INF Kevin McGonigle
Weekly performance: 3 G, 4-9 (.444), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
Kevin McGonigle got the first couple of days off this week, but he was back at third base on Thursday. The man they call Magoo went 2-for-5 with
his fifth double of the fall.
A rare two-strikeout day came from McGonigle on Saturday. Let’s call it a Halloween hangover. He still went 2-for-4, though, and notched his first triple of the fall. Leaving a 91 mph cutter in the zone with men on base is a big mistake when McGonigle is at the plate.
McGonigle finished the week at third on Sunday, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Not much to say here. He got beat in the first at-bat and grounded out on a changeup in the second. The walk is nice. Magoo has a .365 average and 1.100 OPS in the fall. With about a week and a half to go, he hasn’t really gotten red hot like we saw with the Erie SeaWolves this summer but it’s just one good at-bat after another with a lot of hard contact.
Defensively he looks like he would make a solid third baseman with more work, but whether that’s in the Tigers plans or if this is mainly an experiment while getting him additional reps at the plate after he missed time the last two seasons with injury remains to be seen.
INF Max Anderson
Weekly performance: 3 G, 5-12 (.417), 4 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Anderson opened the week with another strong performance, going 2-for-4 with a home run — his fourth of the fall. This is too easy for him, and every week is pretty much the same — lots of extra bases with an average exit velocity around 98 mph. We’re talking a 71.4 hard-hit percentage.
He played this game at third base. Baseball America’s Emily Waldon had this to say while in Arizona this week:
On Thursday, Anderson was the designated hitter, with McGonigle at third. Another .500 day somehow lowered his batting average. That’s how well this kid’s hitting. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that he didn’t have an extra-base hit, but he still scored two runs and drove in another.
The goal for Anderson this year was to become a little more selective and less of a free swinger, while getting the ball off the ground more often to tap into his above average raw power. He’s made nice progress this year, and according to recent quotes to MLB.com, he did it without making significant changes to his swing and overall approach.
“As simple as it sounds, really just trying to hit the bottom of the ball,” said Anderson. “Nothing crazy, no swing changes or anything, just trying to get under it, as simple as it sounds – it’s almost more of a mentality than a swing change.”
Anderson had another relatively quiet game on Saturday. He went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. There’s a notable downtick in walks this week for Anderson, but what does it say when a 5-for-12 week lowers your batting average?
INF Jack Penney
Weekly performance: 5 G, 4-16 (.250), 4 R, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K
Jack Penney got the start at second base on Wednesday. He struck out three times, singled and walked once. Penney’s .910 and .310 remain respectable, but he’s a better fielder than hitter right now. The primary concern is the frequency of multi-strikeout nights.
Penney entered at shortstop for Washington’s Seaver King halfway through Thursday’s game. He went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. He also walked and struck out once. It was pretty cool to see McGonigle and Penney take over the left side of the infield, but don’t count on it happening in Detroit.
Penney went 0-for-2 on Halloween. Not ideal, but he drove in a run with a sacrifice and walked — solid utility guy with a left-handed bat.
Saturday brought his best performance, a 2-for-5 day with a home run. If Penney can tap into that power swing a bit more consistently and cut down the strikeouts slightly, he’ll jump up the prospect rankings. It’s good to see him getting lots of time on the field this week.
Penney finished the week as the designated hitter on Sunday. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. See what I mean about the lack of consistency? Prospects are supposed to be that way, though. He’s still trending up.
RHP Kenny Serwa
Weekly performance: ND, 3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
Another four-walk day for Kenny Serwa on Tuesday, but the knuckleballer didn’t get hit nearly as badly as he did last week. It looks like the AFL hitters are figuring out the right approach to a unique pitch mix. There’s a lot of intrigue because of the knuckleball(s), but it hasn’t been very effective this fall — 10.24 ERA. However, his 97.2 Stuff+ (courtesy of Prospect Savant) is slightly above the league average.
RHP Carlos Lequerica
Weekly performance: L (0-1), 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Speaking of Stuff+, Carlos Lequerica has been the best Tigers prospect this fall by that measure. Admittedly the competition in that regard is pretty light. Only slightly ahead of Serwa, Lequerica’s 98.0 Stuff+ pairs well with his 4.00 ERA. You’d like to see more strikeouts (17.5%), but his 30.6% whiff rate and 10% walk rate are solid. He just really needs a little more bump in stuff to start making progress toward the major leagues.
RHP Dariel Fregio
Weekly performance: H (2), 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Dariel Fregio took over in the seventh inning of Thursday’s game. He gave up a single and his catcher allowed a passed ball, but it was smooth sailing after that. Fregio retired the next four batters he faced, getting through the eighth.
A lot of soft contact on the ground makes him effective — 2.16 ERA — but a lack of strikeouts gives him a deceptively lower Stuff+ (96.5) than the other Tigers prospect pitching this fall.
RHP Pedro Garcia
Weekly performance: L (0-1), 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Pedro Garcia got the last inning of Wednesday’s game, following organizational mates in Serwa and Lequerica. It wasn’t a good start to the fall for Garcia, who gave up three runs on two hits and a hit by pitch. At least he didn’t give up any extra-base hits.
