The Arizona Fall League is ready to start up, and Detroit Tigers fans should keep their eyes on the Scottsdale Scorpions as shortstop Kevin McGonigle leads a group of prospects over the next two months. The Scorpions will open the Fall League on Monday evening against the Peoria Javelinas.
McGonigle, either the number one or two overall prospect in baseball depending of who you ask, is the league’s headliner and the only top 100 player on this roster made up of players from the Detroit Tigers, Houston
Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals.
Joining him are fellow infielders Max Anderson and Jack Penney, along with right-handers Dariel Fregio, Carlos Lequerica and Kenny Serwa. Jake Miller is the southpaw from Detroit’s farm getting work in on the desert. There probably won’t be a breakout star like Josue Briceno last year, but all of these guys are worth a look and have reasons to be playing fall ball.
SS Kevin McGonigle
Kevin McGonigle might threaten Josue Briceno’s Triple Crown numbers from last year. Fall League pitching is at least a step back from the Double-A pitching he’s torched in the second half of the minor league season. Having missed time with a hamate fracture in 2024 and then an ankle injury at the beginning of the season, it won’t hurt to simply get him more reps, but he should tear these pitching staffs apart.
There are several shortstops on this team besides McGonigle, namely Washington’s Seaver King. King has never played anywhere but shortstop and DH, and McGonigle made just one start this year at second. The question is whether one will move to second or they’ll just switch off the designated hitter spot with each other. Maui Ahuna (SF Giants) could also be in that group.
If you haven’t watched McGonigle hit by now, you should. One game is all most people need to tune in for before realizing he’s as legit of a bat as they come. He very well could be in Detroit at the end of next year if he stays on the same trajectory. The significant question remaining is whether he can develop enough at the shortstop position or not. Where he plays when King or someone else is handling the shortstop position should tip us to the Tigers back-up plan for him either at second base or third.
MIF Jack Penney
Jack Penney is the other middle infielder from the Tigers organization on this roster. He and Houston’s Jeron Williams can be used anywhere not at first, and New York’s D’Andre Smith has the same utility along with some time in the outfield.
Penney is one of three left-handed bats on the roster, so he should get a decent amount of plate appearances. While he lacks pop (.097 ISO), Penney uses the strike zone well and is balanced to all parts of the field. He’s a quality defender and can handle shortstop, profiling as a future utility type. Definitely a Scott Harris kind of guy.
INF Max Anderson
Max Anderson is another more proven bat in Detroit’s farm system — .296/.350/.478 with 19 home runs and 88 runs batted in this year, but he still has plenty of work ahead of him. His improved power numbers at the plate have him creeping toward a 2026 debut, but he’s not a defensive prospect by any means. He’s sharpened his skills at second a bit, but what Detroit needs is a third baseman. Anderson just doesn’t fit there and is probably more of a first baseman than anything else.
Anderson played 21 games at third this year, making two errors over nearly 200 innings, but his range is subpar and he doesn’t have the arm to handle the hot corner. He’ll get reps there with Scottsdale, splitting time with Walker Martin (LHH, Giants). Parks Harber (SF Giants) is also a third baseman, but he’s one of a few players who can man first base on this team.
Look for Anderson at his regular position, too. He’s the kind of bat that managers want in the lineup. An all-Tigers infield (sans 1B) is possible with Anderson at third, McGonigle at short and Penney at second.
The big test ahead of Anderson is improving his plate discipline and pitch selection. He has raw power and makes a lot of contact, but he doesn’t walk much and is generally a free swinger that doesn’t get to his power the way he’ll need to if he’s to have much of a major league career. He did a better job implementing some swing adjustments to drive more balls in the air in 2025, and that led him to a minor breakout overall. More will be required because he just isn’t going to provide the Tigers with much defensive value at the major league level.
RHP Kenny Serwa
Detroit didn’t send any catchers or outfielders to Arizona, so it’s all about the pitchers. Knuckleballer Kenny Serwa is the most intriguing of the bunch, and not just because he threw the fastest knuckler on record. The 27-year-old held a 2.75 ERA (2.88 FIP) across 10 appearances with High-A West Michigan before getting the call up to Erie.
Serwa pitched out of the rotation exclusively in Double-A. He had his ups and downs with the SeaWolves. Three of Serwa’s final six outings resulted in five earned runs or more. But if a team doesn’t know what to do with him, he can go out and throw five scoreless innings easily.
“Yes, we’ll have a knuckleballer in the Fall League,” wrote MLB.com. “Serwa can also mix in an 89-91 mph fastball to sneak pitches past hitters, but it’s the knuckler that should draw intrigue. Serwa had a solid first season in affiliated ball with a 3.58 ERA in 118 innings at High-A and Double-A, but he didn’t miss a ton of bats with 84 strikeouts in that span.”
LHP Jake Miller
Jake Miller was an easy pick for the AFL after missing four months of the season with an injury. He looked great at the beginning of the year, and might be the farm’s best lefty, but he gave up six hits over three innings while rehabbing in Lakeland.
This appointment is all about shaking off the rust and getting back into form. This is another guy who could get called up soon if everything goes right. Miller is one of two left-handers with significant starting experience on the roster, but he won’t need to go long with several southpaws in the bullpen.
Miller is chasing that 2.12 ERA and 1.06 WHIP he had in April.
“Armed with a solid 93-94 mph with a little extra when he wants it, along with a good slider and a changeup that was coming along in spring camp,” said our own Brandon Day earlier this year while predicting Miller to the AFL roster.
RHPs Carlos Lequerica and Dariel Fregio
Rounding out the list are two right-handed relievers, Dariel Fregio and Carlos Lequerica. Both are 25 years old and had good years with West Michigan. There are more fun options (97+ guys) that Detroit could have sent, but this move signals a belief that both of these guys could move up the system next year. Each has a good breaking ball, and enough control to move up in the system quickly if their overall stuff and command pops a little further, but considering their ages neither made enough progress in 2025. Fall ball is a good way to test borderline candidates against tougher competition. It’s basically an audition and a challenge to prove their worth the Tigers continuing their development next year at the Double-A level.
