When the Tigers opened camp in February, top prospect Kevin McGonigle looked like a long shot to make the Opening Day roster. But it didn’t take long for MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect to change the perception.
On Tuesday, the team announced what many were expecting based on McGonigle’s strong spring: the 21-year-old shortstop has made the Opening Day roster and will start in the Tigers’ first game of the season in San Diego (Thursday, 4:10 p.m. ET).
While McGonigle’s place in the Tigers’ lineup is still to be determined, Hinch clarified that he will see time at shortstop and third base this season.
“He’ll play on the left side of the infield,” Hinch told reporters Tuesday. “We’ve worked him there the entire spring, so I don’t think that you’ll see him at second base. He’ll stay both at short and third. I need to get to the lineup for Opening Day, which means I need to have some conversations about how I’m going to line it up over the next 24 hours, but Kevin will be in the lineup.”
McGonigle will join a short list of Tigers to start on Opening Day before their 22nd birthday, a group that notably includes Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Alan Trammell and Harry Heilmann, as well as five-time All-Star Lou Whitaker, among a handful of others. He’d be the youngest member of Detroit's Opening Day lineup since Omar Infante, who started the club’s 2003 season opener at shortstop as a 21-year-old.
McGonigle found out from Hinch on Tuesday morning that he had made the team. Hinch says McGonigle had a ‘big smile’ on his face and immediately called his family.
Considered the best hitter on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list with a 70-grade hit tool, McGonigle proved his big league readiness with a .250/.423/.500 slash this spring, hitting two homers, drawing 11 walks and striking out only eight times in 52 plate appearances. He also had his share of highlight-reel plays with the glove, answering any lingering questions about his defense.
“He continued to demonstrate his ability to handle the moment, and he had a lot of moments during camp where he was tested,” Hinch said. “The at-bat quality was as advertised. I think his defense was really impressive with the details of his first step, his pre-pitch and completing plays. He never looked uncomfortable throughout the spring, even though he will tell you there were some nerve-racking moments. And he should be nervous – he’s 21 and he’s never played with this much attention on him.”
The Tigers took McGonigle with the 37th overall pick in the 2023 Draft out of Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, Penn., part of a Draft class that also included No. 3 overall pick Max Clark (now MLB Pipeline’s No. 10 prospect) and second-rounder Max Anderson (the Tigers’ No. 5 prospect).
McGonigle has risen rapidly through Detroit’s system, reaching High-A in 2024, Double-A last summer and now making the jump to MLB without playing a game at Triple-A. Over 183 Minor League games, he’s a career .308 hitter with 25 homers, 40 steals and a .919 OPS. He was also named MVP of the 2025 Arizona Fall League after recording a 1.210 OPS with five homers in 19 games.
No homegrown Tigers hitter has advanced from Double-A straight to Detroit without a stint at Triple-A Toledo since slugging outfielder Steven Moya in 2014. Moya was a September call-up that year under expanded rosters. That McGonigle can do it to begin a season says as much about his talent as his mentality.
“I don't think any one of our staff members saw Kevin go through the normal emotions and ebbs and flows that any young player seems to go through,” Tigers vice president of player development Ryan Garko said last week. “It's just who he is as a person. It's a slow heartbeat with an ultra-grinder, competitive mindset as well, which is pretty unique to have both of those things.”
Shortstop was a problematic position for the Tigers again in 2025, continuing a long-standing trend. Detroit shortstops ranked 22nd in MLB with an 89 wRC+ and 24th with 1.4 WAR (per FanGraphs) on the year, so McGonigle could have a sizable impact on Detroit’s lineup if he lives up to his potential.