INF Kevin McGonigle
Weekly performance: 4 G, 8-16 (.500), 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, 3 BB, 2 K
It’s abundantly clear that Kevin McGonigle is bored with the pitching he sees in Arizona. His approach at the plate is too good, and a .500 week proves that without much debate. For those worried about his power numbers, McGonigle hit two home runs this week. The second came at the end of a four-hit performance on Friday, a two-run shot in the 10th off a 99 mph sinker that decided the game.
There’s still the defense to consider, though. McGonigle played three of four games this week at third base. That’s a departure from last week’s split, where he played all over. Remember, there are a ton of shortstops on this team, so seeing McGonigle move around the infield isn’t too odd. It’s the consistency with which they’re putting him at third that’s curious.
The line on McGonigle has always been something to the effect of, “He’s more of a second baseman in MLB, not a shortstop,” but this might suggest otherwise. First off, McGonigle has never shown a concerning lack of range or arm strength. He’s on the smaller side, so that leads people to put him at second, but the Tigers wouldn’t have Scottsdale playing him so much at third if he didn’t have the arm strength. He doesn’t exactly have a cannon either, but one of his key weaknesses at shortstop is going backhand into the hole and making the long throws when his momentum is carrying him away from the target. There seems some interest in avoiding that by putting him at third base.
The MLB Film Room doesn’t have a ton of film on him as a fielder, but nothing has stood out, good or bad, so far. That’s positive news for Detroit, especially if Scott Harris is serious about bringing McGonigle up early next year.
INF Max Anderson
Weekly performance: 3 G, 4-7 (.571), 2 R, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K
No home runs this week for Max Anderson after hitting three in as many games last week, but there’s a good reason for that. Guys don’t want to pitch to him. When you get walked in half of your at-bats, you either have an elite eye or are such a tear that it’s just easier to give you first for free instead of risking a bomb. It’s likely the latter for Anderson, and that’s a good sign for a hitter who makes a lot of contact but has been known to chase pitcher’s pitches for weak outs on the ground too often.
Much like McGonigle, Anderson does not need the batting practice in Arizona. His bat is sound and still improving. It’s the defense that presents the question mark. A second baseman by trade, Anderson has taken reps at third this season, both in the minors and fall. He spent two games at designated hitter this week and played third the day McGonigle manned shortstop.
It really would be nice for Anderson to get a couple of days of work at third. For now, I’m going with McGonigle as the better defensive option there. You can see glimpses of a short term future developing in which McGonigle plays third base and a bit of shortstop, Colt Keith plays second, and Anderson flexes between second and third to hit lefties in Andy Ibáñez’s role, which could be expanded if he hits enough. More work is required to know how this might play out for them all defensively.
INF Jack Penney
Weekly performance: 3 G, 4-9 (.444), 4 R, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K
Jack Penney is the odd man out of this Detroit position players trio in Arizona, at least on paper, but he quietly put together an excellent week for the Scorpions. A 2-3 hitting performance behind Anderson on Thursday helped stuff his stats sheet for the week, and he got his OPS up to .884, despite only hitting singles all week.
Penney did the thing that Scott Harris loves. He walked more than he struck out. Getting on base wins games, especially with heavy hitters such as Anderson and McGonigle in the lineup. He played every game at second base and got to see the field with his teammates from the organization. Perhaps that explains the defensive decisions.
RHP Kenny Serwa
Weekly performance: L (0-1), 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Kenny Serwa got knocked around on Tuesday. The Arizona Fall League’s resident knuckleballer got a nice profile done on him by MLB, but he hardly lived up to the expectations set after a four-strikeout performance to open the fall.
This happened to Serwa a good amount in the minor league regular season. The inconsistency leads to both lights-out and ugly outings, sometimes in consecutive appearances. Eliminating the bad is a work in progress, but it usually ends up happening when the opposing team has a planned approach to each of his knucklers. Once Serwa is forced to adjust his game, things can go bad fast.
That’s expected of a guy who wasn’t playing professionally a year ago, though. It’s easy to say this gimmick will never work, but it has for several knuckleballers in the past. Let’s see how he bounces back next week.
RHP Carlos Lequerica
Weekly performance: W (1-0), 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Carlos Lequerica made two appearances this week. Lequerica got hit as badly as Serwa in the same game. Four of the nine batters he faced reached base, and three runs over 1.2 innings is never good, even if one of them was unearned. No strikeouts, too.
However, Lequerica redeemed himself later in the week, pitching the final two innings on Friday and picking up the win. He brought his ERA back down to 2.45 and only gave up one hit. An unearned run is a small issue compared to his first outing. Three strikeouts to one walk is another nice recovery.
RHP Dariel Fregio
Weekly performance: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Fregio didn’t get to go back-to-back with Lequerica like last week, but that opened the door for him to close out Wednesday’s loss. It didn’t go well. He pitched like it was the last few innings of a blowout loss, giving up two runs on four hits, including two doubles.
I’m not holding this performance against him. Sometimes you just have to throw and the team has no hope of winning. It’s fall ball.
RHP Pedro Garcia
A new member of the Detroit organization has made it to Arizona. Scottsdale added right-hander Pedro Garcia to its roster on Wednesday, even though he hasn’t pitched yet. He’s an international signing who started playing in Detroit’s organization in 2022 in the Dominican Republic. He moved stateside in 2023 and has thrown 110 innings with the Tigers’ Complex League team.
He posted a 10.67 ERA over 14.1 innings with Lakeland last year, but he improved a lot over the last year. This season, he held a 1.72 ERA over 15.2 innings with the Flying Tigers. Garcia has starting experience, but he was exclusively a reliever in 2024.
