he could to get his first home run ball from the fan who caught it in Comerica Park’s right-field seats.
A first homer off a Cy Young winner? He wasn’t letting that deal get away.
“Pretty good name to put on that ball,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
McGonigle swung a pretty fair trade Sunday afternoon in the moments after the Tigers’ 8-2 win over the Marlins, when he homered off Miami ace Sandy Alcantara.
“A signed bat, a signed ball and a signed jersey,” he said. “Worth it, though. Definitely worth it.”
McGonigle has had plenty of feats in the first two-plus weeks of his career, including a four-hit game in his MLB debut in San Diego. He was still waiting for his first big league homer despite several close calls, including an over-the-fence catch by Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill during the opening series and a 400-foot fly out to the warning track in center against the Cardinals last weekend.
There was no bringing back Sunday’s drive. McGonigle had been sitting on fastballs his first two at-bats, flying out on a first-pitch sinker to lead off the bottom of the first inning, then singling off a 97 mph heater following three consecutive changeups down to begin the fourth.
“The big thing for me [against Alcantara] was trying to stay in the zone,” McGonigle said. “He gets a lot of chase down with the changeup, chase away as well with the changeup and that slider, sweeper. So just kind of stayed in the zone and looking in the heart of the plate.”
After hitting two fastballs in as many plate appearances, McGonigle expected to see a heavy dose of breaking balls and offspeed as he prepared to lead off the top of the sixth. After talking with teammates in the dugout, he decided to stick with his fastball approach.
Alcantara started him off with a fastball. Much like McGonigle’s first Spring Training home run in the Dominican Republic in early March, the kid jumped it and crushed it, sending it a Statcast-projected 408 feet to right.
“This is just who he is,” Hinch said. “Get a good pitch and don’t miss it.”
The Tigers have no formal dugout celebration for home runs, but they mobbed McGonigle with hugs and high-fives in the dugout. Meanwhile, the fan who caught McGonigle’s homer saw a rush of attention from his seat neighbors -- and from the Tigers, who wanted the ball for McGonigle to keep.
“It meant everything, especially doing it in front of the city,” McGonigle said. “I love this place already. Looking forward to a long future here. I just can't believe I was able to do it in front of them.”
The home run added to the run support for Tarik Skubal in his start opposite Alcantara, a duel the back-to-back American League Cy Young Award-winner was already winning.
Much like with his first big league hit, McGonigle’s teammates found everything they could in the food room to throw on him in the postgame celebration.
“It was soda, water and everything,” he said. “Powder, pickles too.”