LAKELAND, Fla. -- The shouts could be heard from the other practice fields as Kevin McGonigle sent a ball spearing into the air Monday morning. The reaction from teammates wasn’t for what he did, but for pitcher Keider Montero, who scrambled off the mound, chased down the popup and made the catch along the first-base line, putting the early days of pitchers fielding practice to work.
Welcome to big league camp, kid.
”First live [batting practice session] of the season, I made contact, so that’s a win right there,” McGonigle said.
McGonigle has blended right in with the group. Before the workout started, he had to stand in front of the team at the daily morning meeting and essentially introduce himself, answering questions from manager A.J. Hinch.
“I think I did a pretty solid job,” McGonigle said Tuesday morning. “But definitely nerve wracking.”
A day earlier, he was doing infield drills with veteran Major Leaguers, working behind Javier Báez and making throws to Gleyber Torres, a placement that was by design.
“Obviously with Kevin, we want him to get his feet settled, and so we've got to get [rid of] the nerves and even the awe factor,” Hinch said. “He's a very balanced person. He's sort of uniquely qualified to be comfortable in his own shoes, but it's a little different taking ground balls next to Javy and feeding Gleyber. ...
“I want to get him comfortable. How do we get him comfortable? Rip the Band-Aid off and get him working with the players that he's aspiring to be and the group that he's aspiring to play with.”
What it means for McGonigle’s fate in this camp remains to be seen. Nobody has ruled out the Tigers’ top prospect -- and MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 prospect overall -- from making the Opening Day roster, but everyone did their best to temper expectations as camp opened. But they’re also doing their best to make the transition easier for McGonigle as well as outfielder Max Clark, catcher/first baseman Josue Briceño and others, something president of baseball operations Scott Harris talked about last October after the season. Because at some point -- maybe early this season, maybe later -- McGonigle is going to be part of the Tigers’ plan to contend now, not just later.
“We want them to walk into that clubhouse the same way they walked into the [Double-A] Erie clubhouse in the past,” Harris said last week. “We want them to show up as their authentic selves. This game is hard enough when you’re confident and free and yourself. It’s impossible when you’re trying to be someone else. I don’t want them to try to be Major League-worthy, or try to be some projection of what they think we want them to be. We want them to be themselves, because there’s a lot for them to learn and there’s a lot for them to get better at over the next several weeks.”
So far, so good.
“It's my first big league Spring Training, and going out there being able to share the field with them in the spring is really special to me,” McGonigle said. “All these big names, and they're all down-to-earth guys, which is the best part about it. And they're welcoming me into this clubhouse. It's been great so far.”
So what are the Tigers looking for?
“When we make promotion decisions we look at two things: Do they make this team better, and are they ready to make the developmental leap,” Harris said. “We’re trying to win this year, so they have to check the first box: Do they actually make us better? The second box is really important because it’s a big leap from the Minor Leagues to the Major Leagues.
"We want to make sure that developmentally, they’re ready for the challenge and that they can endure the struggles that are on the horizon. There’s a clubhouse full of young players who have faced adversity at this level and come out the other side as a better player -- Colt Keith, Dillon Dingler, Parker Meadows, all those guys. We have to make sure that these guys are ready for what’s coming.”
McGonigle is ready to make his case.
“I feel like every Minor League player, that's the goal, to get up there quick,” he said. “But I know the Tigers have a plan with all their guys in the Minor League system, and I'm going to do whatever I can to maybe force their hand and put me up there. But if that's not the case this year, I'll be planted where my feet are and it won't affect me at all.”