LAKELAND, Fla. -- Kevin McGonigle was getting ready to head to the Tigers clubhouse bathroom to wash his face Monday morning when he was stopped for a quick interview. As he was explaining his mindset heading into the final week of Spring Training and his approach to the barrage of breaking balls and offspeed pitches he has faced from opposing pitchers lately, a booming voice came from across the clubhouse.
“Put a shirt on,” catcher Jake Rogers yelled.
McGonigle -- who is Detroit's No. 1 prospect and MLB's No. 2 overall prospect -- had a reasonable defense; he wasn’t expecting a seven-minute interview with a scrum of reporters, and it wasn’t on camera. But the good-natured ribbing from a veteran was a reflection of how the 21-year-old infielder has fit into a tight-knit clubhouse -- one that features several former top prospects -- in barely a month.
“I feel very comfortable, building relationships still with everyone in here,” McGonigle said. “But I feel way more comfortable now than I did when I first saw you guys back early in the spring. I feel very comfortable out there on defense, too. Just looking forward to keep going and keep having a good spring.”
McGonigle fits in, at the plate, on the field and in the clubhouse. Whether he fits into the Tigers’ Opening Day roster is to be determined soon.
COMPLETE TIGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
While the final days of Spring Training can feel routine for a veteran with a roster spot secured, they’re often vital for a prospect for a non-roster invite trying to make the club. The pitches that youngsters might feast on early in Spring Training are often tougher to find as pitchers stop working on stuff and hone in on their regular-season arsenal. And now, more than ever, teams put together scouting reports quickly, well before Opening Day.
McGonigle is now getting that treatment.
“I’m actually glad it’s happening in the spring,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “because it gives him things to think about. … In the Minor Leagues, it’s talked about but maybe not quite understood until you get closer to the big leagues, the importance of game planning, the importance of making adjustments and staying disciplined to your plan.
“The thing that Kevin has going for him is he knows the strike zone and he makes contact. Both are in your favor when you have to adjust to the pitches.”
After McGonigle crushed fastballs early in Grapefruit League play, teams began feeding him more breaking balls and offspeed pitches. He saw 15 pitches from the Blue Jays on Saturday; just four were fastballs. Three of them came from likely Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, who had two fascinating matchups with him.
McGonigle fouled off a first-pitch fastball over the plate from Scherzer in the first inning, then saw back-to-back curveballs -- one for a called strike, the other that he chased out of the zone for a three-pitch strikeout.
Two innings later, Scherzer reversed the mix, starting off McGonigle with a curveball inside before throwing back-to-back heaters, including a 2-0 fastball over the plate.
“I learned a lot from the first at-bat,” McGonigle said. “Went in the second at-bat and got 2-0, missed the heater, but I hit it hard, just straight up.”
McGonigle walked in the next two times up against veteran relievers Tommy Nance and Louis Varland. He saw one fastball in those nine pitches.
A day later, Phillies Minor Leaguer Chuck King tried to start off McGonigle with a slider down. He left it down and in, and McGonigle turned on it and sent it for a ride. It went a Statcast-projected 437 feet and hit the electronic ribbon board on the Tigers administrative building beyond right field, the longest home run at Joker Marchant Stadium this spring. He lined out hard to right his next time up, then drew back-to-back walks, including a bases-loaded free pass before flying out to end the bottom of the seventh inning to complete a four-RBI day in Detroit's 13-6 victory.
So far, McGonigle has stayed patient at the plate and avoided the trap of trying to do too much. It doesn’t mean he won’t swing at breaking balls or offspeed pitches, but he’s seeing the ball well.
“That's a big thing I had to adjust to in Double-A: I didn't get heaters in heaters counts, so just adjusting to that again,” McGonigle said. “Now, I'm getting used to it, drawing walks. I'm still always going to be on the heater, and then if I see something pop, I'll go at it. …
“I'm still up there looking to do damage on offspeed as well, but in Spring Training I'm still looking for heaters to hit, trying to tunnel different guys. I'm seeing a lot of new arms right now. I'm writing notes down about these different guys and how they're going to attack me. The biggest thing is just looking for anything in the heart of the zone, which I feel like recently I haven't really gotten. But they're going to end up making mistakes at some point. I just can't miss them.”
He has stayed focused through an increasing spotlight on his game and his roster chances. Even as the days in camp dwindle, he talks about staying where his feet are. On Monday, he faced a different task: A cheering section of about 50 family and friends making the trip to Joker Marchant Stadium to watch him face his hometown team, the Phillies. They were seated near the top of the stadium, well behind the Tigers dugout, but they could still be heard around the park.
“Let’s go Kevin,” somebody screamed as he worked the count full in his fourth at-bat for a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning.
“Yeah, it's going to get loud,” McGonigle correctly predicted. “You can definitely hear my mom. She’s awesome.”
The way he continues to play gives them a lot of reason to cheer.