The first thing we should do this offseason is appreciate an all-time great rookie season, and what seems certain to be an AL Rookie of the Year award. The only real question around the Tigers fresh-faced star is where to play him.
McGonigle played almost his entire, though certainly brief minor league career at the shortstop position. In his first season in 2024, he did get a little bit of time at second base, but otherwise he was a full time shortstop. In the 2025 Arizona Fall League, he finally
started getting some reps at another position, but it was third base. He then split his time as a major league rookie hitting at an extremely high level while also juggling two difficult positions on the field.
As a prospect, I always graded him as a solid but slightly below average shortstop, mainly because of his arm strength. His hands are sound and he’s good around the bag but despite his quickness, his limited wingspan and arm strength cut into his effective range somewhat. Second base seemed the better fit for him, at least down the road. Instead, McGonigle put in the work last offseason and managed to improve at shortstop while playing a pretty solid third base as well. All the more reason to be impressed with him. He’s still quite young and keeps improving all parts of his game.
This season McGonigle played 644 innings at third base and 675.2 innings as a shortstop. Sports Info Solutions liked his defense just fine, crediting him with +8 defensive runs saved (DRS) at third base, and +2 DRS as a shortstop. That’s pretty good work.
Statcast’s player and ball tracking saw things differently. By outs above average (OAA), McGonigle scored a -2 OAA at third base, and a -1 OAA as a shortstop. Overall, Statcast gives him a -1 fielding runs value (FRV) as a third baseman, and a neutral 0 FRV at the shortstop position. Despite the technology, there is always some subjectivity in evaluating and projecting defense. The numbers guide you to a general range, and I tend to just mash them together to get a rough average.
Essentially, the takeaway is that Kevin McGonigle is already an average defender at both positions. With his bat, that’s plenty good enough, and his ability to handle the switch between positions is also big for the Tigers’ roster construction and flexibility. For the most part, they should just play McGonigle at shortstop to allow them to mix in all their other infield bats at second and third base. Based on his trajectory, steady improvement, and youth, there’s a good chance he’s going to keep getting better at the position until he physically starts losing a step, hopefully sometime in his late 20’s if we’re fortunate.
On the other hand, McGonigle’s average and max velocity on his throws were below average in comparison to all qualified fielders. That’s still a good argument for a long-term home at second base. It’s just that an upgrade at shortstop would be required to move him there right now.
They can always adapt as needed, because McGonigle has shown himself so able to adapt already. If John Peck hits and the Tigers like him slightly better at shortstop? Great, he can take some of the reps there, with McGonigle moving to third if needed. Maybe the Tigers can find a legitimate defensive upgrade at shortstop on the trade market, but that just doesn’t seem like a Scott Harris move. Otherwise? Just leave McGonigle at shortstop and let him work at the position until a plus full-time shortstop, hopefully top prospect Bryce Rainer, is ready to seize the reins in 2028 or so.
Kevin McGonigle did it all in his rookie season, and it’s going to result in the 2026 AL Rookie of the Year award. The attention is understandably on his bat and how much power production he’s going to develop with experience. There’s so much more to his game though, as he also showed off his speed, ran the bases well, and improved his defensive ability to produce solid work at both shortstop and third base. He can still move around in 2027, and maybe a bit of work at second base again becomes part of the equation, but for now? Leave him at shortstop and make someone else push him off the position.
